Former Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer

Chattanooga athletic director David Blackburn has been viewed for months as one of the leading candidates to be Tennessee’s next athletic director, but he’s not the only contender for the job.

Former Vols football coach Phillip Fulmer also has made it clear he’s interested in replacing outgoing athletic director Dave Hart, and GoVols247’s John Brice reported Sunday that Blackburn and Fulmer are viewed as the top two finalists for the job.

During an appearance on “Sport Talk" on WGOW in Chattanooga, Tenn., Blackburn said Thursday that he’s “not that surprised” Fulmer is interested in the job but added that being an athletic director is “a different deal” from coaching.

“I have nothing but good things to say about Coach,” Blackburn said. “Today’s game has changed, and you’ve got to be current and up-to-date with what’s going on. And hopefully he is, if that’s what they choose to do. …

“He did a good job as a football coach. Being AD’s a different deal, and he may be one to float that, if that’s what they choose. Who knows?”

Tennessee is looking for a replacement for Hart, who announced in August that he would retire as athletic director this year. The search is expected to move forward with the university’s new chancellor, Beverly Davenport, officially having started in Knoxville on Wednesday.

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GoVols247 reported Sunday that there’s no scenario in which Blackburn would serve as Tennessee’s No. 2 in command under Fulmer.

Blackburn confirmed to WGOW that he “will not be an associate at another school.”

“I love UTC. I love being the AD here,” Blackburn said. “They’ve been great to me. Hopefully I’ve been decent to the school. I do not want to move (to) a number-two role. And that has nothing to do with whoever the AD is. I’m not looking for that. Has nothing to do with Coach. I like Coach a lot, and he was great for me. But I wouldn’t be an associate in that role.

“Now, in terms of, would I help him and his legendary status if things were to go a certain way, at any moment in time — whether I’m here, there or wherever? Absolutely, I would. I think he deserves it and should be recognized for all the good that he did do.”

But Blackburn said he “absolutely” would be open to Fulmer working on his staff in a fundraising role, referencing Florida’s hiring of former football coach Steve Spurrier as an ambassador and consultant as a possible example.

“I think exactly what Florida did was the right thing,” Blackburn said. “I think you have to honor the past with folks like that. They connect with them. I think that is very important, and I do. Whether they do it or not is ultimately their call. But, yeah, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with those kinds of roles.

“Florida just did it, and others have. They didn’t write the book on it. But, yeah, absolutely. It’d be foolish not to, just like a Condredge Holloway or a George Cafego, God rest his soul, if he was alive — someone like that, absolutely.”

Blackburn spent more than two decades in various roles throughout Tennessee’s athletic department, most recently serving as the Vols’ senior associate athletics director for administration under Hart, before becoming Chattanooga’s athletic director in 2013.

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