The SEC Forum at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

the accusation is misplaced in @rolltidefan 's post, is my point.   Phil is gonna be the guy to benefit (apparently) but it isn't his doing.. it's the doing of the movers and shakers behind him- who feel they can use him to execute whatever it is they require, without having the obstacle of Currie, Davenport, and Haslam cutting them off at the knees (and, presumably, making gain off of whatever it is the group behind Fulmer seek to make gain from).

haslam isn't going anywhere.  he sit's atop the flying J/pilot chain, owns the brown's, and has a brother as a governor of tennessee... he's as embedded as Phil is.  

if fulmer is allowing himself to be used for that purpose (intentionally or not) then he's part of the problem.
haslam, if he's pulling most of the strings behind scenes, and appears so, is public enemy #1 imo. but fulmer is also culpable.
this seems so much like the 00 bama fiasco imo. power brokers not willing to let people hired to do their work.

fwiw, bryant jr is still very much involved and he wasn't the main one making a problem before (was all of them really) but they've all stepped aside and let things be run by the people hired to run them. at least while saban is here. hopefully they've all learned not to meddle to much. i have my doubts.

1) Come up with a bunch of money

2) Hire whoever you want

Ref: Texas A&M

Looks to be official now... Jimbo Fisher leaving FSU for A&M.  Won't coach FSU's last regular season game tomorrow.  Pressers coming soon.

This situation feels like the exact opposite of the Tennessee debacle.  Whereas they have crap the bed at every turn during their coaching search.... A&M handled this situation to near perfection.  

As far as public perception, I guess so.  
I also see Aggie just bought out Sumlin's eyebrow-raising contract, very possibly with the insane assistant's contracts (like Chavis....y'all are on the hook for every penny with him too, just like Sumlin, he jumped to A&M because he refused to be tied to the HC and LSU wouldn't budge on that), then bought out Jimbo's insane contract and presumably doubled down on the Sumlin Precedent.  Jimbo almost certainly has A&M by the balls in an unheard-of fashion.  I just wonder what it's gonna take to be considered worth it, and I'm highly skeptical he can deliver.  
It better work out for them, because they just went full Aggie on this.  He's gonna go 8-4 next year and my Aggie cousins' reactions are gonna be glorious.  

That school and its fans are way too spoiled these days not to overreact in handling Saban's void.  And whatever and whoever they come up with absolutely will not succeed at Saban's level, but rather than realize that's because he's the GOAT, there'll be a mad dash and power struggle to "fix" whatever the "incompetents" are doing, and then all hell will break loose. 

Gee, I've never seen that happen.

As far as public perception, I guess so.  
I also see Aggie just bought out Sumlin's eyebrow-raising contract, very possibly with the insane assistant's contracts (like Chavis....y'all are on the hook for every penny with him too, just like Sumlin, he jumped to A&M because he refused to be tied to the HC and LSU wouldn't budge on that), then bought out Jimbo's insane contract and presumably doubled down on the Sumlin Precedent.  Jimbo almost certainly has A&M by the balls in an unheard-of fashion.  I just wonder what it's gonna take to be considered worth it, and I'm highly skeptical he can deliver.  
It better work out for them, because they just went full Aggie on this.  He's gonna go 8-4 next year and my Aggie cousins' reactions are gonna be glorious.  

Eh..... I doubt it... for 2 reasons.
One, your Aggie cousins aren't the big money donors funding this whole shebang.  
Two... given our schedule next season, most reasonable Ags would be fine with an 8-4 or 9-3 type season.  We play Clemson and Bama within the first 4 weeks of the season... and don't forget at Auburn a few weeks later.  That's 3 potential CFP participants on the slate right there.  Nevermind at MSU and LSU to finish the season.  
But to your point... yes, he's gonna have to deliver to justify the insane money that just got thrown his way.  

A&M, Auburn, and LSU want to be positioned when Saban retires, whenever that may be (five years?).

So does Tennessee and UF of course.

We all agree the HC is pivotal, so folks are taking shots.

And one year doesn't make Smart a smart hire, but it looks good now.