Trying to pinpoint the exact moment Sunday night when Vol Nation began to reconcile the pain of watching Bruce Pearl swoop in at Auburn and embracing the current staff and players at UT isn’t an exact science. The game Sunday was enjoyable from start to finish and Tennessee’s place inside the Sweet Sixteen seemed assured throughout.

But if we had to pick one moment, it was this:

It’s GREAT to be a Tennessee Vol!!! Next stop, Indy! #Sweet16Selfie pic.twitter.com/g7KCyptZJb

— Cuonzo Martin (@CuonzoMartin) March 24, 2014

With the advent of the Internet, email and text messaging, the written word has resumed the place it occupied for thousands of years prior to the invention of radio as the premiere form of mass communication. But a picture is still worth a thousand of those words. Coach Martin had not only won and won big but he also seemingly let his guard down. His fiery persona was on display throughout the game and seemed to be a release of months of intense self-discipline and self-control. But it was here, in this picture, that his humanity can be seen. The joy and pride in this accomplishment, notable for any program but particularly a Tennessee program for whom the Sweet Sixteen is rarefied air, momentarily relaxed a man who doesn’t sleep well and who has an intense drive to succeed.

You could, in that picture, feel the weight lift from Cuonzo Martin’s shoulders. My colleague Ryan Wooden understandably contemplates an uncertain future in a smart column posted yesterday. Predicting the future without that handy sports almanac from Back To The Future Two is dodgy. So I’m going to reference history: Dean Smith, upon inheriting the coaching job at the University of North Carolina, was dealing with the same sorts of issues Cuonzo Martin had. His predecessor, Frank McGuire, was every bit the showman and an even bigger winner than Bruce Pearl is today. As distracting and irritating and hurtful as having 36,000 people sign a petition that is seeking to give someone else your job might be, it’s not being hung in effigy. Dean Smith, was hung in effigy. Yet he started winning.

And he stayed.

Chapel Hill is a special place. So is Knoxville.

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski was also on the hot seat after his third year with the Blue Devils. Duke had known successful and entertaining coaches in Vic Bubas and Bill Foster. The decision to keep Krzyzewski was so controversial, in fact, that Athletic Director Tom Butters made a macabre joke to his wife. When she asked, due to the stress and outrage, if there was anything she could do to help, he asked her if she’d mind starting his car for him.

But Mike Krzyzewski won. Duke is running out of things to name after him.

Coach Cuonzo Martin has won big this year. The program is headed in the right direction. The Sword of Damocles that Bruce Pearl represented is nowhere near as strong, particularly if Auburn is weak next year. And, most importantly, Coach Martin is a winnable game away from taking Tennessee as deep in the NCAA’s as they’ve ever been. Michigan is weak inside. Tennessee is strong. The Vols have won in the NCAA Tournament partially by playing a “Big Ten” Style. They have every chance to do that again. Tennessee fans who apologize are right to do so. This is a crazy business and anything could happen. But that picture seems to indicate that, other than Tennessee paying Coach Martin what the market will demand for his efforts, the storm is over.

That picture is of a man who is finally feeling comfortable after a long time feeling the pressure.

It’s the moment Cuonzo Martin finally felt he could call Knoxville home.