Different views on going 0-8 in the SEC
Tennessee Athletic Director Phillip Fulmer is about as approachable and friendly as any College Football Hall of Fame coach can be.
New Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt, meanwhile, has a no-nonsense approach, and his competitive intensity can lead to blunt answers.
But when talk turned to the Vols’ 0-8 record in the SEC in 2017 during the final stop on the Big Orange Caravan recently, it was a role reversal of sorts.
Fulmer, who has dedicated 37 years of his life to playing or working for Tennessee, was irritated by the reference.
“Every time someone says 0-8, it sickens my stomach, to be honest with you,” Fulmer said, a scowl replacing his smile.
“I know where Tennessee athletics, period, should be in all sports, Tennessee football particularly,” said Fulmer, who took over as athletic director Dec. 1. “So that gets the juices going, and we have the most passionate fans you could ever imagine.”
No doubt, Vols fans were ready for a coaching change even before the season ended. Butch Jones was fired with the team at 4-6 overall and 0-6 in league play with two games remaining.
Interim coach Brady Hoke failed to win either of the final two games, even with then-redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Guarantano returning from a right-ankle injury to make the fifth and sixth starts of his career.
Pruitt was coaching the best defense in the nation last season en route to helping Alabama to another national title, and he handled the question in stride.
Pruitt indicated he won’t allow the 0-8 SEC campaign from 2017 to define the Vols in 2018. By Ciaran Fahey BERLIN — Germany coach Joachim Loew is brimming with confidence weeks before what he calls the country’s “golden generation” begins its World Cup defense against Mexico.
“I have a very good feeling,” Loew said at the team’s training camp in South Tyrol, Italy. “I don’t know what will happen with this golden generation after the tournament. It’s possible there will be a breakup. But all the players are on fire for the World Cup.”
Germany is one of the favorites in Russia despite the retirements of Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose since winning the tournament in Brazil four years ago.
Players such as Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, Mats Hummels and Thomas Mueller have grown into leading figures with the side, which wrapped up qualification with 10 wins from 10 games and 43 goals, a record number of goals for a European team in qualifying.
Now they are charged with attempting to make Germany the first team to retain the title since Brazil in 1962.
“I don’t have to coax new craving or new enthusiasm from the players,” Loew said in comments reported by news agency dpa. “The craving and ambition are still there, even among those who became world champions.”
Germany’s only worries concern the fitness of captain Manuel Neuer, defender Jerome Boateng and midfielder Mesut Ozil. Neuer hasn’t played since September with a hairline fracture in his left foot after being injured in training. Boateng is still recovering from a thigh injury sustained in the Champions League semifinals. Ozil missed Arsenal’s last few games of the season with back problems.
Team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt gave Ozil the green light to start training with the team.
“We don’t want to make any mistakes,” Loew said of Boateng. “I think he’ll be able to at least take part in some team training next week.”
Neuer, too, is being given every chance to prove his fitness. Loew named four goalkeepers in his 27-man preliminary squad and is hoping that the 32-year-old Neuer won’t be the one sent home before FIFA’s Monday deadline for final squads to be submitted.
“He can tolerate all the strains, even the most strenuous strains like jumping,” Loew said. “If he has the feeling he can perform at 100 percent he can be at the World Cup.”
Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen will keep the No. 1 spot if Neuer doesn’t recover fully.
Ter Stegen was to join the rest of the squad recently, along with Bayern’s Hummels, Mueller, Joshua Kimmich and Niklas Suele, as well as Chelsea defender Antonio Ruediger.
“It’s clear to everyone that the training camp is to get the required strength and power for the tournament. The fuel has to be there,” said Loew, who also hopes it boosts team spirit. “Everyone has to know that he is just a puzzle piece for success. Nobody can be world champion on their own.”
Loew recently signed a contract extension through the next World Cup in Qatar in 2022. The 58-year-old former assistant coach took over after the 2006 World Cup and has led Germany to the semifinal stage or further in every major tournament since.
Germany has two warmup matches, against Austria in Klagenfurt on Saturday and Saudi Arabia six days later in Leverkusen, to iron out any pretournament issues.