Beginning in 1980, Fulmer served 13 years as a Vols assistant coach, initially as the offensive line coach, and then as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Linemen coached by Fulmer during this period include Bill Mayo,
Raleigh McKenzie,
Bruce Wilkerson,
Harry Galbreath,
Charles McRae,
Antone Davis, and
Tom Myslinski.
1992 season Johnny Majors was the coach of the Volunteers going into the 1992 season. However, a couple of weeks before the first game, Majors underwent quintuple-bypass heart surgery. Fulmer took over the role as interim head coach with
Heath Shuler as his quarterback. Fulmer helped lead the team to a 3–0 start with a 38–3 victory over
Southwestern Louisiana, a 34–31 victory over #14
Georgia, and a 31–14 victory over #4
Florida. Majors returned for the
Cincinnati game, a 40–0 victory, and the
LSU game, a 20–0 victory. However, the Vols dropped their next three games, a 25–24 loss to
Arkansas, a 17–10 loss to #4
Alabama, and a 24–23 loss to
South Carolina. Among growing dissent among the fanbase, Majors resigned due to his contract being bought out and Fulmer became the 20th head football coach in Tennessee history at the end of the season. The team recorded three wins, a 26–21 victory over
Memphis, a 34–13 victory over
Kentucky, a 29–25 victory over
Vanderbilt to close out the regular season. The team recorded a 38–23 victory over #16
Boston College in the
Hall of Fame Bowl to finish with a 9–3 record and a #12 ranking in the
AP Poll.
1993 season Going into his first full season as the Vols' head coach, Fulmer's Vols were ranked #10 going into the season opener against
Louisiana Tech. On September 4, the Vols defeated the Bulldogs by a score of 50–0. The next week, the Vols defeated the #22
Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 38–6. The first setback came in the next game against #9
Florida, a 41–34 loss in
The Swamp. The Vols won their next three games, a 42–20 victory over
LSU, a 52–19 victory over
Duke, and a 28–14 victory over
Arkansas to move to a 5–1 record. The next game, against #3
Alabama, was a rare 17–17 tie. Fulmer led the team to victories in the next four games against
South Carolina, #13
Louisville,
Kentucky, and
Vanderbilt to finish the regular season with a 9–1–1 record. In the
Citrus Bowl against #13
Penn State, the Volunteers fell 31–13 to finish Heath Shuler's final season with a 9–2–1 record and #12 in the AP Poll.
1994 season Going into the 1994 season, Fulmer's Vols were the preseason #13 team. The season started off with a 25–23 loss to
UCLA, the first season-opening loss of Fulmer's head coaching career. The Vols got their first win, a 41–23 win over the #23
Georgia Bulldogs, in the next game. The Vols faced a tough task in the next game against #1
Florida and fell 31–0. The Vols' struggles continued in the next game, a 24–21 loss to
Mississippi State to fall to 1–3 and unranked for the first time with Fulmer at the helm. However, despite the loss, Fulmer had a young
Peyton Manning as his quarterback due to injuries of previous starters
Jerry Colquitt and
Todd Helton. The Vols won their next two games, a 10–9 victory over #17
Washington State and a 38–21 victory over
Arkansas to get to 3–3 on the season. A rough 17–13 loss to #10
Alabama followed before a four-game winning streak, which included a 52–0 victory over
Kentucky and a 65–0 victory over
Vanderbilt to close out the season brought the Vols to a 7–4 record and a bowl game. The Vols faced off against #17
Virginia Tech in the
Gator Bowl and defeated them 45–23. The Vols finished 8–4 and #22 in the AP Poll despite their rough start to the season.
1995 season The Volunteers started the season with a #8 ranking, the highest to start a season under Fulmer to that point. The season started with back-to-back victories over
East Carolina (27–7) and
Georgia (30–27). The Vols suffered their first setback in a 62–37 defeat to #4
Florida. Fulmer led the team to eight straight victories to close out the regular season. In the winning streak was Fulmer's first victory over
Alabama, a 41–14 win in
Birmingham, Alabama. With a 10–1 record, the Vols played #4
Ohio State in the
Citrus Bowl and defeated the Buckeyes by a score of 20–14. The Vols finished with an 11–1 record and #3 in the final AP Poll for their best finish with Fulmer to that point.
