When the news came down Sunday that Mark Richt would no longer be the head coach at Georgia, there were thousands of people in the state of Tennessee that knowingly shook their heads.

They’d seen this story play out before.

In fact, seven years later, they’re still living it.

You see, back in 2008, the Tennessee football program was a national power that could no longer stand the idea of “underachieving” under the direction of longtime coach Phillip Fulmer.

Much like Richt, the cumulative results of Fulmer’s work are pretty impressive.

He won 74.5 percent of the games he coached at Tennessee, sporting a sterling 152-52 all-time record. He won the SEC East six times in 17 seasons, won the SEC championship twice and won a national championship during the 1998 season.

Prior to his 2008 firing, he had won the SEC East as recently as the 2007 season.

But, much like the situation for Richt at Georgia, the expectations for the Vols fan base had reached a level at which his production was no longer satisfying.

Tennessee wanted a breath of fresh air. Someone new and exciting.

Seven seasons, 87 games and three head coaches later, the Vols are just now starting to show signs of recovering from the decision that Fulmer simply wasn’t good enough for the job anymore.

The Vols hired Lane Kiffin, who at the time was one of the hottest names in coaching. And with a young, brash personality, he was the antithesis to Fulmer’s steady hand.

He lasted exactly one season before leaving for USC. Then Derek Dooley was hired and that turned out to be a disaster. And now, the jury is still out on whether current coach Butch Jones can bring them back to the level Fulmer had the program at for so long.

Jones’ eight-win season this year is the most the Vols have seen since 2007, and it is a win total that Vols fans are rightfully celebrating.

But for perspective, Tennessee reached eight wins in 15 of the 17 seasons that Fulmer was in charge.

Here’s a look at how the Vols coaching hires have fared in comparison to Fulmer:

NAME RECORD BOWL GAMES SEC EAST TITLES
Phillip Fulmer (1992-2008) 152-52 15 6
Lane Kiffin (2009) 7-6 1 0
Derek Dooley (2010-12) 15-21 1 0
Butch Jones (2013-present) 20-17 1+ 0

Starting to get a little nauseous, Georgia fans?

We haven’t even gotten to the part about how similar Fulmer and Richt really are:

Phillip Fulmer Mark Richt
Win-Loss record 152-52 145-51
Winning percentage .745 .740
SEC East titles 6 6
SEC championships 2 2
Bowl records 8-7 9-5
National titles 1 0

Now, is probably a good time to mention that every situation is different and every coaching hire is a success or failure on its own merit.

Just because the idea of hiring a new coach sent Tennessee spiraling into turmoil for the better part of a decade doesn’t mean Georgia is destined for the same fate.

The Bulldogs have a very attractive job and should have no problem bringing in one of the best coaches in the country. He may lead them to multiple national championships and make letting go of Mark Richt seem like a brilliant move.

But Tennessee stands as a reminder that things aren’t always greener on the other side of the fence. The Vols are 43-44 since Phillip Fulmer left the sidelines at Tennessee.

Let’s hope that the Bulldogs don’t have a similar fate awaiting them.