Tennessee fires AD John Currie, replaces him with Fulmer

If there is a celebration to be had in Knoxville at the moment, then surely today is an early tonic: Tennessee has just fired John Currie, its athletic director.

They have now replaced him with Phil Fulmer, who was run out of Knoxvville as head coach in 2008, despite winning the Vols a National Championship.

Although Currie was regularly attacked for the Greg Schiano incident, where he reportedly offered the Ohio State DC the job, and then had VolNation throw it back in face with such force that he had to rescind it again, he really should have left his post some time beforehand.

Under his eight-month guidance, Tennessee football was a shambles. The Vols didn’t win a SEC game and finished the season with such style that Vanderbilt dropped more than 40 points on them at home in the ‘Battle Of The Winless’. Their head coach Butch Jones was a running joke throughout the season, and no-one seemed to tell him when to shut up. Oh, and the rock, which seems to paint slogans every five seconds in Knoxville, spat out hatred for Currie, for Schiano, and Jones.

Thanks to the Schiano incident – which could cost Tennessee millions if Schiano sues the school for slandering his ‘good’ name – the once proud Orange is now one of the most poisonous jobs to take in college football. The school is run by its boosters and by social media, and no longer by its head coach. The school must be looking at itself and saying: “We shouldn’t have gotten rid of Phil Fulmer”.

Currie’s choices (by social media) about who to appeal to have been head-scratchers. Davie Doeren of NC State and Jeff Brohm of Purdue has reportedly walked away from offers. There have been no discussions with Memphis head coach Mike Norvell, who is in charge of one of the most fun offenses in college football, and there have been no discussions with Tee Martin, who was the QB on the last National Championship Tennessee had.

If Currie had done is job properly he would have fired Jones after the Kentucky game. While it was excusable to get blown out by Alabama and Georgia, losing to Kentucky was not. He should have gone them – and it probably would have saved his job.

Aldso under his job, Tennessee athletics in general has been mired in failure. While it has always spawned good athletics, the school hasn’t won a National Championship in any sport since Women’s Indoor Track & Field took home victory in 2009. Currie’s job was to change that, and he failed to do so.

But for now, Tennessee fans can celebrate. Currie is out, and the school can move on. And will do with Fulmer at the helm.