The BottomLine: Defensive Coordinator Search Edition

Inevitability

This search has ultimately brought a feeling of inevitability to me, meaning I believe that Derek Dooley will not survive past the 2012 season. Now, many of you here on the 8th obviously already share that sentiment, and I now agree. To be honest, although Dooley was anything but a "name" or even a good hire, I have always felt somewhat sorry for him because it seems he's had downright bad luck. So, in a strange sort of way, I have always kind of hoped against hope that he would defy the common sense impression of him, which is that he's a failure as a head coach that never deserved the Tennessee job. What he needed in order to begin to change the downward descent of his tenure was a huge hire, a name hire as a defensive coordinator. Randy Shannon would have been a huge step in the right direction for Dooley's program, but that obviously isn't going to happen. Brian Van Gorder would have been an equally impressive hire from a perception standpoint, but he chose Auburn instead. Ron Zook would even have come somewhat close to accomplishing that goal, but it seems talks with him were never serious. And, to make matters worse, the numerous reports that Randy Shannon had been hired only make it seem like Derek Dooley has failed that much more. So, while I think Sal Sunseri is a decent hire, Derek Dooley couldn't afford a decent hire. He needed a homerun, and Sunseri's about a double.

I Don't Blame Derek Dooley
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I know a popular sentiment here and across this fanbase is an extreme dislike for Derek Dooley. People call him everything from an arrogant prick to an incompetent fool who should have never been hired in the first place. However, it's hard for me to fault him for taking this job; he would have been insane to turn it down. I also don't really care that he's arrogant. Truth be told, most major college head coaches are probably ass holes to be around. Dooley was essentially a person that wasn't qualified to hold this job, and he has been brought in to tackle a mammoth rebuilding project. He was doomed before he began. And, now, 2 years in, he's being asked to replace basically his entire coaching staff, assuming Harry Hiestand hits the road, as it looks like is increasingly possible. The much maligned athletic director that hired Dooley "retired." The new athletic director, in recent interviews with the media, made very clear that Dooley has a year to turn it around, and then his 2 best and brightest coaches have headed for the West Coast to get the hell outta Dodge. And, now, Dooley's faced with the impossible task of putting together a championship level staff while he's clearly on the hotseat. It's an impossible situation. As I look at it now, it's unfair to expect Dooley to succeed under these circumstances.

Why Would Sal Sunseri Come?
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The only reasoning that I can come up with as to why Sal Sunseri would accept this job would be that he's getting older and wants to finally be a defensive coordinator, a position he's never held. I'm assuming he feels like, if the inevitable happens and Dooley is canned next year, he's still marketable as a position coach, and I'd say he's right about that. All in all, Sal's most likely got himself in a situation where he has nothing to lose. If he does great and we win, he'll keep a coordinator job and get a raise, and if Dooley and the staff get fired, he'll get picked up somewhere as a position coach. And, in reality, that's the only kind of candidate Dooley was ever going to attract for this job.

Love the 8th Maxim and glad to be apart of it. Go Vols!