1996 season The Vols started the 1996 season ranked #2 in the nation. Fulmer led the team to two victories over
UNLV (62–3) and
UCLA (35–20) to start the season. Similar to the previous season, the Vols' first setback came to the #4
Florida Gators, this time by a score of 35–29. The Vols rolled off four straight victories, including another victory for Fulmer over #7
Alabama. The Vols faced Memphis and were shocked by the Tigers by a score of 21–17. To close out the regular season, the Vols ran the table to finish 9–2. They faced the
Northwestern Wildcats in the
Citrus Bowl and won 48–28 to finish 10–2 and #9 in the final AP Poll. Fulmer led the team to consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time since 1971–1972 under
Bill Battle.
1997 season Fulmer's Vols started the 1997 season #5 in the nation and eventually finished in uncharted territory. With Peyton Manning, the Vols started with two victories over
Texas Tech (52–17) and
UCLA (30–24). Once again, the #3
Florida Gators defeated the Vols 33–20 for the first setback of the year. The Volunteers did recover from the defeat and won out in the regular season to finish with a 10–1 record. The Volunteers qualified for the
SEC Championship and faced off against the
Auburn Tigers and won 30–29 for their first conference championship since 1990. The Vols played against No. 2
Nebraska with a potential national championship at stake. However, the Vols fell 42–17 and finished with an 11–2 record and #7 in the final AP Poll. Despite the disappointing ending, Fulmer had brought the Volunteers to and sustained national prominence and greater things were on the horizon.
1998 season: national championship Due to the loss of Peyton Manning to the NFL, the Vols might not have been as respected going into the 1998 season. However, Fulmer had a new quarterback ready to go in
Tee Martin. The season started with a close 34–33 victory over the
Donovan McNabb-led
Syracuse Orangemen. Two weeks later, after years of defeat, the Vols finally overcame the #2
Florida Gators in a 20–17 overtime victory. The following game was a 42–7 victory over
Houston. On October 3, the Vols survived a close game with the
Auburn Tigers by a score of 17–9. Against the #7
Georgia Bulldogs in the next game, the Vols won 22–3. Fulmer continued his winning streak over
Alabama with a 35–18 victory. After two more wins against
South Carolina and
UAB, the top-ranked Vols faced off against #10
Arkansas. The Vols escaped with a 28–24 victory after recovering a late fumble by the Razorbacks to get the go-ahead score. The Vols closed out the regular season undefeated with wins over
Kentucky and
Vanderbilt. In the SEC Championship, the Vols defeated the #23
Mississippi State Bulldogs by a score of 24–14. The Vols made the
BCS National Championship game and faced off against the #2
Florida State Seminoles in the
1999 Fiesta Bowl. The Vols defeated the Seminoles by a score of 23–16. With the victory, the Volunteers won their first National Championship since 1967. Fulmer's senior class of the 1998 team compiled a record of 45–5, losing only to
Florida (three times),
Nebraska, and
Memphis. As a result of the 1998 season, Fulmer was named National Coach of the Year and SEC Coach of the Year.
1999 season Fresh off the National Championship, Fulmer's Vols started the season as the #2 team in the country. After a 42–17 victory against the
Wyoming Cowboys, the Vols dropped a game to the #4
Florida Gators by a score of 23–21. The Vols then won their next six games including another victory over #10
Alabama and a 38–14 victory over
Notre Dame. On November 13, the Vols lost 28–24 to
Arkansas before closing out the regular season with two wins to finish 9–2. In the
Fiesta Bowl, the Vols lost 31–21 to #3
Nebraska. Fulmer's streak of 10-win seasons was snapped, but the Vols finished #9 in the nation going into 2000. Fulmer was honored with the State Farm Eddie Robinson Coach of Distinction Award in December 1999.
