Dooley promised his mother that he'll never lose to UK again

[BigOrange Maniac]

That's what she said last night.  Her exact words: "It was hard for me to call Derek after the game, but he was so positive that he wound up cheering me up. He said, 'Mom, I know we have this thing headed in the right direction. I promise you that won't happen again.'"

It better not. 

Vince: "Derek suffered some hard times this year, but in this profession you're going to go through those. He inherited a tough situation. He has a lot of young players and played a very difficult schedule. We're very excited about the future."

[Salvador VOLi]

He has a lot of young players . . .

You can't hear this excuse enough.  It has become the Dooley family rallying cry.

[BigOrange Maniac]

A funny story that Barbara Dooley told on her son last night: The Dooleys always had family prayer time in the evenings, and they would always pray to win games. Vince had a rule that his children couldn't be on the sideline at UGA until they were 10 years old. But Derek managed to talk his father into letting him go to the sideline at the age of five ("When you have four children, the last one gets to do whatever they want to do because you're just worn out at that point," Barbara said). The only stipulations were that he couldn't go to the sideline until the end of the 3rd quarter, and only then if UGA was far enough ahead that the game wasn't in jeopardy. Once he got to the sideline, he had to stay away from Vince and stay away from the team.

It was a Thanksgiving Day game against Georgia Tech. Before the game, little Derek prayed, "Jesus, please let us beat Georgia Tech by enough points so I can go on the sideline in the fourth quarter." UGA led 42-7 after three. "As a mother, I assumed that was enough," Barbara said. "By the time I got to the fence with Derek, it was 42-14. By the time I had a manager help him over the fence, it was 42-21. I get back to my seat, and Georgia Tech has recovered an onsides kick and they have the football again. Five-year-old Derek is on the sideline pulling on Vince Dooley's pant leg. And I just know this is going to be blamed on me.

"The whole way down the field, Derek kept pulling on Vincent's pant leg. Finally, Georgia Tech scored and made it 42-28. I saw Derek and Vince having words and then Derek went over and sat on the bench.

"We wound up winning 42-28. That night, Vincent said to me, 'Do you know what Derek told me today on the sideline? He said, Don't worry, Dad, Jesus is just having a little fun with you.'"

Maybe that explains LSU, UNC, etc... Jesus is having a little fun with Derek now.  

[ReVOLver]

A funny story that Barbara Dooley told on her son last night: The Dooleys always had family prayer time in the evenings, and they would always pray to win games. Vince had a rule that his children couldn't be on the sideline at UGA until they were 10 years old. But Derek managed to talk his father into letting him go to the sideline at the age of five ("When you have four children, the last one gets to do whatever they want to do because you're just worn out at that point," Barbara said). The only stipulations were that he couldn't go to the sideline until the end of the 3rd quarter, and only then if UGA was far enough ahead that the game wasn't in jeopardy. Once he got to the sideline, he had to stay away from Vince and stay away from the team.

It was a Thanksgiving Day game against Georgia Tech. Before the game, little Derek prayed, "Jesus, please let us beat Georgia Tech by enough points so I can go on the sideline in the fourth quarter." UGA led 42-7 after three. "As a mother, I assumed that was enough," Barbara said. "By the time I got to the fence with Derek, it was 42-14. By the time I had a manager help him over the fence, it was 42-21. I get back to my seat, and Georgia Tech has recovered an onsides kick and they have the football again. Five-year-old Derek is on the sideline pulling on Vince Dooley's pant leg. And I just know this is going to be blamed on me.

"The whole way down the field, Derek kept pulling on Vincent's pant leg. Finally, Georgia Tech scored and made it 42-28. I saw Derek and Vince having words and then Derek went over and sat on the bench.

"We wound up winning 42-28. That night, Vincent said to me, 'Do you know what Derek told me today on the sideline? He said, Don't worry, Dad, Jesus is just having a little fun with you.'"

Maybe that explains LSU, UNC, etc... Jesus is having a little fun with Derek now.  

OK, that is a great story.

[BigOrange Maniac]

You can't hear this excuse enough.  It has become the Dooley family rallying cry.

It isn't completely without merit, though. When you step back and consider how many young players Tennessee had on the field at any given time, it's almost mind-numbing. It's hard to compete in Div. I football at any level with so many young players, especially in the SEC.

That fact does nothing to restore my confidence that Dooley has what it takes to be successful as a head coach at this level, unfortunately.

[BanditVol]

It isn't completely without merit, though. When you step back and consider how many young players Tennessee had on the field at any given time, it's almost mind-numbing. It's hard to compete in Div. I football at any level with so many young players, especially in the SEC.

That fact does nothing to restore my confidence that Dooley has what it takes to be successful as a head coach at this level, unfortunately.

Well he has his shot.  Nothing is set in stone, the future is his to decide.  He just has to decide it's going to happen, then do what it takes to make it happen.  Wish he had realized Kentucky was not a given and said something along those lines to the team, but that's in the past.  Next season is the future though.

It is COMPLETELY up to him.