KNOXVILLE - The rumor first appeared on the website "mrsec.com" late in the weekend. According to anonymous sources -- who else? - University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley offered to resign after last year's season-ending loss at Kentucky if athletic director Dave Hart would hand him his $5 million buyout.
Confronted with the story during his weekly news conference Monday, Dooley labeled it "absurd."
He later added, "I'd have to be a dumb [rear end] to do that."
Sad but true, this is where we are. Unnamed sources. Unsubstantiated rumors. Unrelenting speculation. Unending stress and strain on Big Orange players, coaches and Hart. The escalated unraveling of a once proud program.
Continue reading at the Times Free Press.
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Orangepuddinskin writes:
These rumors are going to cost us big time when signing day approaches. Hart needs to release a statement either saying that Dooley is here to stay, or he needs to announce that Dooley is gone, with a BIG name to replace him. If our Athletic Department is in such financial straights right now, then go ahead and publically announce that Dooley is the guy. This lack of stability is going to cost us big time in recruiting.
thevoice writes:
If this is true, it sure does explain a lot, especially why 7 coaches left for fear of not getting renewed contracts.
Orangepuddinskin writes:
I never really thought about that. Good point. I know this much, I miss the heck out of Wilcox right now.
jos3ywales writes:
Hart needs to do something Cause the Vol Nation is getting Restless and about to Explode with all the rumors
JonGrudensAgent writes:
Dooley isn't exactly providing stability himself so the argument of keeping him for the sake of stability is absurd.
A near complete overhaul of his staff last season put recruiting behind schedule and led to the weekly disaster we see on defense.
By publicly attacking Bray, he is indirectly criticizing Cheney as well so we may be gearing up for a new offense next season with Dooley at the helm.
The inmates have been running the asylum from Day 1 and, now that Dooley can't fall back on talent as an excuse for the lopsided losses, he is trying to play hardball with the players. How soon we forget him letting Da'Rick Rogers run off Baggett.
What's next for Dooley, bringing back Clawson?
Given the choice he made in Sunseri, it wouldn't surprise me.
VolzsFan writes:
Clawson is doing well as a head coach in the MAC. Do not think he wants to be a coordinator.
Calling out Bray has nothing to do with Chaney.
tnsportsman writes:
8 & 4 or ELSE starts Sat at Noon in SC! Dooley it's a One and Done Playoff Game each week for the next 5 weeks!
GO VOLS, VFL!
JonGrudensAgent writes:
Who coaches Bray then?
UU writes:
Rumors, or not Tennessee had Four great players at one time in the past 12 mo`s. One was told to leave. Three were here to start the season. One had some babysitting problems seem he could not hold on to his drinking bottles so he would drop them on a car window. The bottle dropper should be the leader of the team, could even been a great leader. So that leaves Tennessee with two great players. But for some reason these two great player can not get there hands on the ball enought to be great. To me Tenneessee has a babysitting problem. Tennessee can not keep getting great player and do nothing with them. College Football is a man to man game so man up U.T.
Orangepuddinskin writes:
What I am emphasizing is that a kid is not going to come play for UT if he doesnt know who his coach is going to be. Between the media and our coaches showing so much instability, it only making matters worse.
I dont care what Hart does. Fire him or keep him. Either way, the decision utimately comes back on Hart. At Harts current speed of decision making, I can see him letting Dooley go on Jan 29, 2013. Try to muster up a recruting class and get commits to sign on to that.
utfan36 writes:
I THINK HART IS SETTING BACK AND JUST BUY TIME AND WAITING TELL THE END OF THE SEASON! IF HE COMES OUT NOW IT WILL BE JUST LIKE WHEN THE FORCED FULMER OUT! AFTER THAT THEY JUST GIVE UP UNTIL THE UK GAME AND THE WANTED TO SEND HIM OUT A WINNER AND THEY BEAT UK! KNOW MATTER WHAT IT IS, GOING TO TAKE YEARS TO GET THINGS BACK TO NORMAL AT UT! IMOA THEY BUY CDD OUT END OF THE YEAR! HART KNOWS HOW TO HIRE A BIG NAMED HC HE WAS THE AD AT UAL
thevoice writes:
I'm not sure folks understand the magnitude of this story, if true (stress IF TRUE). This means Dooley doesn't want to be here coaching, Hart knew it, Hart, not Dooley, most likely hired Sal (Dooley is smart enough to know going to a 3-4 would cause the W-L record to bottom out this year), and Hart should be fired for allowing an uninterested coach to remain. Starting to think Hart is "one of them." Where has he been lately anyway? As much of a bad rap Hamilton gets, at least he was on the radio frequently.
alfrizzle097 writes:
I think it actually wasn't Chaney until this year. Seems like he was coaching running backs or wide receivers. I remember there being quite a bit of debate about just how much involvement Chaney had with the quarterbacks.
JonGrudensAgent writes:
Gotcha.
My point is that keeping Dooley doesn't guarantee stability either. Some posters believe otherwise.
