It's been an eventful offseason for SEC football. The addition of Lane Kiffin to the coaching ranks gave the conference another huge name. Instead of taking his lumps at Tennessee after the disastrous end to the Phil Fulmer era, Kiffin came out swinging.
The SEC coaches meetings rolled into Destin, Fla., this week, and Lane Kiffin washed ashore.
You know Kiffin, the man who brought a Molotov cocktail to the SEC tea party, the guy who coaches like tickets have to be sold for the latest WWE event. You halfway expect for him to enter press conferences wearing orange tights, grab the mike, scream invectives at his rivals, then spike the microphone, kiss his biceps, and leave without taking questions. Kiffin coaches college football like Vince McMahon helms the WWE, it's all about creating a buzz.
Michael Lewis's opus The Blind Side is currently filming in Atlanta and slated for release on November 20, 2009. The book recently received a jolt of interest when the primary subject of the story, Ole Miss offensive tackle Michael Oher, who rises from a hardscrabble existence in Memphis to become the top offensive tackle in the nation, was drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens. A major portion of the story focuses on the top-ranked Oher's recruitment by three men: then-LSU coach Nick Saban, then-Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, and then-Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron. It's a recruiting battle for the ages.
Two weeks ago Bruce Feldman reported that Orgeron would play himself in the movie. Now I can report that Phil Fulmer will be playing himself, having traveled down to Atlanta this past Friday to film his scenes with Sandra Bullock. All that remains to be determined is whether Nick Saban is playing himself. And wouldn't that be great if Saint Nick donned the purple and gold to reprise his role for the film?
Someone please hire him already, we're pretty sure he'd stoop to being a coordinator at any BCS conference stop. Studio work for say, ESPN or Fox Sports isn't a bad fallback but the pool's a little crowded this offseason with talkative aw shucks coaches Tommy Tuberville and Tommy Bowden also recently canned.
Yesterday, Phil Fulmer became the third BCS conference coach to lose his job during the middle of this season. That leaves the hottest seat in the country the one directly below Tommy Tuberville's rear end. The question the Auburn trustees certainly must be asking themselves is this: are they going to be at a competitive disadvantage if they wait until the end of the year to fire Tuberville?
The answer is a resounding "yes".
Of course, it's not a guarantee that Coach Tuberville will find himself looking for work come December, but if he is, Auburn will find themselves more than a month behind in their coaching search, and with some heavy competition.
The College Football Songbook is a weekly feature in which we'll be making as much fun as humanly possible of the most embarrassing moments in college football. Through words, music, and related video we'll leave a lasting memory implanted on the brains of the vanquished that they are not soon to forget.say goodbye to Phil Fulmer
Farewell Phil. We laughed, we cried, we wrote a song to remember you by.
Tennessee Volunteer football has had a few very distinguishable faces over the years. Peyton Manning, Tee Martin (kidding) and Phil Fulmer. And, like all college programs, regardless of the talent level of a particular player, it is the coach that always remains in the spotlight and as the face of the program, long after certain athletes graduate.
But it appears, based on what ESPN is reporting, that Fulmer will no longer be the face of Tennessee, having agreed to step down as head coach of the Volunteers following a miserable 2008 showing.
An announcement is being planned for later Monday at Neyland Stadium. The Vols (3-6, 1-5 SEC) have lost four straight games and are in danger of suffering their second losing season in the last four years.
Fulmer, who's won 150 games at his alma mater and is the dean of SEC coaches, met with Tennessee officials Monday morning, and they reached a mutual agreement that it would be best for all parties if Fulmer was not back next season.
It's an unsurprising shock, really, because this rumor has been floating out there for some time, and the Vols aren't even popular in Knoxville this year (that's the unsurprising part). Well, that and the fact that FanHouse mentioned thisseveral times in recent weeks.
Prop Bets for the College Football Junkie is a weekly post that cares not for your silly point spreads. If you have the money and the gumption, we'll lay down a weekly gauntlet of propositions that'll take you from the penthouse to the outhouse faster than you can guess the number of times Lee Corso will say "not so fast my friend." As always, this is for entertainment purposes only.
$ With the celebration that you all know is coming in the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party Florida vs. Georgia game this weekend, we give you a multiple choice wager. Over/under on the following dances being performed:
-Funky Chickens +/-1. You know that's how Urban Rolls... -Solja Boys +/-20. -Worms +/-2. Come on, you know one or two guys that break this out at the worst possible moment. -Sprinklers +/-1, because some things just can't end soon enough.
$ Number of employed cart drivers if they leave their cart in the back of the end zone, +/-0. It seems like an easy bet, but I want to remind you that the house gets all pushes.
$ Phil Fulmer is most definitely on the hot seat, and heading to South Carolina this weekend to face off with his old pal Steve Spurrier. This is probably the first prop bet I've done that is most likely alive and kicking somewhere in Vegas. But we give you the straight up bet that Fulmer will be fired after this weekend.
