Tennessee Meltdown

Clausen blames team
Senior regrets that offense's errors paved way for Sanders' resignation

By CHRIS LOW
Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, 11/02/05 KNOXVILLE — An angry Rick Clausen said yesterday that fans and media should be happy because they finally got their scapegoat.

The Tennessee senior quarterback fumed that it was a "bunch of crap" that offensive coordinator Randy Sanders felt compelled to resign because of poor play by the players.

"I'm just (peeved) at the whole situation," said Clausen, one of the team captains. "I'm (peeved) at everybody. I'm (peeved) at myself. I feel like I let Coach Sanders down. His job and his wife's livelihood and his daughters' livelihood were basically in my hands.

"If I go out and don't throw an interception, we probably beat South Carolina. If I don't throw an interception against Georgia, we probably beat Georgia. If we don't fumble the ball two times inside the 10-yard line against Alabama, we probably beat Alabama and nobody's talking about this right now.

"That's the most upsetting thing. The players have done it. The players have basically forced Coach Sanders to resign. That's an awful feeling."

Clausen wouldn't speculate on what role Coach Phillip Fulmer might have played in Sanders' decision to resign.

"Coach Fulmer felt like he had to do what he had to do," Clausen said. "He's handled it the best he could. I'm just so upset that Coach Sanders got the blame for it. He's not the problem. He hasn't been the problem. In 2001, he wasn't the problem when the offense was great.

"Apparently, in 2002, when injuries came, he was the problem. Apparently Coach (Mike) Barry was a problem as well because he got fired. I guess you just have to have somebody to blame if things don't go right."

As much as anything, Clausen thinks Sanders stepped aside to protect his family from further ridicule.

"That's something that me, Coach Sanders and Erik (Ainge) talked about, and that's between us," Clausen said. "It's just disheartening that everyone claims to be part of the Tennessee family and the Vol Nation. But at the first sign of adversity, everybody decides to blame Coach Sanders."

Tennessee has dipped to 108th nationally in scoring offense out of 117 Division I-A teams. The Vols have struggled to finish drives all season and have been plagued by turnovers, penalties and mistakes.

"The way we've played has not reflected the way he has coached us, the way he has worked to get us ready and prepared for the game," said senior offensive guard Cody Douglas, also a team captain.

"Him falling under the knife like that … I don't really think it was fair. I think he's dedicated 22 years of his life to this program, and I don't think that he got just treatment in the end."

Douglas said the criticism of Sanders by fans had risen to a personal level, leaving the coach with little choice but to resign.

"I think that's just uncalled for, unnecessary," Douglas said. "I think it's a real shame that it came to that, when people take a game that seriously."

Jimmy Ray Stephens, the Vols' offensive line coach, said the uncertainty of everything makes it difficult for everybody.

"There's a lot of rumors swirling around about all of us, and our families suffer from that," Stephens said. "It could be substantiated or unsubstantiated. I don't know. But the families definitely suffer, and it's not worth it if your families have to go through that, and I think that was a big part of Randy's decision."

Stephens said the nauseating thing for him is that the Vols are probably a couple of fumbles inside the 10 away from Sanders' still being offensive coordinator.

"We all feel his pain and feel a broken spirit somewhat," Stephens said. "It's unfortunate because life isn't always fair, and I don't think this is fair. The things that have happened aren't his fault. He's the same guy who did a hell of a job last year with two freshman quarterbacks."

Defensive coordinator John Chavis said all coaches understand the volatility of the business, but that doesn't make it any easier when changes are made.

"We understand when we take on this role," Chavis said. "We know exactly what that role is and what the outcome can be. It's no different then any other profession. If things are not going well, then someone has to answer for it and that's where we are."

If fans are looking for somebody to blame for the Vols' struggles this season, Clausen said to blame him.

Toward the end of the South Carolina loss last Saturday, Clausen could hear fans chanting to fire Sanders. He said hearing that infuriated him.

"They should have been saying, 'Take out Rick Clausen,' because I played awful and I ultimately cost that man his job," Clausen said. "That's a horrible feeling to have. There's not enough I can say to the man or enough respect I can have for the man. Not only had he taken me (under his wing), he'd also taken my brother. It's tough.

