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Sound Bites: Fulmer considered retiring after ‘98 & ‘01

November 27th, 2008 |

Author: lawvol

There’s an interesting piece on Phillip Fulmer over at CBS Sports.com in which he acknowledged that he considered retiring in both 1998 and 2001.

Fulmer said he mulled retirement after the Vols’ 1998 national championship season and in 2001, when they nearly played for another national title.

“We played for the (Southeastern Conference) championship five out of the last 11 years. So it isn’t like we just had reason to be looking to retire,” Fulmer told the Associated Press.

…

Fulmer was urged by his wife, Vicky, to quit after the ‘98 season. He acknowledges that Vicky and his children, now grown, paid a huge price for the amount of work he’s put in as coach.

They talked about it again when the Vols were one game away from playing in the title game in ‘01 after a 10-1 regular season, but lost in the SEC Championship Game and played in the Fiesta Bowl instead.

“If we’d won that championship game and played for (the national title) and maybe won it again, maybe you do it then. I had several chances to do other things at other places,” Fulmer said without specifying what those other opportunities were.

Fulmer also hinted that he might write a “behind the scenes” book on the world of college football coaching.

• Volunteers’ Fulmer considered retiring after ‘98, ‘01 – CBSSports.com

– Go Figure …

About the Author: "Lawvol" -- I'm just a guy living in North Carolina who has an unnatural fascination with the color orange. Just because I'm a Tennessee alum and die-hard Volunteer fan doesn't mean that I can't poke a little fun at the Big Orange and anybody else for that matter. Feel free to complain all you want. >> Read more from this author

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