Hart may not be talking, but he surely saw the 35,000 to 40,000 Alabama fans in the stands on Saturday night and that the UT portion of the crowd exited by the close of the third quarter.
When your athletic department is already swimming in red ink the last thing you want a national television audience to see is your stadium filled with Bama crimson rather than Clorox Orange.
At that point you begin to wonder if replacing your coach is more a matter of “can you afford not to” than the other way around.
I’m not sure November is going to be good enough to turn that around. Ending Kentucky’s one-game winning streak isn’t very sexy.
Get The Picture 
I hope this shows up this time.
LikeLike
Think they ever wish they hadn’t pulled that whole Fire Phil Fulmer fiasco?
/
LikeLike
Some still regret it. But with the Punkin, UT would still be stuck in 2nd tier SEC East land.
Remember that the zenith of UT success occurred while they were the ONLY school in the SEC that allowed student athletes to withdraw from classes below full-time status but remain on the team. Since the SEC changed that rule, UT has not been a serious threat for anything.
LikeLike
… still be stuck in 2nd tier SEC East land.
As opposed to..?
LikeLike
As opposed to winning the national championship?
LikeLike
My point is that are still stuck in 2nd tier SEC East land in spite of the fact that Philmer was fired.
LikeLike
they are*
LikeLike
That’s an insult to us 2nd tier teams, my good sir! 😉
LikeLike
Gotcha. I think Normaltown Mike’s point was that UT wasn’t going anywhere with Philmer anyway. In fact, many would argue they were going downhill quickly and it would have only gotten worse.
LikeLike
A win over USC would help him out a bit. I am going to root for that.
LikeLike
Every Gator in the land will be rooting for that. SOS or no SOS, Dooley being at UT is a good thing for us. Same for you guys, really.
LikeLike
I don’t know any more than anybody else, but I get the impression from the UT folks who can manage to talk about football that the Derek Dooley Experiment has reached its conclusion.
Maybe Derek can go back to practicing law and write a book about his daddy’s contribution to the hiring of Ray Goff.
LikeLike
I seriously think that SC has a shot at taking UT’s historical spot in the East hierarchy… Tennessee as a state has a very weak recruiting basis, forcing coaches to go outside of the state to acquire talent.
South Carolina seems to be producing much more top tier talent (e.g. Rock Hill) and is just as accessible to Atlanta and much more accessible to South Georgia/Florida than Tenn. Everything else being equal (besides history/tradition), what does UT bring to the table that SC doesn’t? Both fanbases are also equally obnoxious/irrationally exuberant.
LikeLike
Ya know SOD was injured on the job. What are the rules per firing an injured state employee? Me thinks the bamboo warrior lawyer may be working the angles here. 😉
LikeLike
What’s the payout on medical retirement from a 3M job? Probably enough to set up a fine law office with full staff to begin with.
LikeLike
Yah, Permanent disability from being a Head Coach. Pay at 50-75% for LIFE. Provided of course, he leaves the coaching profession permanently (pretty good chance o that – ceptin’ maybe Virginia)
LikeLike