"If I would have played better, he'd probably still have his job. If Erik would have played better, he'd probably still have his job. Don't blame that man. Blame us." •

 

Fulmer's new focus should be on himself

Commentary by DAVID CLIMER
Senior Writer

Published: Wednesday, 11/02/05 His list of favorite plays includes such entries as Ace Don Z Jet Roll Flood and Falcon Gun Duo Max 888 Bench U Oscar.

Sometimes they work.

Too often this season, they haven't.

But a couple of days ago, Randy Sanders called the best play of his coaching career — Exit Stage Right.

By tendering his resignation as Tennessee's offensive coordinator, Sanders has forced Phillip Fulmer to get with the program — his own program.

Instead of further inattention to such details as hiring, developing and, if necessary, firing assistant coaches, Fulmer finally must take a long, hard look at himself and the job he is doing.

This goes deeper than merely hiring an offensive coordinator to replace Sanders at season's end. That's the easy part. The bigger task is to examine an entire system and those who coach it and do the necessary repair work.

Sanders is a convenient fall guy and, yes, he was in over his head. That's been clear to everyone but his boss for the last five years.

But what has Pat Washington done with UT's alleged talent at wide receiver? Jimmy Ray Stephens' offensive linemen are better known for their girth than blocking ability. And while Trooper Taylor is a live wire who turns his cap backward and chest-bumps players, shouldn't he also be teaching his running backs to hold onto the ball?

Beyond his coaching staff, Fulmer finally may be forced to examine the entirety of his program. All those off-the-field incidents that were conveniently swept under the rug because of a No. 3 national ranking in the preseason need to be revisited.

For too long, Fulmer has operated under the illusion that if he secured enough talent, he could contend for SEC championships and thus get into the national mix. But the SEC has evolved; Fulmer hasn't.

New coaching blood has brought fresh strategy into the league.

There is a definite trickle-down effect from the NFL.

Nor has it helped that Fulmer often seems to have something else in the works while he should be minding the shop.

Whether it was conducting his own investigation of Alabama's recruiting practices, working behind the scenes to get his preferred candidate hired for UT athletics director or tending to business ventures, he sometimes seems to be running Vol Ball on autopilot.

Yes, he has won a lot of games, averaging 10 wins per season. He owns a national championship. But since that championship year of '98, he is a combined 7-13 against Georgia, Florida, Auburn and LSU. He hasn't taken the Vols to a BCS bowl since '99.

The timing of the Vols' 16-15 home loss to South Carolina last Saturday was ironic.

On a night when we changed our clocks, this was typical of Fulmer's recent Tennessee teams: The Vols spring forward and fall back.

UT is at its best in the spring, when recruiting rankings are tallied, the Orange & White Game showcases the talent and glorious predictions are being formulated for all those magazines.

Come the fall, though, things never seem to fit together, at least not in the last handful of seasons. Either the talent is overrated or the coaching is inferior.

Credit Randy Sanders for calling the right play.

Now it's up to Phillip Fulmer to make some tough calls. •

 

karma is a bitch. they deserve everything bad happening two fold

 

Trust me, I am enjoying every minute. People are even talking upset with Memphis and even Vandy. If either of those happen Fulmer will be is serious trouble.

 

Fulmer sold his soul to the devil 4 years ago and now he is paying dearly. If he thinks Alabama and everyone is "stealing" his recruits out of Ten, he is in for a rude awakening this year.

 

thats funny because he's been doing exactly that to north carolina for years

 

I know I've said "no way Tennessee loses" a bunch of times, but if they lose to Memphis Phillip Fullmer should resign cause Ole Miss beat Memphis and Ole Miss kinda sucks this year. D'Angelo Williams only got 48 yards against him. Most overrated player in the country (just had to get that in there). It doesn't help that Gerald Riggs is out. He is virtually their entire running game.

 

You try running against a D that knows you are down to playing a former WR at QB. If anything, that kid doesn't get enough pub.

 

Jerome Bettis never had a problem