Hypothetical Situation...

[BruinVol]

Kevin Sumlin

Charlie Strong

are two of the more realistic candidates.

I can name a whole hell of a lot of coaches with better resumes than Dooley.

Those would improve attendance initially but not in the long term. Only way to get back to all sell outs is top 5 and then I question if late season non-conference games would be sold out. Guys look at games all over the country. USCe vs gators and there were tons of empties. That game had championship implications. This isn't 1995 get used to it.
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[justingroves]

If we are gonna hire our 4th coach in 5 years it better be for someone better than those guys.

I would hate to have two coaches that are going to BCS bowls this year.

Or two guys that were assistants under Stoops or Urban Meyer.

Terrible decision to replace a coach with a losing record in the WAC with either of those two candidates.

 

[justingroves]

Those would improve attendance initially but not in the long term. Only way to get back to all sell outs is top 5 and then I question if late season non-conference games would be sold out. Guys look at games all over the country. USCe vs gators and there were tons of empties. That game had championship implications. This isn't 1995 get used to it.
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I'm betting either of those coaches get Tennessee back into SEC contention. That would put Tennessee at worst in the top 15.

There wouldn't be 20000 empty seats every home game if that were the case.

 

[GoBigOrange86]

I like Strong, but he's about to default into the BCS because the Big East is such a dumpster fire. Let's not forgot he lost to Florida International and Marshall this year.

 

[justingroves]

I like Strong, but he's about to default into the BCS because the Big East is such a dumpster fire. Let's not forgot he lost to Florida International and Marshall this year.

Or that he cleaned up a dumpster fire left behind by Petrino bolting (sound familiar?) and a coach in over his head (sound even more familiar)?

 

[Vols4us]

LawVol - based on your assumptions they would have no choice to but to kick his tail to the curb. There would be little to no chance of winning 8 games next season and the recruiting class would fall apart before our eyes with Wilcox and Sirmon gone. If two years of working together to build something that could be big on the national scene is not enough to keep them here, then we all know there is nothing big coming any time soon. So if you are those guys you look at your opportunities, choose the best, and go. If you are AD Hart you try for all the big fish and take the first "yes." Have to hire a big fish to keep the recruiting at a high level and to put tails in seats next season to earn some of the funds back for the buy-out and to build a story the current team can buy into. The stability worry is overblown - there has been no stability at UT for 7-8 years and your team is so young they have no clue anyway.

 

[GoBigOrange86]

I'm just saying, let's not rush to hire someone just because they do okay in the Big East. It didn't work out particularly well for Maryland.

 

[steve71]

I like Strong as well and I think he also worked under Spurrier so the guy knows how to run a program but I am not sure he would be the sexy hire most are looking for.

 

[Sudden Impact]

The AD is funded by football. If it starts losing money, Tennessee falls back on women's basketball as the next most lucrative sport on campus.

The money to fix the coaching situation is there.

How can you say that football funds the AD budget when it is 101.8 million dollars per year....

add to it that the Changes and additional facilities are not included in that budget in total...

 

[justingroves]

I'm just saying, let's not rush to hire someone just because they do okay in the Big East. It didn't work out particularly well for Maryland.

We could rush hire a guy with a losing record from the WAC, that may work.

I would make several coaches turn me down before calling either Sumlin or Strong.

 

[tomq_123]

If Sirmon, Baggett, and Wilcox leave (not saying this is likely or unlikely to happen; it's purely a hypothetical), would you be in favor of keeping Derek Dooley?

Remember to consider that he's most likely going to also have to fire offensive assistants, so he would be faced with having to essentially hire an entirely new staff while being squarely on the hot seat. Consider whether you think this would affect his ability to hire quality assistants.

My answer is, under this scenario, I would be in favor of firing Dooley.

In that hypothetical case unless Dooley was somehow able completely rebuilt his staff from scratch with top-notch assistants, I would think he would be gone.

Riddle me this though, if I do remember correctly Dooley didn't really have much choice is some of his assistants as the reason Cut didn't take the job was because he couldn't bring his whole staff. So, would Dooley have kept Chaney (obvious choice for replacing) if he didn't have to?

 

[GoBigOrange86]

We could rush hire a guy with a losing record from the WAC, that may work.

I would make several coaches turn me down before calling either Sumlin or Strong.

That's not entirely fair to Dooley. Yeah, we sort of rushed the hire, because we had to and because everyone else turned us down.

I'm not arguing that Sumlin or Strong aren't better than Dooley, I'm just saying if we're going to fire him, it better be because we have someone lined up and not because we're taking another gamble and hoping things work out.

 

[justingroves]

How can you say that when the AD budget is 101.8 million dollars...

Football brings in the majority of the spending money.

Men's basketball is the 2nd moneymaker, then women's. My mistake.

Does the baseball team make money?

Does women's soccer make money?

Does softball make money? (they may actually break even)

Football is the straw that stirs the drink in Knoxville. To say otherwise is a lie.

