AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2008 > March > 26 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USShoud Pearl make more than Fulmer?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s Wednesday morning and we’re on the eve of the NCAA’s Sweet 16 that, for my money, usually gives us some of the very best basketball of the tournament. How does the Sweet 16 connect to a college football blog? It leads us into our five burning questions of the day:
1. Will Bruce Pearl soon make more money than Phillip Fulmer? My good friend David Climer of the Tennessean newspaper raises this issue today. The word started leaking out at the SEC Tournament that Pearl, who has two Sweet 16 appearances in his first three years at Tennessee, will be courted by Indiana for its opening at head coach. Pearl makes $1.3 million and is slated for automatic raises of $100,000 through 2013. What do you do if Indiana backs up the Brinks Truck in order to salvage the mess that has been made of that program? Climer says you pay the freight, whatever it is, to keep Pearl. I agree. Fulmer’s compensation is around $2 million per year. Paying Pearl more and the fallout that might come with it can’t be a factor in the decision.
2. Is Stephen Garcia done? Garcia, the star-crossed quarterback who STILL hasn’t gotten on the field for South Carolina, has been suspended AGAIN, this time for underage drinking. It is his third run-in with the law in 14 months. He is off the team until Aug. 15. So for the second straight spring he gets no meaningful work and no chance to get better. Coach Steve Spurrier says Garcia’s fate is in the university’s hands. This young man needs to go home to Florida and get his act together.
3. Is Freddie Fairchild finished? The Arkansas linebacker was arrested on Monday and charged with beating a woman and holding her against her will. IF the allegations turn out to be true….
Let me say this again: IF the allegations turn out to be true, then Fairchild should be done and banned from playing at any SEC school. This is a pet peeve of mine that comes from having a daughter. You get in a bar fight or get into some other tussle with the law, you deserve a chance to rehabilitate yourself. You hit a woman and it is proven in a court of law and you’re finished. You’re a coward and I don’t want you playing for me.
4. What’s the deal on Auburn’s quarterback? New OC Tony Franklin wanted to name a starter coming out of the spring but he can’t. That’s because Chris Todd, the junior college transfer, does not have full strength back in his throwing arm. Todd and Kodi Burns will take the rest of the snaps in the final days of spring practice and will probably be the only two guys who handle the position in Saturday’s spring game. This competition will be top story lines in the SEC when the teams come back in August. I believe both are going to play this fall and give opposing defensive coordinators a lot to think about.
5. Will James Wilson stay at Florida? Wilson is a classic example of why, when a player asks to be released from his scholarship, the head coach should not automatically say yes. Wilson had a couple of knee surgeries in his freshman season and couldn’t practice or play. He got down and wanted to transfer, somehow thinking that his problems would be solved by going to Wake Forest. Now Wake Forest is a great school coached by one of the best in the business (Jim Grobe). Florida’s Urban Meyer denied the request and asked that Wilson take another look at the Gators. Wilson showed up for spring practice and, if he stays, will be in a position to help Florida this fall. Sitting out two straight years is not going to help his situation. You need to stay put, young man.
Comments
By reality check
March 26, 2008 7:50 AM | Link to this
Did Kevin Salisbury play again at Tech after he hit that woman and broke her nose in the pizza parlor?
By TDone
March 26, 2008 8:26 AM | Link to this
Quote from #3 above, “IF the allegations turn out to be true, then Fairchild should be done and banned from playing at any SEC school.”
Question: Why does this just apply to SEC schools, Tony? Are you saying it would be permissable in the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, PAC 10, etc…?
By virtueandvice
March 26, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this
So you’re counting on Bobby Petrino to “do the right thing”? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA That’s a good one Tony!
By virtueandvice
March 26, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this
So you’re counting on Bobby Petrino to “do the right thing”? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA That’s a good one Tony!
