Top 10 Current CFB Coaches: No. 4 Phillip Fulmer

Of all active NCAA Division I-A head coaches with more than five years
tenure, Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer has compiled the highest winning
percentage at .824, 40 points higher than his nearest competitor,
Michigan's Lloyd Carr (.784). Fulmer's winning average is all the more
remarkable when you consider that Tennessee plays in the ultra-tough
Southeastern Conference, and that the Vols annually fill their slate with
such non-conference competition as UCLA, Notre Dame and Syracuse.



Having reached the 50- and 75-win plateaus faster than any other coach
in SEC history, Fulmer's nine-year record stands at 84-18. His 1998 club
was the first in UT history to win 13 games. That year's 13-0 ledger
included a 24-14 win over Mississippi State in the SEC championship
game and a 23-16 Fiesta Bowl victory over Florida State for the national
championship. Added to the '98 national title on Fulmer's résumé are
consecutive SEC titles in '97 and '98.



A 50-year-old native of Winchester, Tennessee, Fulmer played offensive
guard for the Vols in 1969, '70 and '71 and was team captain as a senior.



UT went 30-5 during Fulmer's playing days, won the SEC in 1969 and
won the Sugar Bowl following the 1970 campaign. He ended his playing
career with a win in the 1971 Liberty Bowl and immediately thereafter
embarked on his coaching career.



Fulmer served as an assistant at Wichita State and later at Vanderbilt
before returning to his alma mater in 1980. After 13 years as an assistant
to Johnny Majors, the last five as assistant head coach and the last three
as offensive coordinator, Fulmer was elevated to head coach in 1992.



Since then nine Vols have been named first-team All-America and 47
have been selected in the NFL Draft, including nine first-rounders. The
2001 Cotton Bowl was Tennessee's sixth straight New Years Day bowl
appearance and the eighth in Fulmer's nine years.



In 2000, Fulmer became the recipient of the second annual State Farm
Eddie Robinson Coach of Distinction Award (Penn State's Joe Paterno
was the first). In 1998, Fulmer walked away with SEC and National Coach
of the Year honors.

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds