Releasing our Derek Dooley hatred

[Smallvol#1]

Not only did we lose to Ky we lost a bad Ky squad even by thier standards. The worst part was you could see 75% of our team was phoning it in. They couldn't have cared less and that falls directly on the HC.

I'll agree with everything you said, BUT somewhere there should be personal pride and self respect. Apparently the large majority of that team had neither. As for me, the MO game when he had them take a knee.....!! I was screaming in the stands, "This is not Tennessee football." Embarrassing. Thanks, Dools.

But, yeah, I'm still sick over that KY loss.:sick:

 

[chargervol]

Dool had one winning season of 3. Who else did Hammy interview?

We did hire a coach from a lower division. LA Tech might be D1 but its a mid major therefore lower. At least he had D1 experience. Not much but some.

He was hired mid January 2010 which is right dead in the middle of recruiting season. That's not when you hire a coach - that's when you're desperate for a coach.

you had two different question. I separated them to address them individually

One season out of three isn't a winning record it's a losing record.


And no it wasn't two separate questions it was a continuation.
If you're going to hire a lower-tier coach, why not hire one with a winning record?
Saying Hamilton didn't interview anyone else isn't a defense, that's his fault he didn't interview anyone else.
There are a few different ways to go and he chose the worst. And I repeat he chose. I can't believe anyone is still defending that.

 

[VolsnRavens]

I'm still wondering how the freakin job interview went! Did Dooley walk in on Hamilton and a sheep and say, "Well, guess the job is mine!" Remember, it was Hart that fired him. Maybe Hamilton couldn't fire him for fear of photos being released. I mean seriously. WTH people. Let's here your version of the interview..... :loco:

 

[chargervol]

And for the record, you miss one signing class, you'll risk having a bad season down the road.
You hire a damn dingleberry as your coach instead, you almost completely devastate your entire program for years.

 

[norrislakevol]

You're sugar coating it more than a little. Perhaps you didn't read the article about how abysmal he was with recruiting. Offending high school coaches with his arrogance and at times refusal to even return phone calls. That has nothing to do with toeing the line. That is just thinking you are smarter than everyone else. I've moved on from him, but to say he was doing the best he could without getting in trouble is asinine.

Agreed. The Von Bell recruitment is all you need to know about how inept he was. We had the slowest teams, especially on defense, that I have ever seen. Now we have the fastest team all around that I have ever seen!

 

[norrislakevol]

I'm still wondering how the freakin job interview went! Did Dooley walk in on Hamilton and a sheep and say, "Well, guess the job is mine!" Remember, it was Hart that fired him. Maybe Hamilton couldn't fire him for fear of photos being released. I mean seriously. WTH people. Let's here your version of the interview..... :loco:

Dooley: "So Mike, you know I'm Vince Dooley's son...right?"

Mike: "Yeah. What's your point?"

Dooley: "Look man, I'm a lawyer. I have the pictures of you in a drag show. You can't deny it's you either. If you don't hire me now, I'll release them to the News Sentinel."

Mike: "Man you're a pr!ck! But, you're hired!"

Dooley: "Great! Let me run out to the car and grab my orange dog. He'll be watching you."

Mike: "Wait.....what?"


I think that is about how it went.

 

[leftygray]

The worst part me for personally is that Dooley was the coach for 3 of my 4 years of college.

 

[edyeary]

My deepest sympathies.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I'm still wondering how the freakin job interview went! Did Dooley walk in on Hamilton and a sheep and say, "Well, guess the job is mine!" Remember, it was Hart that fired him. Maybe Hamilton couldn't fire him for fear of photos being released. I mean seriously. WTH people. Let's here your version of the interview..... :loco:

Heh, I remember Hamilton talking about Dooley right after the hire. Talked about how he came in with a heck of a plan for the program, big thick three ring binder, tons of detail.

Just the sort of thing a lawyer would use to impress a prospective employer.

Hamilton's fault that he forgot he was hiring a football coach. Not a desk jockey.

He should've been looking for values and leadership and past success, rather than nice powerpoint presentations.

I do like your version better, Ravens, but mine is how it really got off the rails.

 

[American_PitVol]

Is this Barbara Dooley or precious? Dooley signed some good players but he could not coach his way out of a wet paper bag. He also made the worst hire possible in 2012 (Sunseri). If he hires even a decent d coordinator we win at least 9 games that year.

I'm glad he hired Sunseri...in retrospect.

 

[livefaith]

Heh, I remember Hamilton talking about Dooley right after the hire. Talked about how he came in with a heck of a plan for the program, big thick three ring binder, tons of detail.

Just the sort of thing a lawyer would use to impress a prospective employer.

Hamilton's fault that he forgot he was hiring a football coach. Not a desk jockey.

He should've been looking for values and leadership and past success, rather than nice powerpoint presentations.

I do like your version better, Ravens, but mine is how it really got off the rails.

Remember, he was a fellow AD as well, so I'm sure DD was pretty astute to which buttons Hammy needed fondled in that tough situation as well. Hapless Hambone probably felt like he was getting not only pedigree and diligence. But, under the circumstances he may have been getting a sounding board and sycophantic assistant. Maybe he did, it's just that he got no football coach.