By Miles
March 26, 2008 9:35 AM | Link to this
The Sweet 16 DOES NOT connect to college football. Mr. Barnhart, to imply that there is any connection is like saying the Book Of Mormon is related to the Bible. College basketball, in any form, is merely some nonsense we must endure before collge football begins. Interestingly, whereas Phil Fulmer is Tennessee football, Pearl is simply a blip on the radar. Unfortunately, however, I must agree that the Volunteer Nation will have to pay the money to keep him put in Knoxville. Hopefully, Garcia is done and Fairchild is finished. All college football fans, and especially those of the SEC, must eargerly await the play of Auburn’s Kodi Burns. As for James Wilson, I’ve wondered if there is more to the story than simply tranferring to another school.
By Roswell Ed
March 26, 2008 9:46 AM | Link to this
I guess if you can’t win at football then you can settle for winning at basketball.
NOT!!
Basketball only matters for what
25 days
other than that it sucks!!
Leave the basketball to that conference that can’t play football.
Look at
all those idiots at Duke
that jump up and down at their bball games like a kid that ain’t quite right.
Maybe Tennessee should pay their soccer coach 2 mil if they make it to the
fey four.
By shane #1
March 26, 2008 10:58 AM | Link to this
1-Pearl could make up to two million and still make less than Fulmer.I don’t see any bball coach being worth more than that. 2-When You read between the lines of Spurrier’s statements about Garcia it seems that the QB is on his own. “Either He will make it or He won’t”, and “it is out of My hands” are not the words of a coach going to bat for His “Man”.Spurrier also lauded His other two Qbs, refering to them as good guys that needed work. It was also noted that Garcia has untill August to transfer, that may be the young Man’s best option. 3-I have two Daughters Tony, so I know how you feel. If it were one of My Girls, finding a place to play would be the least of His worries! He could be charged with assault and battery,breaking and entering,and kidnapping. All felonys. If the DA does His job this Man will be sitting in a cell for a few years. 4-At times Burns was impressive in His freshman year. I think He should have played more,even with His rookie mistakes.IMO,Burns will start. 5- You are right about this one Tony. How many programs want to use a scholarship for a player that hasn’t played in two years and will have to sit out another? He should stay with the Gators.
By Gen Neyland
March 26, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this
Pat Summitt should earn more than the both of them…Congrats to Summitt and the UT Women’s BB program on her 100th NCAA Tournament win…
At most majors, football is the game that brings in the lion’s share of revenue. BB is a side dish at most schools, but perks our interest at this time of year whether or not your team is in the mix. As far as pay goes, should Cutcliffe win the ACC within the next 3 years at Duke, should he earn more than coach K..?
By shane #1
March 26, 2008 12:11 PM | Link to this
General, Pat Summitt has been THE jewel in UT’S crown. Fulmer should be forced to learn at Her feet. Pearl has admitted in the past that He learned a lot about coaching fron Summitt. On Your second point,winning the ACC is not required for Cutliff,He can win 7 games and look like the next Bear Bryant.Remember,He is at DUKE! I don’t think Coach K cares about salary, He will make as much as He wants. The question is,can he take Duke to the Final Four again? Duke has no big men, and recruiting big guys is getting no easier for Him. Mrs K wants Coach to retire from Duke and concentrate on the US national team and His speaking engagements and writing. He could make more money from ESPN and as a spokesperson for various corperations than He will ever make at Duke,with half the stress.
By Pat
March 26, 2008 12:28 PM | Link to this
Full Philmer and Pearl are buddies. You aren’t insinuating an ego battle are you Tony?
By Halberstram
March 26, 2008 12:37 PM | Link to this
If Auburn won’t name a starting quarterback after the spring, doesn’t that say enough? It seems to me that means the coaches believe Todd should be the starter rather than Burns. It looks like they don’t want to just name him the starter straight up. Anyone else agree?
In regards to Pearl, I don’t believe he should make more than Fulmer. I don’t like Fulmer at all, but the guy has won a national championship and almost won the SEC last year. I understand that Pearl has brought an excitement to Tenn. basketball not seen since the late 70’s/early 80’s, but it seems hard to understand how the program that brings in the most money will have a lower paid coach. Of course, I believe this is the case with Florida. However, with Donovan winning back to back and having at least one other final four appearance, I guess I can understand. Interesting dilemma for the Tenn. AD.
