UT plane in Raleigh but not for Cutcliffe

DURHAM — Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer is trying to stay afloat in Knoxville amid talk that he should retire or be fired. That’s also prompting speculation of a possible return to UT by new Duke coach David Cutcliffe, Fulmer’s former offensive coordinator.

Adding to it: A University of Tennessee plane stopped briefly in Raleigh late Sunday night then returned to Knoxville in the wee hours Monday morning. Later Monday, it went on to Stillwater, Okla., home of Oklahoma State University.

Cutcliffe told The N&O on Tuesday: “It wasn’t here for me.”

A UT spokeswoman, Elizabeth Davis, said Tuesday the stop in Raleigh was to drop off UT President John Petersen for a Southeast U.S.-Japan conference. Asked if the coach and the president would meet, she said, “I suspect Coach Cutcliffe is busy preparing for the Vanderbilt game.”

Fulmer is on the hot seat because Tennessee is 3-4 — and in last place at 1-3 in the SEC, with a home game against No. 2 Alabama on Saturday. The offense, without Cutcliffe, has labored this season.

In an interview with the Knoxville News-Sentinel last week, Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton confirmed that some boosters are discussing Fulmer’s possible replacement, though he characterized the talks as “limited.”

Cutcliffe called any theories or rumors that involved him returning to Tennessee “completely silly.”

“I don’t think anything is going to happen to Coach Fulmer,” Cutclife said of his close friend and former boss. “I’m not even going to speculate on that. He’s such a good friend it would hurt me even to speculate.”

Cutcliffe spent 19 years during two different stints at Tennessee, book-ends on a six-year run as the head coach at Ole Miss. The Volunteers, under Fulmer and with Cutcliffe, were 85-19 with two SEC titles and one national title. Without Cutcliffe, Fulmer’s record is 65-30.

Cutcliffe said he understands why football watchers might connect his name back to the program that he left in December to coach at Duke.

“It’s because of my years at Tennessee,” Cutcliffe said. “That’s why it’s naturally talked about. But it’s not something I could even fathom. Like I said, Phillip Fulmer belongs at Tennessee. I wouldn’t say no or yes to either thought. I wouldn’t want to give credibility to either.”

Duke University does not release contract details for its coaches. Cutcliffe said he was told never to discuss his contract. But asked if he was committed to Duke for the length it, Cutcliffe said yes.

“I can confirm that my total commitment and total focus is 100 percent on Duke and what we’re doing,” he said.