 

[justingroves]

That's not entirely fair to Dooley. Yeah, we sort of rushed the hire, because we had to and because everyone else turned us down.

I'm not arguing that Sumlin or Strong aren't better than Dooley, I'm just saying if we're going to fire him, it better be because we have someone lined up and not because we're taking another gamble and hoping things work out.

Dooley shouldn't have been hired. Kippy should have been the interim throughout the 2010 season. It sucks for Dooley he was ever hired for a job he had no business getting but he'll be compensated well when he hits the road.

Is not every hire a gamble?

 

[BruinVol]

There wouldn't be 20000 empty seats every home game if that were the case.

Would that be a little bit of a fabrication on your part to say that they were 20k empty seats for EVERY home game this year? Attendance is down no question. Who is the best coach to fix that problem in the short term? DD gives us the best chance to win and improve attendance next year. Can he do it? I don't know but he is our best chance at immediate success.
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[GoBigOrange86]

Dooley shouldn't have been hired. Kippy should have been the interim throughout the 2010 season. It sucks for Dooley he was ever hired for a job he had no business getting but he'll be compensated well when he hits the road.

Is not every hire a gamble?

I think making Kippy the interim for 2010 would have been a perfectly reasonable and wise thing to do. Unfortunately, we didn't do that and so we're stuck here.

And I suppose every hire is a gamble to some extent...some coaches look like they will be golden and turn out to be flops (e.g. Hawkins, Erickson at ASU, Muschamp maybe), but I don't want to put all my eggs into the Sumlin basket knowing that he fell apart without Keenum. Strong might be a safer bet, but still, some of his losses stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[Sudden Impact]

Football brings in the majority of the spending money.

Men's basketball is the 2nd moneymaker, then women's. My mistake.

Does the baseball team make money?

Does women's soccer make money?

Does softball make money? (they may actually break even)

Football is the straw that stirs the drink in Knoxville. To say otherwise is a lie.

I know that football is the deal with the money....but how much does it bring to the table against the 101.8 mil dollar budget.

Facilities and the improvements of the Track and Field, Baseball, Football facilities, Basketball Skyboxes were not part of the budget but due to donors. Agree or Disagree?

 

[justingroves]

Would that be a little bit of a fabrication on your part to say that they were 20k empty seats for EVERY home game this year? Attendance is down no question. Who is the best coach to fix that problem in the short term? DD gives us the best chance to win and improve attendance next year. Can he do it? I don't know but he is our best chance at immediate success.
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The only reason to keep Dooley is because Dooley is already here, is that what you're saying?

 

[alumvol08]

What could Dooley or any coach have realistically done to change our attendance?

Win.

 

[LawVol13]

Is not every hire a gamble?

Sure, to some extent. You can make it a bigger gamble with by acting with little planning though. I agree with the other poster.

 

[justingroves]

I know that football is the deal with the money....but how much does it bring to the table against the 101.8 mil dollar budget.

Facilities and the improvements of the Track and Field, Baseball, Football facilities, Basketball Skyboxes were not part of the budget but due to donors. Agreee or Disagree?

Agree, and it's pocket change to the money raised by the football team and its boosters.

The football team starts slipping even more than it is now, there will be no money for sports that lose money for the AD.

 

[justingroves]

Sure, to some extent. You can make it a bigger gamble with by acting with little planning though. I agree with the other poster.

So you endure another trainwreck to get your guy?

Hart wasn't sitting there twiddling his thumbs as Dooley lost by 30+ over and over again.

 

[justingroves]

I think making Kippy the interim for 2010 would have been a perfectly reasonable and wise thing to do. Unfortunately, we didn't do that and so we're stuck here.

And I suppose every hire is a gamble to some extent...some coaches look like they will be golden and turn out to be flops (e.g. Hawkins, Erickson at ASU, Muschamp maybe), but I don't want to put all my eggs into the Sumlin basket knowing that he fell apart without Keenum. Strong might be a safer bet, but still, some of his losses stick out like a sore thumb.

And you make those phonecalls after Stoops and Patterson file restraining orders against you.

 

[LawVol13]

So you endure another trainwreck to get your guy?

Hart wasn't sitting there twiddling his thumbs as Dooley lost by 30+ over and over again.

Not saying that at all. I'm saying if you're Hart and you think a move is on the horizon, you begin taking steps to put yourself in the best position possible like putting out feelers.

 

[LA Vol]

I would be in favor of keeping Dooley if I saw anything in his record or performance that says he can have any more success next year than he did this year or last year. We have a good foundation of talent, but we're not seeing it produce on the field. The last thing I want is to pick a fight, but game-day coaching has been the worst I have ever seen at UT. We're not even competititve, often incompetent and sometimes the chaos and panic on the sidelines is just embarrassing. That's why, if we have a window and the $$, it might be best to learn from our mistakes, move on and try not to repeat them.