Go Dawgs!
By Gen Neyland
March 26, 2008 12:59 PM | Link to this
shane #1
One of my picks in this years bracket game was Duke two and through. Alas, I had Georgetown in my Final Four…As of today, I’m 32-17 ( w/ play-in game ) going into the Sweet 16. Vandy burned me. In essence, the Midwest Bracket has been my bane as I had UNLV, VU, USC and GT playing into this weekend. Davidson..? Other brackets I’m 3 of 4 in West and South and 4 for 4 in the East…Probably get whacked good by Sunday night…Got UT getting past Louisville, but not NC…Louisville has the potential to rid the NCAA Tourney of it’s last SEC team…Yet, Go Vols
By Dr. Tobias Funke
March 26, 2008 1:27 PM | Link to this
Miles, the Book of Mormon IS related to the Bible. They’re both fascinating works of fiction.
By shane #1
March 26, 2008 1:33 PM | Link to this
General, IMO, it was Coach K that carried Duke this year. They were fighting a severe lack of size. I think Their biggest starter was 6’8”,and They are all slender. Teams with a strong inside game were hard for Them to handle. Halberstram, have you taken a look at meyers contract? He makes $3,385,000 per year. He collected a $750,000 signing bonus,with anoter $250,000 bonus in Feb. He will get a $250,000 bonus each Feb for the life of the contract,with added bonuses for winning BCS games. The most intresting parts of His contract are in the fine print. Should UF fire Meyer he will be paid $2,000,000 annualy for the remainder of the contract,if He chooses to leave he will owe UF a totaL buyout of $500,000. He will have from Dec 1 to Jan 1, or one week after a UF bowl game, to exercise His option to leave. So Meyer has a golden parachute if He needs it and a relatively easy out should He get the NFL itch. Don’t feel sorry for Meyer, He is sitting in the catbird seat.
By Lunch money
March 26, 2008 1:45 PM | Link to this
No, Full-mer needs to make more money because his breakfast, lunch and dinner needs are greater. Also, don’t forget second breakfast, elevensies, afternoon tea and supper.
By Mike
March 26, 2008 1:47 PM | Link to this
Tony, you are a lot smarter than this column shows. UT’s athletic department is almost entirely funded by Fulmer’s boys. Plus, he is the most tenured coach in the conference, and he has a national title to his credit. To pay Pearl more than Fulmer would be a slap in the face to the fat man and there would be a full scale revolt in them thar hills. Terrible idea.
By azcat225
March 26, 2008 1:55 PM | Link to this
And to think Florida gave away an apparently one-sided contract, a whole lotta money and retaining no leverage whatsoever with Urban Meyer, all to replace Zook, when it turns out that the ol’ Zooker can actually do a little coaching of his own. The irony of it all…
By baloney
March 26, 2008 2:00 PM | Link to this
Tony, that is a dumb comment about Pearl/Fulmer.Pearl has done a nice job. Fulmer has done a nice job. Fulmer has NEVER lost a game or a championship in which he was heavily favored in 16 years. Pearl has lost a few times in which he was odds on favorite. Just this past 2 weeks in the SEC comes to mind. Using your logic Felton should make as much as Richt since they both have won an SEC championship. And what about Yuck-lan she should make more than anyof the UGA coaches. If Indiana comes calling to Pearl, UT should pay him what they think he is worth to UT instead of paying him what IU thinks he is worth. Otherwise coahes will always be over paid and under achieve. You of all peole should know that football pays the bills.Basketball is merely extra. More games more expenses equal less profit. Less profit gets your butt fired when things go south.
By shane #1
March 26, 2008 2:28 PM | Link to this
Baloney,I think old Tony was just yanking Your chain a little. As for the rest of Your post,do You mean a cfb coach could be overpaid? Well Who’d-a-thunk it! Does the name Charlie Weis ring a bell? At over 4,000,000,according to coaches hot seat.com, he makes Saban’s first year look like a bargain! The highest paid coach goes 3-9, that should ring a few alarm bells amoung cfb big wigs.
