When Phillip Fulmer took over the reins of the Tennessee football program from Johnny Majors in 1992 temporarily and then full-time, he was hailed as a breath of fresh air, a players' coach who would make the game fun again. Now, 13 years later, after climbing to the lofty heights of back-to-back SEC championships in only six short years, the Vols are spiraling out of control toward their worst collapse in over two decades.

What went wrong during Fulmer's tenure and what needs to be done to fix things? Some have suggested that he needs to be far tougher on the players. However, that needs to be extended to the coaching staff as well.

Majors was a tough taskmaster, very demanding in his rebuilding of the program. Those of us who were around the Stokely Athletics Center complex at the time saw some assistant coaches come off the practice field, close the doors of their offices, and literally be in tears over the humiliation they suffered in front of their players during the week. Majors berated and tried to intimidate everyone he met.

However, Majors hired some of the best and brightest coaches in the nation to work for him. Many of them have gone on to be coordinators and head coaches in the NFL, and others have done well at other major college programs.

Fulmer, who was hired originally by Majors to coach the offensive line in 1980 and then was promoted by Majors to Offensive Coordinator in 1989, was and is everything that Majors wasn't. While Majors was the CEO of the program who left much of the preparation to his assistants, Fulmer is the micromanager who wants to be involved n every aspect of the program.

Fulmer's hires, on the other hand, have been less than stellar. Virtually none of them have gone on to better jobs. The ones that have left have many times wound up with only lateral or downward moves. The staff has become stale and stagnant.

Fulmer is a family man, raising three daughters and a son, and is a tireless recruiter that was doing a lot of Majors' work in that area before he was elevated to the head job. In fact, he may be the best recruiter who is a head coach in America. He relates well to both the young men he coaches and to their families while the recruiting process is going on.

Majors was aloof from his players, very similarly to the way General Neyland always was. However, if you talk to those who played for him, they will tell you that they still have a great deal of respect for him, just as those who played for Neyland did.

One of the things that has led to the decline of UT's football fortunes and the fact that they haven't won a championship of any kind since 1998 is that the respect that Majors commanded has been severely eroded during Fulmer's tenure on The Hill. The players have not been held accountable for their actions, either on or off the field. Practices aren't nearly as demanding as they used to be. Discipline has broken down in several ways. Mental toughness, concentration, and superior effort simply isn't there on gamedays, since it isn't required during the week.

The players' comments to the media reveal their frustration, but also are very telling in their lack of respect for their coaches. Even athletes who have a lot of talent crave discipline to make themselves better so that they can play at the next level.

However, Fulmer, while he is in charge and is ultimately responsible, is not due all of the blame. He has been let down bigtime by some of the assistant coaches on his staff, who have, in many ways, become fat, lazy, and happy with their big salaries and their comfortable jobs, knowing they wouldn't be fired by a lenient boss, no matter what.

No one can argue that Fulmer doesn't recruit the very best talent to play for him. However, it is equally true that he has not recruited the best talent to coach for him by any stretch of the imagination. For several seasons, he relied on out-talenting the competition, putting superior talent on the field and letting them simply overwhelm the opposition with their size, strength, speed, quickness, and skills. There were few games in which the staff actually out-coached the other side.

Now that other SEC brethren have upgraded the coaches at those schools, the going is a lot tougher for Fulmer. Mark Richt has replaced Ray Goff and Jim Donnan at Georgia. Urban Meyer replaced Ron Zook at Florida. Steve Spurrier is in and Lou Holtz out at South Carolina. All of those are upgrades to the Eastern Division of the conference, and Fulmer has a losing record against all of them.

On the other side, Nick Saban had Fulmer's number before he mercifully left LSU to go into the NFL. However, Tommy Tuberville at Auburn has consistently out-coached Fulmer, and Mike Shula may be getting ready to do so at Alabama.

The big impetus to get a new coaching staff on board for 2006 at UT is the daunting task that Fulmer faces next year. The home opener against California will be the toughest the Vols have had since 1994 when Florida beat Tennessee, 31-0. It won't get any easier when Florida comes to town two weeks later. The Georgia game in Athens will be as rough as ever.

Even with the addition of Air Force to the schedule, the Big Orange could easily be 3-3 again by the time Alabama comes to town on the third Saturday in October, and then they have to travel to Columbia to face a better South Carolina team than the one that beat them in Knoxville this season. LSU at home is next on the 2006 slate, and they will certainly be out to avenge the loss that may have cost them the national championship this year.