2000 season The 2000 season brought Fulmer and the Vols some struggles early on in the season. The season started off with a narrow victory 19–16 victory over #22
Southern Miss. After the game, the City of Knoxville proclaimed September 9, 2000, as "Phillip Fulmer Day" in honor of the coach. However, the Vols lost the next game 27–23 to #6
Florida. After a 70–3 victory over
Louisiana–Monroe, the Vols dropped their next two games to
LSU by a score of 38–31 and #19
Georgia by a score of 21–10 to drop to 2–3 and unranked for the first time in several years under Fulmer. The Vols recovered and won their next six games, which included a 20–10 victory over
Alabama and a 17–14 victory over #17
South Carolina, to finish with an 8–3 record and qualified for a bowl game. In the
Cotton Bowl against
Kansas State, the Vols fell 35–21 and finished unranked for the first time under Fulmer.
2001 season Despite the disappointing ending to the 2000 season, the Vols started the 2001 season ranked #8 in the nation. The Vols started the season off with two wins over
Syracuse (33–9) and
Arkansas (13–3). Due to the
9/11 terrorist attacks, the Florida game had to be moved to later in the season. The Vols faced off against #14
LSU without having played in three weeks. The Vols won 26–18 to move Fulmer to 3–0 on the season. The Vols suffered their first setback against
Georgia in the next game, a 26–24 loss. The Vols followed the loss with a six-game winning streak to move to #5 in the nation and faced off with the #2
Florida Gators on December 1. The Vols won a close game against their rivals, 34–32, to go up against #21
LSU in the SEC Championship. The Vols controlled their own destiny in the National Championship race, but fell 31–20 to the
Nick Saban-led Tigers. In the
Citrus Bowl against #17
Michigan, the Vols won 45–17 to finish 11–2 and #4 in the country in the AP Poll. In 2001, Fulmer has named to the
Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.
2002 season Fulmer and the Vols had high expectations as a result of their #5 ranking to start the 2002 season. However, the season was inconsistent for the Vols. After two wins against
Wyoming and
Middle Tennessee State, the Vols dropped a game to the
Florida Gators by a score of 30–13. After two victories over
Rutgers and
Arkansas, the Vols dropped two games to #6
Georgia and #19
Alabama. The unranked Vols finished out the season with a 3–1 stretch to make a bowl game against
Maryland in the
2002 Peach Bowl. The Vols fell to the Terrapins by a score of 30–3 and finished with an 8–5 record.
2003 season Fulmer's Vols came into the 2003 season with a #14 ranking. The Vols started off the season with four straight victories to move to #8 in the country going into the
Auburn game. The Vols fell to the Tigers 28–21 for their first setback. The Vols dropped the next game to #8
Georgia by a score of 41–14. The Vols won their next six games, including a 5OT 51–43 victory over
Alabama, to finish with a 10–2 record. In the
2004 Peach Bowl against
Clemson, the Vols fell 27–14 to finish 10–3 and #15 in the final AP Poll.
2004 season Fulmer's Vols started the 2004 season #14 in the country. The Vols started off 3–0, including a 30–28 victory over the #11
Florida Gators in the last matchup with Gator head coach
Ron Zook. The Vols lost the next game against the #8
Auburn Tigers by a score of 34–10 before winning four straight, including a 19–14 over #3
Georgia. On November 6, the Vols lost to
Notre Dame by a score of 17–13 before winning out to finish 9–2. In a rematch with the #3 Auburn Tigers in the
SEC Championship, the Vols fell 38–28. In the
2005 Cotton Bowl against #22
Texas A&M, Fulmer led the Vols to a 38–7 victory to finish 10–3 and 13th in the final AP Poll.