IMO, keeping Dooley means it'll be another off season of replacing staff, hoping against hope to recruit above Vandy levels, and guessing the margin of loss to every quality SEC opponent again.
That's basically what we were doing for the last four years under Fulmer and it is getting old quick under Dooley with his lack of "equity".
mdvol writes:
To me, it needs to be Gruden or Dooley. If we can't get Chucky then just keep what we've got. No way the fan base will get behind another "hot" assistant or unproven guy.
Here's a thought....why don't we just win Saturday and run the table!
Orangepuddinskin writes:
Like I said before, conspiracy theorist, Dooley was sent from Georgia to sabotage our program, Hart and Sunseri were sent here from BAMA to do the same. LMAO.
All joking aside, Hart needs to get off his duff and publicly announce something one way or another. I also questioned why Dooley would change up his defensive scheme on a year that he was basically told that he needed to win. Harts words were "youth will no longer be an excuse."
If Hart did hire Sal, we will never know, because Dooley would be the scapegoat in that situation.
JonGrudensAgent writes:
You're right on Chaney not coaching QB's until this season. It was a theoretical question though.
Maybe that's been part of the problem from Day 1, Bray not having a hands on coach. And that all falls back on Dooley.
JonGrudensAgent writes:
Agreed.
This wouldn't be the first time Hart has botched things up as an AD either.
Orangepuddinskin writes:
Truth be told, I am not a big Dooley supporter. But rather than replace him with another Dooley caliber coach, go big or just keep him. But if Hart is going to keep him, then come out and say it. If Hart would openly say, "Dooley is the man and he is not going anywhere" then at least some of these articles would cease. Because Hart refuses to do this, I believe that he has something in the works to let Dooley go soon. Perhaps we will all be on here next week, discussing his replacement. The SC game seems to be the Judgement Day game.
luke255#536431 writes:
What do you expect when you hire a coach coming off a 4-8 season at LA Tech? Tell me what you guys think of this, behind the scenes I think Hart has been going after some big time coaches if he can land one I bet Dooley is gone at the end of the season. If Hart can't land that big time coach Dooley gets another year.
underthehill writes:
I have no doubt Hart hired Sunseri..seems to me he just didn't think the defense would be so bad that Sunseri couldn't step in as temporary head coach if things went really bad and he may have thought Sunseri could hold the recruiting class together..with the way Hart handled the ath dept merger and the current lawsuits that resulted looks to me like the overall situation is far worse now than before Hart..I'm not sure what the buyouts for the current asst coaches would be but I think Sunseri makes about 850 thou..now what competent coach is going to come to UT and not bring his own people..I think if Dooley wins 7 (includes Vandy) Dooley and staff will be back for financial reasons only...
cdamna1 writes:
1. Hart needs to say something, either way to stabilize the ship.
2. WRs (JH,CP) have the dropsies and haven't helped.
3. Bray needs to grow up and not pout regardless of outcomes.
4. The 3-4 (and Sunseri) was a mistake given Dooley's timeline.
5. OL and RBs have improved.
6. WRs and QB have digressed.
7. Z Rod and Rivera have been underutilized.
8. We don't have atheletes on defense, period.
9. The atheletic dept is broke.
10. First half of the schedule was brutal.
11. Chaney's play-calling is suspect.
12. Dooley's probably in over his head, but who wouldn't be?
13. Can't fire him if you don't have the $$.
14. It's a top-down problem, but the guys at the top that started it are all gone, so whatcha gonna do? Man up (from Hart down to the players), tough it out, and hope things turn around in the second half of the season.
pcorange writes:
I think most people would be happy at this point if we win Saturday and then run the table, I just don't think most of us believe that is going to happen.
Orangepuddinskin writes:
Also, I dont know if Harts ego will allow him to keep Dooley around. Right now, I am not very impressed with Mr. Hart at all. I would like to see this power struggle and "mine is bigger than yours" contest be finished. Hart needs to make the decisions that UT hired him to make, or he can hit the bricks too.
govolsn3 writes:
Let's thank the TIDE fiathful for helping fill our stadium saturday night because I am fearing that its the last time it will be full this year. Only if we run the table will the KENTUCKY game be close to full and that depends who comes SOUTH I 75 to see it. This is what the state of UT FOOTBALL has come to dollars. The recruiting willn suffer the most too cause of the unstable terms with the coaches. All I can do is stay the course and support the whole team. GO VOLS>>>VFL
cdamna1 writes:
One thing I think we're all on to: Hart's silence is not helping the situation at all.
pcorange writes:
Chavis was in town yesterday. What do you bet he spoke with Mr. Hart at some point?
Vol_in_Mich writes:
Good question.