By shane #1
March 26, 2008 2:44 PM | Link to this
azcat225, I could not understand the way Meyer’s bonus for re-signing was front loaded. He has already collected a million of the three and a half million dollar longevity bonus,the rest to be paid in installments. I mistakenly omitted the fact that his bonus next Feb will be 750,000. Then there will be 250,000 bonuses for each year He stays at UF. Next Feb Meyer will have collected over half His Bonus money. Meyer must have one heii of an agent!
By Mr Wrestling#2
March 26, 2008 4:51 PM | Link to this
Yes if CDC wins the ACC at Duke he should make more than Coach K. There will not have been such a miracle since the parting of the Red Sea.
By shane #1
March 26, 2008 8:28 PM | Link to this
Kettle-This is Pot calling. Fulmer gave his second string o linemen a tongue lashing for being—- You guessed it—-FAT. Fulmer called them “soft”!
By Hoopie1
March 26, 2008 8:46 PM | Link to this
If you are the Auburn coaches, you’ve got to want Burns to step up and be No. 1. He’s not progressing fast enough and the good news is that CTodd (with a good shoulder) will be adequate untilburns develps.
By War Eagle
March 26, 2008 9:52 PM | Link to this
Shane#1,Burns will be the starter, he has potential to be the best.Auburn will be an entirely different team on offense next year. The talent is deep on offense for next two years and the defense could be again top 5 NCAA rankings. The SEC is tough, their will be no undefeated teams this year. Look for Ark., Ole Miss and Miss State to be better, along with the other top five…”a season to remember”. Top five will be: UGA, Florida, Auburn, LSU and Tenn.Three way battle in the East and a two way battle in the West.
By War Eagle
March 26, 2008 10:15 PM | Link to this
Victor Ellis, former Alabama player died at 28 years old today of cancer.My prayers are with Alabama community and his family.
By General Sherman
March 26, 2008 11:11 PM | Link to this
The revolt in the hills in Tennessee would not be over Pearl being paid more than Fulmer, but over losing Pearl because of a illogical need to keep his pay under somebody else’s. Pearl is extremely popular with the boosters and the #1 Vol hero for the UT fanbase and AD Hamilton has indicated the UT will not lose Pearl over money.
Basketball in March beats doing nothing but waiting for next football season. Maybe Bulldog fans will catch on this and join the rest of the modern world.
By Gen Neyland
March 26, 2008 11:58 PM | Link to this
Maybe I’ll close this one out. Maybe not…Fulmer has brought UT a Crystal Football. Sure, it’s been almost ten years ago but it was done. He has earned his lot and would probably retire if let go from UT. He’s a lifetime committment to the Orange and White. Pearl..? He has the wings of Mercury and will travel if the $$$ is better down the road. Loyality is reserved for the Summitt’s and Fulmer’s of UT lore. Pearl is still an unknown in this area…All in all, there may be no better place for Pearl to stick around until Social Security sets in…He just may win the NCAA BB Championship if he stays in Knoxville…
shane #1
Fulmer, being an ex-lineman and donut connoisseur, knows fat. Beware those fat boys in October going for the trifecto…
By General Sherman
March 27, 2008 1:58 AM | Link to this
The loyalty of Fulmer and Summitt is commendable and should be honored, but should have a secondary relationship to sound economic thinking. If we were only paying due to loyalty, there’s probably maintainance people and the similar employees at UT that should be paid more than all of them.
Hamilton is a businessman, the boosters are successful businessmen and the smart business move is to pay market value to a profitable employee like Pearl. That’s the philosophy that is best for all sports at Tennessee.
By shane #1
March 27, 2008 6:26 AM | Link to this
War Eagle, I only saw glimpses of Burns,but I liked what I saw. He reminded Me of DJ. General, I agree with You, I don’t see UT ever firing Fulmer, when the time comes He will be asked to retire. General Sherman? Where in the heii did you come from? You just wait untill I get My Great Grindiddy’s musket!
By yellowblood
March 27, 2008 7:20 AM | Link to this
Paul Johnson combines tough dicipline with reason. His decision to allow the players to attend alumni Tickle Piles was a “stroke” of genious!