2005 season In 2005, Fulmer's pre-season #3 Volunteers had very high expectations. However, for the first time in his tenure, Fulmer's Volunteers struggled mightily by the standards that were established. After a close 17–10 victory over
UAB, the Vols fell to the #6
Florida by a score of 16–7. After a 30–27 victory over #3
LSU and a 27–10 victory over
Ole Miss, the Vols lost four straight games to stand at 3–5. The Vols ended up 5–6, losing to in-state SEC rival
Vanderbilt for the first time in his 14-year tenure. The losing season also kept Tennessee out of a
bowl game for the first time since
1988, a streak of 16 years, which was the third-longest in the NCAA.
2006 season Despite their abysmal finish to the 2005 season, Fulmer's Vols started the 2006 season ranked #23. The team started with two straight wins over #9
California and
Air Force before dropping a game to #7
Florida Gators by score of 21–20. The Vols reeled off five straight wins before dropping two games to #13
LSU and #11
Arkansas. The Vols won their last two regular season games to finish 9–3 and face
Penn State in the
2007 Outback Bowl. The Vols fell to the Nittany Lions by a score of 20–10 to finish 9–4 and #25 in the final poll.
2007 season Fulmer's Vols started the season ranked #15. The Vols dropped their opening game to the #12
California Golden Bears by a score of 45–31. After a 39–19 win over
Southern Miss, the Vols dropped a game to #5
Florida Gators by a score of 59–20. They won their next three games, a 48–27 victory over
Arkansas State, a 35–14 upset against #12
Georgia, and a 33–21 victory over
Mississippi State. The next week, Tennessee suffered a setback in a 41–17 loss to
Alabama. Tennessee went on a five-game winning streak to close out the season, which included a 27–24 victory over #15
South Carolina. The Vols finished with a 9–3 record, won the SEC East, and qualified for the SEC Championship. Against #5
LSU, the Vols fell 21–14. In the
2008 Outback Bowl against
Wisconsin, the Vols won 21–17 to finish 10–4 and #12 in the final AP Poll.
2008 season The Vols started the 2008 season as #18 in the country. The team dropped their season opener to
UCLA by a score of 27–24 in overtime and fell out of the rankings. In the next game, the Vols got their first victory of the a season, a 35–3 result against
UAB. Tennessee dropped their next two games against #4
Florida by a score of 30–6 and #15
Auburn by a score of 14–12. After a narrow 13–9 victory over
Northern Illinois, the Vols dropped a game by a score of 26–14 to #10
Georgia. The Vols recorded their first conference win in the next game against
Mississippi State 34–3 before dropping a 29–9 result to #2
Alabama and a 27–6 result to
South Carolina to fall to 3–6. After the 3–6 start, Fulmer came under increased scrutiny from Tennessee fans, leaving skepticism about how long he would remain Tennessee's head football coach despite having just received a contract extension after the
2007 season. Tennessee athletic director
Mike Hamilton finally notified Fulmer of his dismissal on November 2, 2008, due mainly to a conversation that Hamilton had with fellow parishioner, who was only known to the congregation as Peef. The next day, he agreed to step down as head coach following the season. That week, the Vols suffered a loss at the hands of
Wyoming, a 26-point underdog. Fulmer completed his long tenure at the University of Tennessee with a 28–10 win over
Kentucky on November 29, 2008.
Lane Kiffin was hired by
Mike Hamilton to succeed Fulmer as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers.
Legacy Fulmer had a reputation as an ace recruiter, leading many analysts to praise him as one of the game's top head coach recruiters. Despite his decline over the last several years of his career, Fulmer's winning percentage was still among the top in the country for head coaches who had over ten years' experience. After winning the National Championship in 1998, a street near Neyland Stadium was renamed "Phillip Fulmer Way". During Fulmer's tenure, Tennessee had a seven-game winning streak over longtime rival Alabama from 1995 to 2001. The winning streak marked the longest for a Tennessee coach in the
Third Saturday in October. Fulmer never lost to the
Kentucky Wildcats, winning 17 straight games. ==Post-coaching career==