The Sugar Vols of 1985, who beat Miami (35-7) in the Sugar Bowl, were arguably Majors' finest team. They were honored this season on the 20th Anniversary of that epic win. However, the freshman class of 1985, which played from 1985 through 1988, had a winning percentage of only .677. That was the worst winning percentage of any class since the 1981 team in Majors' early years of rebuilding a program that had hit rock bottom in terms of talent under Bill Battle.

This year's graduating class, which will have played from 2002 through 2005, didn't have a winning percentage that good. Thus, they are below the 1985 freshman class in terms of their winning percentage and will go down in history as the worst UT class in 25 years.

Fulmer, whether he realizes it or not, has already spent the capital and the equity that he earned with his gaudy winning percentage from his early seasons and his 1998 National Championship. He took over a program already laden with talent that was poised for greatness. His days on The Hill are numbered if he doesn't lead a return to the winning ways of nearly a decade ago.

The bottom line is that Fulmer must replace some of his coaching staff with tougher, smarter, meaner, hungrier coaches who will demand and get better production out of their charges. Fulmer himself must be more demanding of his players on the practice field but also far more demanding of his staff in their closed door meetings.

Football is a game of toughness, both physical and mental. Tennessee simply has not been tough enough and disciplined enough to avoid penalties and execute the gameplans. The turnovers, miscues, special teams fiascos, and resulting losses can all be corrected with the proper hires.

Football is, however, also a game of momentum. Fulmer's career was on the upswing throughout the first half of it. In the last half of his time in charge, it has been on the downswing. He must get the momentum reversed. It will be a tougher challenge for him personally than he has ever faced.

Notre Dame provided Vol boosters and administrators of a good example of how important coaching is. They are a totally different team this year under Charlie Weis than they were under Ty Willingham. They have turned it around in a hurry. Spurrier is on his way to doing the same thing at South Carolina. Richt did it at Georgia. Meyer may do it at Florida. Shula seems to be doing it at Bama.

Fulmer has done half of the job and has lived large in the beginning, but just scraped by recently, with his recruiting for most of his career. A lot of us saw this year coming for the last several seasons, actually, and Fulmer could have and should have reacted much quicker to correct the problems. The problems were readily apparent in the collapse against LSU in the SEC title game in 2001. They were even more obvious in the back-to-back embarrassing Peach Bowl losses in 2002 and 2003 to inferior ACC teams.

Fulmer is still the man to right the ship. He will not be leaving or in any trouble himself unless next year provides the same results as this year. Instead of trying to be the anti-Majors, he must try to remake himself into someone who commands the respect that Majors once had.

It was a dark day at Tennessee when Majors was fired. While it was likely time to have him move into an administrative or fundraising role like he has now at Pittsburgh, and while he complained loudly about his salary, he did not deserve to be treated the way he was by the administration. UT is much bigger than any one man, and that includes both Majors and Fulmer.

Both Majors and Fulmer were great players in their days on The Hill. They are also very good coaches who have contributed greatly to the winning traditions established by General Neyland. Now is the time for healing to finally begin between the two men, between the school and its former coach, between the past and the present.

The University has the greatest responsibility to make this happen ultimately. While they have hosted Majors to honor him occasionally since he has been gone, the efforts haven't been enough. He is a former Heisman Trophy runner-up. He restored the fortunes of the Volunteers from depths they hadn't seen in two decades prior to his arrival. He left the program in good shape in terms of talent, success, and facilities.

Majors has been making the rounds of radio talk shows with his criticisms of Fulmer recently. He has been quoted as calling Fulmer "Judas Brutus" for his perceived disloyalty in sabotaging him, knifing him in the back, and taking his job. That doesn't do the school any good at all. It reflects badly on everyone, including him.

Tennessee needs a new start in every way to restore its fortunes and its cherished traditions of excellence both on and off the field of play. UT President John Petersen and Governor Phil Bredesen, Chairman of the UT Board of Trustees, both need to reach out to Majors and heal the rift that has existed for far too long. Whatever Majors was paid by UT as a fundraiser would be brought back in donations many times over. He can still and would be a great ambassador and statesmen for the Vols.

It's all about respect. Fulmer at one time respected his boss. Majors respected Fulmer enough to both hire and promote him. Both are deserving of more respect than either has given the other. Both certainly owe more respect to the Big Orange fans, boosters, and donors, and all Tennesseans, than they have given them.

Fulmer must reach out to others, hire better coaches, and be tougher. Majors must bury the hatchet, temper his anger, and soften his demeanor in a mature way befitting someone his age. Most of all, The University of Tennessee needs to see to it that both of these gentlemen cement a legacy that all Volunteers can be proud of.

It's time to unite the Vol family again. Only with such efforts can the football program, the athletics department, the University itself, and the entire state truly epitomize the high standards that were set for it by General Neyland 80 years ago, and rise to national prominence once again.