Tennessee Football: 5 candidates to replace Butch Jones as head coach

5. Bring back the master: Phillip Fulmer

Outside of a few short years spent in Wichita State and Vanderbilt, Knoxville has been Phillip Fulmer’s home since 1968. Fulmer took over as head coach in 1992 and directed Tennessee to 152 wins before leaving the sidelines in 2008. That included a 13-0 season in 1998 that finished with the Volunteers as national champions.

Fulmer had nine double-digit win seasons, including four in a row from 1995-98, going 45-5 and winning three bowl games. He finished ranked in at least one of the major polls all but twice, including his final year.

A former Volunteer player himself, Fulmer hasn’t coached since his final game at Tennessee. He has since returned officially to Tennessee in an administrative role under President Joe DiPietro, something he had done on a volunteer basis.

Fulmer put together some incredible recruiting classes in his days with the Vols, bringing top-notch talent to the program. Could his style still work in his new-age of the game? That remains the bigger question.