Been sort of out of pocket for the last several days during the whole sifting of the Tennessee Volunteer coaching staff. This post should serve as a record of me catching up.

Of course, it all started Sunday with head coach Phillip Fulmer announcing the firing of offensive line coach Jimmy Ray Stephens and receivers Coach Pat Washington.

“I appreciate everything Jimmy Ray and Pat have done for Tennessee over the years,” Fulmer said. “This was a difficult decision to make, but I feel it is in the best interest for the future of our football program.”

On Monday, the Vols officially announced the re-hiring of David Cutcliffe as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator to take the place of former offensive coordinator Randy Sanders, who fell on his sword on October 31, 2005.

Some key info about Cutcliffe:

Under Cutcliffe’s tutelage as offensive coordinator from 1993-98, Tennessee twice led the Southeastern Conference in total offense and three times was the league’s rushing leader. The Vols finished no worse than fifth in scoring offense, including leading the SEC in 1993 and placing second nationally with an average of 42.8 points per game.

The Vols were 63-11 during that span with three SEC Eastern Division crowns, two league championships and the 1998 national title. Cutcliffe received the Frank Broyles Award in 1998 as the nation’s top assistant coach and was a finalist for the honor in 1997.

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. . . Cutcliffe supervised the development of future NFL first-round draft picks Heath Shuler and Peyton Manning as they rewrote the Tennessee records book. Before them, Cutcliffe mentored Andy Kelly, who has gone on to a long and noteworthy career in arena football.

All told, Cutcliffe has coached eight players who became first-round NFL draft picks, including Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning and running back Deuce McAllister. The Manning brothers both were overall No. 1 draft picks.

The early reaction has been generally positive. SportsAnimal99 host Dave Hooker said on his radio show that he went to the press conference thinking Cutcliffe was a “very good hire” but left thinking he was a “fantastic hire.”

I hear what he’s talking about, and I think it’s because Cutcliffe is saying all the right things. Have a listen to Hooker’s interview with Coach Cutcliffe (subscription required), especially Cutcliffe’s response to the question about whether the team will change its run-blocking scheme, which begins the 6:55 mark. The key comment concerns the aggression (or lack thereof) of the former scheme: “It is very difficult to be on defense offensively.” Music to fans’ ears.

John Pennington has more on the David Cutcliffe Love Parade and Cutcliffe’s quarterback knack, including this insightful bit:

I also think it’s important to remember that Cutcliffe had a knack for putting his QBs in good situations for THEM. Heath Shuler wasn’t asked to be the Check-Machine that Peyton Manning was. Manning wasn’t asked to run draws like Shuler and Tee Martin were.

Pennington cautions Volunteer fans not to get too excited, though:

Smart move? Yes.

Guaranteed success? No. But what move would have been?

Tennessee Volunteer wide receiver Robert Meachem discusses dropped passes:

My thing is, you drop a ball, you’re dropping money for your mom.

You play the game to have fun, but in other ways you want to help your mom and help everybody in your family get to do some things they’d love to do.

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To me it was like I really lost the [Notre Dame] game because if I had caught those two passes we would have had a chance to win . . . . I replay those plays in my head every day thinking about what I could have done different.

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Guys say forgive and forget. I can forgive myself, but I just can’t forget those two plays.

Both those balls Erik threw, he couldn’t have thrown them any better. I should have laid out for the first one, and the second one I should have just run through and got it.

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I’m probably my own worst critic. I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself ever since I was in elementary school.

I used to play running back, and if they pitched it to me and I fumbled it I would be so mad at myself.

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When the ball’s in the air, you’re supposed to go get it. That’s what PW teaches us all the time.

You watch T.O. (Terrell Owens), Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, you watch all those big-name guys, when the ball’s in the air — on the fade or whatever it is — they go get it.

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It’s really frustrating because last year we had the same team. The only thing different is we’re a little bit better than we were last year.

It’s a break here and there in every game. We’re still the same guys. We still want to make those same plays. Just right now, it’s not going our way.

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I love catching the ball, blocking and having fun with my teammates. That’s just two passes, but to me that’s 100 yards you might have had.

I’ve got a lot of games to play, but maybe one day I’ll make those catches. Then maybe I’ll be making those catches in the NFL that I dropped at Notre Dame.