According to a report on ESPN.com, Fulmer will announce later today that he is stepping down as head coach of the Volunteers after the 2008 season -- his 17th in charge.
ESPN.com cited multiple sources that Fulmer met with Tennessee officials Monday morning where they agreed it would be best if the coach did not stay on the job after this season. The report says an announcement will be made later Monday. The Tennessean also reported Fulmer would announce he would step down.
Athletic director Mike Hamilton and other Tennessee officials did not immediately return voicemails left by The Associated Press. Fulmer's agent, Jimmy Sexton, did not immediately return a page left on his cell phone.
Athletic department officials familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that an announcement was being readied for late afternoon. The official declined to be quoted by name because nothing official has been announced and also would not discuss what the announcement would be.
The Vols fell to 3-6, 1-5 in the Southeastern Conference after winning the league's Eastern Division title last season.
Fulmer coached Tennessee to its first national championship in 47 years in 1998 and has won 150 games at his alma mater, but the Vols are in danger of suffering their second losing season in the last four years.
``Anybody that likes Tennessee and cares about what the product looks like on the field is frustrated,'' Fulmer said Sunday.
Fulmer signed a new seven-year contract in the summer which was worth $2.4 million this season. A buyout of the contract after this season would cost $6 million.
The contract was to be worth an average $3 million annually over the next seven seasons with built-in raises each season, raises for an SEC championship or BCS bowl appearance and an automatic one-year extension for every eight-win season.
Fulmer's longtime attorney and friend, Jeff Hagood, said he was aware of what was being reported about an announcement but declined to talk about it. ``I'm really upset about this right now,'' he said of the news reports.
Fulmer currently has a record of 150-51 all-time in 17 years, which includes 1992 in which he coached three games in place of then-head coach Johnny Majors while he had heart surgery. Majors was ousted after he returned following a loss at South Carolina but finished the regular season.
Tennessee officially named Fulmer head coach on Nov. 29, 1992, and he led the Vols to the 1998 national championship the school's first since 1951.
Dubbed the dean of the SEC coaches for being the longest tenured in the league, Fulmer is the third winningest active coach among coaches with 10 years of experience, trailing only Florida State's Bobby Bowden and Penn State's Joe Paterno.
Tennessee football coach Phil Fulmer
http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/11/214863