The search for a new defensive coordinator has shown the total ineptness of Coach Dooley. It is even more troublesome when talking to people inside the athletic department. I fear that when all is done he will have taken our program to a level not seen in Knoxville since before General Neyland set foot on campus, and I am not alone in this assessment.
If its true that we have gone after the "top tier" guys, and have now started from scratch and we are currently adding position coaches with no DC experience to the list, that tells me his job security has as much to do with it as anything.
I like Steele, but he can't be an option at this point. Dooley can't walk up to the podium and say, "After an exhaustive nationwide search, the man I've selected to help me return UT to prominence is the guy who just finished 10th in the ACC in total defense and was the first D-coordinator, in more than 1,000 bowl games, to give up 70 points"
1. It takes weeks to build a barn, but only seconds for a jackass to knock it down. 2. His ability for rapid descent has already grown to near mythical proportion. Case in point: In 2 years, Dooley has five (5) 30+ point losses.....to find the next five (5) 30+ point losses, you have to go back to 1981....so he's done in 2 years what it took Majors, Fulmer and Kiffin to do in 30. 3. His unwillingness / inability (depending upon who you ask) to make a good hire is only asymptomatic of a much larger problem, namely, that he is honest-to-goodness unqualified to fulfill his duties, and overwhelmed by the magnitude of his position. Simply, he's like a deer in the headlights. And that's not 1-2 lower-level sources saying it, it's being repeated by many times over by those in the tightest circles. If I turned on the radio and heard that Dooley was let go the day after NSD, I cannot say that I would be shocked or caught completely unaware. And neither would he. Take it with a grain of salt, but I contend that there are several large boosters who are trying to rush this to a head, and who may ultimately succeed in it. Believe it or not, but as Torch alluded, it isn't just 1-2 casual boosters saying it.
Tenny, I feel like you're being too strong with #2. The failures under Dooley aren't necessarily Dooley driving things into the ground. It's more him inheriting an awful roster in a strong SEC. And even if his coaching is bad, he's still getting reasonable talent in. So that forms a sort of baseline as to how far he can drive the program. Always such that the coach that succeeds him will have something to work with. At least unless he continues to get time as coach after he stops being able to convince people to come to Tennessee. Which is unlikely. That said, point #3 is becoming hard to deny
Strong SEC or strong SEC West? I hate to think how much worse it'd be if the East wasn't such a joke. The record would still be the same, which I guess is the overall point, but there would probably be a few more historic losses to chalk up if Florida and Georgia weren't down relative to where they were in years prior.
Really just meant strong schedule. How many times have we had our talent situation so bad and played national title participants? I don't think it happened at all in the 90s or 00s. It's happened three times in the last two years
It just never [uck fay]ing ends. and to top it off, Bama wins another title. Has the Jim Jones crew started drinking yet? If not, i'd like to join.
I don't disagree with this, but that's still going a long way to say he'll set our program that far back. I doubt he'll ever win in the SEC, but I don't see him destroying the program or staying around long enough to do so. I would be very surprised if this happened. UT would need a hire in place, and probably a great hire for this to be worth it. Doesn't the AD need to let recruits know if a coaching change after signing day is possible?
I see that we have similar friends or the word is more widely spread than I realized. I still believe this is the absolute worst case situation, but I also will not write it off. However, Mike Hamilton is no longer in charge. Dave Hart will do what is best for the program, and he has at least one eye on Kirby Smart.