VTTW Board Index

If you're going to have to replace all of Dooley's staff, why not just go ahead and replace him too?

Does anyone feel confident that a top-notch DC will come to Tennessee knowing that Dooley isn't likely to survive past next season?

Does anyone feel confident in the ability of this team to NOT get smoked by SEC offenses next season without a top-notch DC in place?

I'll put it this way.. I felt better about our prospects in the waning hours of Fulmer's tenure than we do now.

The more that this goes on, the more I feel we gambled and lost when we outed Fulmer.  Hindsight is 20/20, but it's hard to look at everything now and say we're better off.

The only thing you can offer a top DC right now is the assurances that he will be first option for HC once Dooley is let go.  I like Dooley but sometimes the deck is just stacked against you.  I don't see how he survives a new AD, coming off a non bowl season, losing to Kentucky, and probably losing a key recruiting class going into his most important season as coach. 

I have heard some chatter on different UT boards that Hart & Kirby Smart are very close.  If this is true and Hart would want Smart, this opening could not be any more gift wrapped for Hart to make his move and bring him in.  For Smart, it would be a short term lateral move most likely.

I would welcome Smart as a DC (which obviously isn't happening unless there's a HC stipulation attached, as you point out), but not as a HC.

IF you can get what you consider a home run hire you do it. Otherwise you promote Lance Thompson, tell the remaining staff they've got a chance to make an amazing turnaround and see what happens.

I'm smh at the wish lists that some on other boards are throwing out there...  people need to wake up.  Promoting Lance Thompson is probably the best we can hope for... and if we don't, maybe he bolts too.   :confused:

I think you're probably right. Lance Thompson will be promoted. I'm not sure he's the best we can hope for, but I'm pretty sure he's the best we can do.

Even though I don't think there's a snowball's chance he comes back unless he's guaranteed a chance to be HC, and that isn't happening (or shouldn't happen), my first call would be to John Chavis. He was a good DC at Tennessee and has really proven his merit with the freedom to do more under Les Miles. He may very well be the best DC in all of college football right now, and he spent half a lifetime at Tennessee. Offer the guy a substantial pay raise and see what happens.

Chavis would have to be the biggest idiot in the nation to leave LSU to return to UT. 

If I'm Chavis there is nothing that would make me return, we ran off his longtime boss and friend and we have zero talent (at least compared to LSU) and no chance at competing for anything anytime soon, whereas LSU is on top of the world with no sign of that changing anytime soon.

How do you know Dooley will not be here after next season.....do you have a crystal ball.....if so to hell with football give me the lottery numbers for this wednesday!!!

Barring a miracle, the only chance Dooley has/had is stability.  Things aint looking too stable.

If LSU beats Bama which I believe they will then I could see Chavis returning to UT as DC..A big pay raise and returning to his home school with another NC ring...He would certainly help recruiting defensive players..The bigger question is if he and Dooley would work well together..

You don't need a crystal ball to see the obvious.

It looks bad, and we REALLY didn't need anything else that could be perceived as negative happening before signing day. Even if it isn't the sinking ship syndrome, it sure looks like it is.

In reality, everything is fine.

(http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b135/mike37129/bob.jpg)

 :evillaugh:

Yep

Yes, it's too bad Chief got caught up in the Fulmer backlash.  I think he would have been willing to stay.

He did have his weak points, but overall I was satisfied with him.  No way does he come back now.

Agree that he might come back as HC, but also realize that most fans would oppose this.  But what do they know?  I am not sure he is HC material, but who knows until he has the chance.  I don't think he is interested though.

BULLSH$T.  We are where we are because of this kind of attitude.  "Oh lets Fire Fulmer cause he lost to Alabama by 21 points.  Oh lets Fire Fulmer cause he lost to Florida by 14 points."  Now where are we?  It is this kind of attitude that is totally the reason we are bitching and moaning and etc etc etc.  I knew this was going to happen when we fired Fulmer and got that a$$clown Kiffin and Ogeron and Company....they would leave in a few years (oops one year) and then Hamilton would hire another coach and another coach etc etc etc (see Alabama during the multiple coaches in the 90s for reference material). 

It takes more than a bunch of fans wailing and gnashing teeth for Hart to fire a coach because unlike Hammy the Bean Counter Hart understands the rise and fall of sports programs.  Your ball needs some more polishing!!!!!