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
What's absurd is the brutal schedule we have been playing..Nobody in the FBS has faced this many ranked teams back to back..Only FLA is even close..Now we have to go into what will be a rabid bunch of fans and POed players in Columbia where USC has been totally dominant..IMO we had a better chance against Bama than this buzz saw we are walking into in Columbia
GoVols_16 writes:
Dooley's loose language & laughing seems to signify to me that he knows he's on his way out & really doesn't care anymore.
amyinsparta writes:
Hart may have to do what he obviously doesn't want to do-fire Dooley and give him big bucks to sail into the sunset. It is unfortunate that things have come to this, but it appears Dooley doesn't have the wherewithal to lead the team out of the morass. It also seems to me that last season's exit of most of his primary coaching staff should have set off alarms.Half your staff doesn't leave unless there is good reason for it. We don't know the reasons, but seeing how this season has panned out, we now have a good suspicion of why they left.
Orangepuddinskin writes:
Actually, I am pretty excited to see if our O-line stops Clowney. It will be fun to see if they can get to Bray. We have only allowed 3 sacks, and BAMA didnt get to us, nor did Jarvis Jones for UGA. Our O-Line is the most improved part of the team, IMO.
mountainbrook writes:
Doing well? Clawson's record at Bowling Green is 19-26. Dooley might be a good fit there.
MGVOL22 writes:
There are some good choices out there....my vote is the same as it was prior to Kiffin....CHARLIE STRONG please!!
collegegrovebilly writes:
"Nobody wants the criticism when they play bad"? How about "I don't want the criticism when i coach bad, so i give the players the criticism instead"? This is an absurd situation because it's premise was based on an absurd foundation. The idea that a losing head football coach at a marginal conference could remake a historic program into a champion was absurd. What made any realistic person remotely think that the outcome was going to be any different than what it currently is?
jjsteel writes:
Gruden won't coach in college ever again. He's already said he does not like to recruit.
collegegrovebilly writes:
It's shows his arrogance. He believes as his apologists do, that he is above we unwashed masses. What he and his disciples don't understand is we don't care about their personal perception of us. We just want to win! He can't cut it so he has to go! No hard feelings. Just leave!
1vavolfan writes:
Keep Dooley, makes no sense to pay him $5 million not to coach. The athletic dept has cut employees and even walk-on's to the basketball team, how do you justify paying someone that much to do nothing. Dooley's replacement won't be any better, nobody decent will come into this situation. Things are bad but could be worse.
Flip writes:
Clawson may coach Bray, but, he doesn't make Bray turn the ball over, he doesn't make Bray skip out on press conference, he doesn't make Bray quit when things aren't going his way, he wasn't with Bray on the lake when he acted like a two year old, nor was he with him when he decieded it was a good idea to lob beer bottles at another students car. Dooley's comments had nothing to do with Clawson! and all to do with Bray.
GerryOP writes:
Use care when leaping to conclusions. But, we know that's what you do best, leap before you look.
GerryOP writes:
Until after the season is over, Hart doesn't need to say a thing. Do you really want him to come out right now and say anything either way? I don't think so.
Orangepuddinskin writes:
What??????
jobrando#216494 writes:
Great point....That explains the mass exodus in my mind...
collegegrovebilly writes:
The only "logical conclusion" attainable with a record of 4-16 is horrible head coaching. Talk about "leaping to conclusions". That prediction of 12-0, and Muschamp being fired after this year was a tad bit off even for you.
Orangepuddinskin writes:
Why not? Fulmer and Majors were announced right after the SC game. Kiffin just ran off in the middle of the night. IMO, the only way to shut up this media frenzy is to make an announcement. Every UT site and blog is talking about replacing Dooley right now. Have you been to B/R? They have 3 seperate blogs going on right now on who will replace him, if he needs to be replaced and the top 10 best replacements. I think Dave Hart knows right now whether Dooley is staying or going.
ClearVol writes:
Uh, what?
ashvol7 writes:
Hart needs to go along with Sunseri, we couldn't have gotten a worse DC than Sal. I got really upset when I saw him hugging his son last week. Not only do we need another DC we also need an OC very bad. We don't need anyone with ties to Alabama, once again send Hart, Sunseri packing today, We also need to find out the players who really want to be at UT and put them on the field and send the rest packing also, Bray and Hunter included if you are going to lose, lose with some kids that can and want to help in the future.
voodoo101 writes:
It's getting loud in the nursery. Lots of kiddies needing some reassurance and a diaper change.
Orangepuddinskin writes:
I can agree with Hart, as long as he is not going to do his job, tell him to pound sand. Sunseri has made our defense take a step backwards from Wilcox, but we seem to sign these guys into stupid long contracts.
I still think Bray can help us win if he starts acting his age. This whole pouting thing he is going through is not helping with his draft status.
As for Hunter, I have never seen such a dynamic receiver take such huge strides backwards. I have started to question if he is really 100% from his injury. Even when he catches the ball, he will run backwards to try to make something happen and lose first down yardage.
Patterson is the luckiest guy on the team. He only has to play one year for this circus, and it's off to the Pros for him. Good Luck Corderelle, you were the bright spot of our dismal season.
tomatosoup writes:
All I can say folks is.....what a SHAME!!!! With our AD not publicly speaking regarding Coach Dooley's future, our "few" commits we do have will soon be history.....Looks like another "fun" filled 3-4 years of re-building! Go Vols!
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