It's almost a foreign concept at Tennessee to have a nationwide search for a head football coach.
Now that coach Phillip Fulmer has announced he's stepping down at the university's request at the end of this season, it's reality for Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton. And Hamilton wrote in an e-mail late Monday night that the school is starting a national search immediately.
Hamilton said Tennessee has a great university, world-class student-athletes, a tremendous fan base and first-class facilities. He said this means Tennessee will attract some of the nation's best candidates.
Hamilton said a new coach will be introduced over the next several weeks.
Duke coach David Cutcliffe quashed any speculation about him returning to Tennessee to replace his good friend and former boss, Phillip Fulmer.
"I'm at Duke, staying at Duke,"
Cutcliffe said Tuesday.
Cutcliffe twice served on Tennessee's staff and spent eight years as the Volunteers' offensive coordinator. He came to Duke last December after a two-year stint in Knoxville and has called Fulmer "the best football coach I've ever been associated with."
Cutcliffe said he was being proactive because he spoke to recruits who said other coaches had told them that he was headed to the Volunteers.
Last night, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said he was not interested in the Tennessee job.