You're probably the only person in Tennessee who is blatantly ignorant of the obvious. Have you not listened to what Hart has said? He's made it pretty clear that there are certain expectations for the football program. Dooley will not survive another season like this season. Period.

And that has nothing to do with wailing and gnashing teeth because UT lost to Florida by 14 points, no matter how much you want to rant about it.

All of his staff isn't being replaced. If you replace Dooley after 2 years of a massive rebuilding job, who do you hire? Who would want the job? You have effectively devalued the program. You have to give a guy 4 years when you ask him to totally rebuild the program.

As a general baseline, you give a guy four years. But there are, and should be, certain expectations attached. Sometimes it doesn't take four years to realize that a coach simply isn't going to work out. In this case, Dooley will not get four years if there isn't a major improvement in 2012.

/thread

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When the team laid down and lost to ky Dooley lost any patience the fans had left. If he wins that game we all feel better but we still lose the same coaches.

It seems in the opinion of most fans that Dooley lost the team this year. can he get them back? Was that just their immaturity or his that caused it? I know this year that we don't have to win them all but we should be able to compete better and win a game or two we shouldn't plus ALL of those we should. If not he is probably out the door after 2012.

Me ignorant of the obvious....what is obvious is that we are doing the same damn thing we did when we fired Fulmer.....the fans look at improvement in only one way....wins period dot.  That is not a true measurement of improvement.  Hart said he wanted to see improvement.  What is improvement winning 10 games?  Winning 8 games?  UT's football schedule was brutal this past year.  I doubt that you could have done better than Dooley coaching the team this year.  If you can then why are you not coaching the team?

You and others are basing everything on the number of games won as "improvement" but is it entirely the measuring stick?  Everyone bitched about Fulmer having players that were charged with crimes yadda yadda yadda.....Everyone bitched about this and that with Fulmer but he had the program going to the SECCG in 2007.  Regardless of your beliefs in Fulmer and firing him he was succeeding much more than he failed.  I for one was not happy with losing to UF and UA by a bunch of points but I am unhappier now not going to any bowl game at all......

We have to get off this treadmill of that the only way to grade a coach is the total number of wins within a season and look at progress made in other areas as well.  If we dont we will be doing the Alabama coaching dance for the next ten years and frankly I am tired of that in the entirety of the situation that Hamilton has engineered in abstentia!!

BTW It is not obvious it is your opinion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :banghead:

Pssst... News flash: I am not a football coach.

I agree with Emeril on one thing...we had a brutal schedule this year.  It's easy to lose sight of that.  We had a brutal schedule, AND we lost our starting QB and best WR (a likely no. 1 draft choice) for a good chunk of the season, all while we were desperately trying to improve from an absymal few years and three coaching changes in as many years.

Yes, I know we are all tired of the above seemingly being used as an excuse, but I think the main thing about this season is that the UK game just left a bad taste in everyone's mouth and made us even more pessimistic about the future.

I think we can look at it this way...maybe the UK game was a wake up call.  Had we somehow eked out a win and gone to a second tier bowl game, there would not have been the discontent, maybe just a few mutterings like we had most of the season.

But with the compete breakdown vs. a truly bad UK team playing with a guy who had not played QB since high school (for Chrisakes!), there is no way to disguise that we have some deep problems. 

Dooley can now have no doubt in his mind that he has a serious challenge on his hands.  Had we squeaked one out vs. UK, maybe it would have been more of the same ole, same ole.   

I don't think there is any doubt he now realizes the gravity of the situation.  We can only hope he is up to the challenge, because it is going to be a challenge!

Agree mostly, but personally i think they should have spent the money it will take to get a proven coach instead of bargain shopping with Dooley................and with big money they could've hired anyone they wanted.

 :powert:

Why would it take a loss to UK to realize the gravity of the situation???  No run game, a shizzlety scheme on offense, very poor game day game planning...............this is just like a QB that has the intangibles to be really good.................................Dooley doesn't have those intangibles, which is very evident by our lack of improvement throughout the year...............period dot!


 :powert:

We easily had enough talent to win 6-7 games this year, but we were outcoached bad in 7 losses!!!!! Even outcoached by UK  :wtf:

So I'd say replace them all............................look at what Michigan done with a first year coach that demanded excellence, and was determined to win, and did not whine about having not very good players!

 :powert:

Although I'm not as enamored with Dooley as I once was, comparing Michigan State's situation with ours isn't fair, imho.

Yes, I know the situation is different, just using it as far as judging what type and attitude of coach we need.

 :powert: