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NASHVILLE -- John Chavis paused to wipe the tears running down his face, his bottom lip quivering as he realized the Tennessee football team's season finale Saturday against Kentucky could be his final trip to Neyland Stadium.

It will be the painful end of an era for UT's longtime defensive coordinator, but likely not the final chapter of his coaching career.

An emotional Chavis discussed his future plans Saturday in greater detail than at any point since the Nov. 3 announcement of coach Phillip Fulmer's impending departure, admitting he hopes to find his first head-coaching job and that he already has been contacted about several opportunities.

"There will be some opportunities out there. ... I hope that I'll have an opportunity to be a head coach. There may be some opportunities out there for that to happen, obviously on a different level. If that happens, then that's something that I would entertain," Chavis said.

"There's several schools in the country that I would consider going to and doing the same thing that I'm doing here, and certainly I would consider this school. And there's opportunities in the NFL, and there's some of those that have already been expressed."

Chavis said there also is "a very strong possibility" he could spend next year away from coaching, at least on a full-time basis.

"I may take a year off -- not completely, but a year off in terms of being a coach -- and go somewhere and volunteer so I can stay current and get back into it," Chavis said.

"I may need a little time off. I've done this for 30 years. I haven't regretted a minute of it. It's fun. I love the association with the kids. But the last six weeks or so, it's been a trying time for us all. We've got to sort through all those and decide what's going to be best, and there's a lot of thoughtful prayer into this.

"I want to be where I can do the best for the young people that I'm going to be around, and that's what's important to me."

As for having an opportunity to stay at UT under Fulmer's successor, Chavis said he doesn't "see that happening" but is "not going to close any doors."

Chavis has served as defensive coordinator under Fulmer since 1995.

"I am just looking forward to the future and, to be honest with you, it is not getting here fast enough," Chavis said. "I don't mean that with any bitterness or mean that wrong. I just want to get this behind us and move on and do something."

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FAN FAVORITE: Fulmer left the field at Vanderbilt Stadium to cheers from a large contingent of Tennessee fans after the Vols' 20-10 victory over the Commodores.

It was just the latest outpouring of support for Fulmer since his announcement this season would be his last as UT's head coach.

Fulmer described the past 19 days as "a three-week-long funeral," adding a jab aimed at athletic director Mike Hamilton for deciding to make a coaching change with three games remaining in the season.

"You've got a lot of people who call and e-mailed and faxed and written lots and lots of notes. I do appreciate it. It doesn't make you feel ... it makes you feel warm about it, but it doesn't make you feel any better," Fulmer said.

"It's been like a three-week-long funeral in some ways. I don't think I would encourage any athletic director to do it that way. That's made it tough on everybody."

Still, Fulmer insisted he's not all that angry about being forced out.

"You know, a good friend of mine told me -- and it's true -- bitterness or resentment is like taking poison and expecting someone else to die," Fulmer said. "I just, I'm not going to live that way. I just choose not to. Certainly, I do think if we'd been given the opportunity that we would have turned it around and gotten back to where we wanted to be. I do believe that with all my heart. ...

"Would I have liked for it to be different? Certainly. I have responsibility in this, too, to let it get to a point where somebody felt like they had to make a decision. Whether it was the right decision or wrong one, we can agree to disagree."

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QUARTERBACK SHUFFLE: Redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Coleman replaced junior Jonathan Crompton on UT's third possession of the game after Crompton threw an interception on his first pass attempt.

Neither quarterback was much of a factor -- Coleman completed 4 of 8 passes for 21 yards and threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, while Crompton returned later in the game but didn't throw again -- but it marked the first significant playing time of Coleman's career.

Fulmer said the Vols had planned to play Coleman on their third series regardless of Crompton's performance, but he later decided to stick with Coleman.

Fulmer also chose to go back to Crompton in the fourth quarter and allow him to finish the game.

"They did a good job of mixing me and Jon in there," said Coleman, who also ran for 17 yards on seven rushes, several of them coming on called draw plays.

"Jon got in in the second half there, in the fourth quarter, and did a good job of handing the ball off to Arian. We put it on the shoulders of our O-line."

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GROUND GAINS: Tennessee ran for 222 yards against the Commodores, its second-highest rushing total of the year.

The Vols kept the ball on the ground early and often, running 51 times while throwing a season-low nine passes.

Sophomore tailback Lennon Creer led eight UT rushers with a game-high 13 carries for 80 yards. Senior starting tailback Arian Foster returned from a thigh bruise to pile up 53 yards on 11 carries, moving into second place on UT's all-time career rushing list.

"We came up early in the game and pounded the ball, and in the second half we continued to do the same thing," said junior tailback Montario Hardesty, who finished with 41 yards and a touchdown on seven rushes in his first start since 2006.

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THE REAL MCCOY: Junior linebacker Rico McCoy looks like his old self again, Chavis said, after disappointing coaches earlier this season by missing several tackles and not playing up to his expected All-Southeastern Conference level.

Fulmer referred to the healing of shoulder and wrist injuries that hampered McCoy in past weeks as the cause for his recently improved performances.

McCoy was credited with a team-leading 11 tackles, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry Saturday.

"The last six, seven weeks, he's played as well as any linebacker we've had around," Chavis said of McCoy.

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INJURY REPORT: Vols sophomore cornerback Brent Vinson, who intercepted a pass from Vandy quarterback Mackenzi Adams and returned it 69 yards to set up a Daniel Lincoln field goal just before halftime, injured his right leg late in the game.

Vinson said another player stepped on him. A spike from the opponent's cleat, Vinson said, poked a visible hole in the side of his leg.

"It's pretty hurt right now ... but I think I'll be all right," Vinson said. "I'm able to walk. I'm limping a little bit, but at first I felt like I couldn't walk."