Prop Bets for the College Football Junkie is a weekly post that cares not for your silly point spreads. If you have the money and the gumption, we'll lay down a weekly gauntlet of propositions that'll take you from the penthouse to the outhouse faster than you can guess the number of times Lee Corso will say "not so fast my friend." As always, this is for entertainment purposes only.
$ With the big news of the week being the firing of Tommy Bowden at Clemson, the crew at ESPN will be sure to debate the thought process at Clemson. Lou Holtz will most certainly defend Bowden and Mark May will defend the administration. So we give you a straight up bet that Holtz will forget the camera is still rolling again this week and have some less than flattering words for Clemson. What the heck, +/-5 on the number of times he says "damn."
$ Jim Harbaugh and Rick Neuheisel are both known for taking jabs at opposing teams and coaches in the week leading up to the game. As both have been quiet this week, we're sure they are saving everything for the post game handshake when Stanford plays at UCLA. The conversation will most certainly revolve around the post-game speech Neuheisel gave after the Tennessee game. Straight up, one of two thing will be said depending on the outcome of the game. Neuheisel-"Jim, I'd love to stand here and talk, but I've got a speech to give. Better luck next year, loser." Or, Harbaugh-"Doesn't look like anyone stuck around for your speech tonight. You guys got any games left on the schedule you think you can win?"
$ When Mississippi State travels to Tennessee, we'll be seeing the 103rd and 104th worst offenses in the country. So we'll put the over and under on the closeups of each team's offensive coordinator at +/-10. Because if someone is going to go, these guys are going to get the boot first.
Despite an inspired effort by the Tennessee defense, Fulmer and the Volunteers are now 2-4 after a 26-14 loss to Georgia. The culprit in this loss, like all the other losses is the Tennessee offense. Here's some stats to chew on, one yard rushing, 10 first downs, 209 total yards of offense, and not a Krispy Kreme in sight. This is also the third straight game that Tennessee has failed to gain more than 10 first downs. When you consider that Tennessee played Norther Illinois last week, that ain't good. Unfortunately for Fulmer and the Volunteers, David Cutcliff doesn't look to be getting fired anytime soon at Duke.
Earlier this week, Auburn fired their offensive coordinator due to failure to perform. Obviously a move to save Tommy Tuberville's job. Considering that Tennessee fans are calling for Fulmer's firing, it might be the last hope Fulmer will have to save his job. Although there doesn't look to be much hope that even that would improve the sputtering Volunteer offense.
Georgia played well, controlling the clock for nearly 25 minutes longer than Tennessee. They won in every way possible, except in the turnover battle. Where, surprisingly, Tennessee had no turnovers. But when you can't move the ball, holding on to it might do more harm than good.
The SEC coaches meetings rolled into Destin, Fla., this week, and Lane Kiffin washed ashore. 
Michael Lewis's opus The Blind Side is currently filming in Atlanta and slated for release on November 20, 2009. The book recently received a jolt of interest when the primary subject of the story, Ole Miss offensive tackle Michael Oher, who rises from a hardscrabble existence in Memphis to become the top offensive tackle in the nation, was drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens. A major portion of the story focuses on the top-ranked Oher's recruitment by three men: then-LSU coach Nick Saban, then-Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, and then-Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron. It's a recruiting battle for the ages. 
Former (fired) Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer has been bestowed a high honor after his Rocky Top departure -- he'll be Grand Marshal of Columbia, Tennessee's Mule Day the first week of April. You read that right. Can an honor be depressing? Because this one sort of feels depressing. Taking a look at the flickr gallery of this event is not encouraging.
Yesterday, Phil Fulmer became the third BCS conference coach to lose his job during the middle of this season. That leaves the hottest seat in the country the one directly below Tommy Tuberville's rear end. The question the Auburn trustees certainly must be asking themselves is this: are they going to be at a competitive disadvantage if they wait until the end of the year to fire Tuberville?
Tennessee Volunteer football has had a few very distinguishable faces over the years. Peyton Manning, Tee Martin (kidding) and Phil Fulmer. And, like all college programs, regardless of the talent level of a particular player, it is the coach that always remains in the spotlight and as the face of the program, long after certain athletes graduate.
Despite an inspired effort by the Tennessee defense, Fulmer and the Volunteers are now 2-4 after a 26-14 loss to Georgia. The culprit in this loss, like all the other losses is the Tennessee offense. Here's some stats to chew on, one yard rushing, 10 first downs, 209 total yards of offense, and not a Krispy Kreme in sight. This is also the third straight game that Tennessee has failed to gain more than 10 first downs. When you consider that Tennessee played Norther Illinois last week, that ain't good. Unfortunately for Fulmer and the Volunteers, David Cutcliff doesn't look to be getting fired anytime soon at Duke.
