Over the next three to four weeks Curveballs for Jesus will be looking back at the Philip Fulmer years. We will attempt at having a year-by-year breakdown of the season, personal reactions to the games, moments and memories. This is my way of saying, “Thanks Coach.” Please check back often to follow this series.
1992 was quite an interesting year for the University of Tennessee football program. Coach Majors after a summer of griping and complaining about his current contract eventually took Doctors recommendations and went in for heart surgery in early August 1992. The head coaching duties fell on offensive coordinator Philip Fulmer, and he was ready for the task at hand. The team was talent laden, featuring QB Heath Shuler and a stable of thoroughbred running backs featuring JUCO transfer Charlie Garner and Sophomore James Stewart. The Vols and Fulmer greased their gears against Louisiana-Lafayette, peeling off a 38-3 victory on Shields-Watkins Field.
Courtest www.thevib.com
September 12th rolled around and the Vols marched their way down to new Eastern Conference rival Georgia. Georgia was ranked #4 in the nation and the Vols handed them a surprising upset Between the Hedges 34-31. The Legend of Philip Fulmer was beginning. The party didn’t last for long, as the Vols welcomed the Florida Gators to Neyland Stadium in front of a national ABC audience. I am going to let LawVol over at Gate 21 describe the Beatdown in the Downpour.
Shortly after a quick disposal of the Cincinnati Bearcats, Coach Majors made a surprise return back to campus. Needless to say the program was shocked as Coach Majors arrived unannounced and still recovering from heart surgery. He carried the Vols down to Baton Rouge and laid a 20-0 lump on the side of LSU’s head. Then the team started to come apart at the seams. The Vols gave the Razorbacks of Arkansas a signature upset in their first season of SEC play, and followed up that performance with the annual chokefest against eventual National Champs Alabama Crimson Tide. That tilt was dropped 17-10 in Knoxville, and the grumbling started. Still in the driver’s seat of the SEC East with victories over Georgia and Florida, the Vols headed east to their new SEC East rival South Carolina Gamecocks. As they so graciously did with the Razorbacks two weeks earlier the Vols got upset 24-23.
Super Sophomore Heath Shuler
This was a disappointing game, and their were reports of a player sit out led by Heath Shuler due to the lack of connection with Coach Majors. Folks within the athletic department and the coaching staff had to quell the revolt. It had been a complaint for years that Johnny Majors wasn’t a players coach. It was known that he didn’t always know his players. Many times on the Johnny Majors’ Show, John Ward would have to greatly assist Coach with the names of his players. Ultimately this loss brought an unfortunately end to the career of a Tennessee Legend Johnny Majors.
Coach Majors decided to stick the regular season out, winning a tight game against Memphis in the Liberty Bowl, slapping Kentucky in Knoxville, and squeaking past Vanderbilt in Nashville. A few days later Coach Majors stepped down from the head coaching helm at Tennessee and went back to coach the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. Coach Majors was a very good coach at the University of Tennessee, and probably until Peyton Manning, was the biggest of the Vol Legends. I think the University should set aside their rules for Jersey Retirement and retire Coach Major’s 45.
This ushered in a new era of Tennessee football, the Philip Fulmer era. The Vols pulled a big to the Hall of Fame Bowl (now Outback) in Tampa, Florida. The Vols marched down the field on their way to a 38-23 victory over Big East opponent Boston College. Big Orange Nation headed into 1993 with a head full of steam, and Bama in their sites.
Wow, that’s the nicest thing I think you’ve ever said about Coach Majors!
If I wasn’t such good friends with you, I probably would never say a bad word about him… HAHA
[...] The 1991 game exacted revenge for the Gator Nation, while Tennessee retook the series with the Beatdown In The Downpour in 1992. The 1993 game pitted the talented Vols versus a shaky Florida team, who started Niceville [...]
[...] The Gamecocks were 2-5 going into the Tennessee game in 1992. Coach Johnny Majors made his unexpected return 4 weeks earlier after Interim Head Coach Philip Fulmer had led the Vols to a 4-0 starting mark. The last 2 weeks had been terrible for the Vols with consecutive losses to Arkansas and Alabama. However, the Vols still were leading the SEC East, and were on the road for a rematch against Alabama in the inaugural SEC Championship game. All the Vols needed to do was win out against South Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. No problem right? Enter the Mulleted Nightmare Steve Tanneyhill, South Carolina’s quarterback… Tanneyhill singled handily willed the Gamecocks to a 24-23 Victory. Instead of opting for the tie in the final seconds, Coach Majors decided to go for two, which was stopped short. This was the beginning of the end for Coach Majors as I detailed last year, here. [...]