Philip Fulmer To Resign Today

 

According to some breaking news by ESPN.com’s Chris Low, long-time head coach Phillip Fulmer will not be returning for an 18th season with Tennessee.

Fulmer reached a “mutual agreement with both parties,” Low reported, and there will be a formal announcement later today. The dean of SEC coaches, Fulmer took over full-time in 1993, winning 150 games during his tenure.

This year, however, a Vols team that opened in the top 25 has stumbled to a 3-6 record, including a 29-9 home loss Alabama followed by a defeat at South Carolina the past two weeks. Speculation has been rampant about Fulmer’s demise.

The decision ends a 16-plus year career for the dean of SEC coaches. A news conference inside Neyland Stadium will take place this afternoon at 5 p.m. Eastern, where Fulmer will “step aside.”

The Manchester, Tenn., native and former Tennessee offensive linemen is due $6 million for the remaining term of a contract that was renewed for seven years in July. The money is to be paid in equal installments over 48 months.

Fulmer joins Clemson’s Tommy Bowden as head coaches who have lost to Alabama this year and not made it through the end of the 2008 season.