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In a stunning turn of events, the University of Tennessee fired AD John Currie this morning in the middle of a disastrous coaching search. As most expected, Tennessee will turn to Phillip Fulmer to fill the role. Jimmy Hyams had the scoop.
While UT considered Reid Sigmon for interim AD job to replace the fired John Currie, Phillip Fulmer will be named the athletic director at the 4 pm presser, but don't know if full time or interim. With Fulmer at the helm, don't be surprised if pool of candidates opens up.
— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) December 1, 2017
Volquest confirmed. It’s unclear if the position is permanent.
Source confirms @JimmyHyams report: Phillip Fulmer will serve as Tennessee’s new athletics director. Unclear if it’s an interim tag or a full-time role. Fulmer will lead the coaching search.
— Volquest Staff (@Volquest_Rivals) December 1, 2017
It appears that confidence was lost in Currie after several failed attempts to hire a new football coach this week. The Greg Schiano fiasco got the ball rolling, but misses on Mike Gundy, Jeff Brohm, Dave Doeren — along with an apparent lone wolf attempt to hire Mike Leach — did Currie in with people that matter at Tennessee.
Currie was hired on February 28th of this year. Fulmer was a candidate for the job when Currie was hired.
Chancellor Beverly Davenport will hold a press conference today at 4 PM eastern to update the situation.