Vandy's Stallings stands up for Tennessee coach Martin

Published Feb. 27, 2014 7:18 p.m. ET

foxsports

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings says ''it's absolutely a joke'' that Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin is facing questions about job security in his third season.

Tennessee (17-11, 8-7 SEC) could miss the NCAA tournament for a third straight year and that has led to a drop in attendance, criticism from some fans on talk radio and an online fan petition to bring back Bruce Pearl, who preceded Martin.

Stallings said Thursday that ''hopefully the powers that be over at Tennessee will tune those idiots out and give the guy the kind of time he deserves to do the job he needs to do.''

Vanderbilt (15-12, 7-8) plays at Tennessee on Saturday.

Stallings and Martin are both former Purdue players and assistants, though they weren't there at the same time.