 

[CTVolsfan14]

Listen. Dooley sucked. We were consistently outcoached in the second half of games and lost countless games that we should have won.

THAT BEING SAID.

He willingly jumped into a dumpster fire and did his best to turn it around when nobody else wanted the job.

Literally, I think we offered the job to 6 or 7 people before we hired Dooley.

So I will always respect that about the man.

 

[The Crimson Cried]

I'll agree with everything you said, BUT somewhere there should be personal pride and self respect. Apparently the large majority of that team had neither. As for me, the MO game when he had them take a knee.....!! I was screaming in the stands, "This is not Tennessee football." Embarrassing. Thanks, Dools.

But, yeah, I'm still sick over that KY loss.:sick:

I think he threw the Mizzou game. It could never be proven, but I think he saw the writing on the wall and it was a little FU Tennessee on his way out. Some of his calls at the end of that game were inexplicable.

 

[VolsnRavens]

I keep reading the (small) support of Dooley saying he wasn't the first choice. We'll, I'm not buying it. That really doesn't matter. People said the same thing about CBJ when he was hired. And look what he has done for the Vols team, for the perception of being winners. Look what he's done for the kids in the classroom. Welcoming back the VFL's. All these positive things and winning too. All in the same amount of time Dooley was driving us into the suck pond.

 

[arkyvol]

Mike Hamilton deserves even more blame because he hired the sorry sack of chit. If I had to pick one it was the way he handled former players and making it difficult for them to come around UT. Honorable mention to not be able to field 11 players on multiple occasions.

AMEN! Adding insult to injury was the seven figure severance Hammy got paid for proving he had not a clue about how to be an A.D. If that wasn't highway robbery, it doesn't exist.

 

[allvol123]

No. Dear God, no. -100% no. This would have set us back even farther.

The hire after LK left wasnt ideal but it was MH's only option. Still it comes back on him since he's the one that didnt protect us from his potential departure.

No it wouldn't. No one could do worse than Dooley and interim gives you time to get the guy you want. OSU did it.

 

[Rudy123]

Relax. Dooley was not ready to Coach at SEC level but that's not his fault. He saw an opening applied and got the job. He did not hold Tennessee AD hostage to get the job.
We know from facts that he wasn't SEC level but there is no evidence to suggest he didn't try or slacked on job.
He built a good offensive line (4-5 starters in NFL right now). Patterson, Hunter and Rogers were all his WRs. His QB and his offense in 2012 were one of the most prolific passing offenses in Tennessee history.
I am not supporting Dooley and I think we were wrong to hire him in first place and then keeping him after KY loss was bad too. But he did build a great offense in 2012 and great hype surrounding program too.
Bottom line is if TN came to me today and offered HC job, I would take it too. No one thinks they are incapable. So Dooley saw the coaching job, applied for it and got it. He tried, didn't succeed and was fired. why so much hate ? Those who keep citing that he didnot sign a O-lineman in 2011 also fail to cite that he left behind 4 NFL starters for O-line for 2013. He did some good, he did some bad. Move on.

The reason for the bad blood is because Fulmer started slacking on his recruiting and Kiffin did what he could for a quick fix for the program. So, the program will headed downward.
Had Dooley came in a did a better job, then we would not have fallen so far as we did from 2011 - 2013.
Also, Dooley disrespected VFL's by asking them to get permission from him to come to the facility.
Also, Dooley was the cause of us breaking the winning streak against Ky.
IF he had maintained the program or improved it, then that would be better than him trashing it.

 

[GreveHaller]

No it wouldn't. No one could do worse than Dooley and interim gives you time to get the guy you want. OSU did it.

And who did OSU hire? An already proven multiple NC winner. Ok, there's 1. How many more have ever done it? Do you actually think that Hamilton-the guy that screwed up the Fulmer dismissal, the Kiffin hire, the Dooley hire, the Pearl tenure, the Raliegh tenure, etc...-would be able to hire a NC coach?? If your answer is yes then you have alot more faith in that idiot than I do.

Good or bad, the Dooley hire is on the hands of his boss - MH. He wanted Fulmer gone 10 months after taking us to the SECCG because a young up n comer said he needed an answer. Then he hired him without creating any sort of buyout to protect us / dissuade him from leaving all with him saying at the interview USC was his dream job. Then he screwed us and 11:59 and MH had to scramble. Hindsight is great and its easy to argue now that an interim would have worked but at the time that option was far from optimal.

 

[82_VOL_83]

I think allowing the team to quit in the KY game without reading them the root act on the field and sending Bray and Co to the showers early. Dooley lacked a backbone.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

I would have read them the 'root act' as well for such a poor performance.

 

[volmandu]

There's actually a decent amount of evidence to the contrary. He neglected recruiting to a criminal level, especially in the state of TN.

Where is the evidence ? He recruited average. Again not being able to recruit is not negligence, its being average recruiter in a great league. He lost the recruiting battle.
Every Coach gets bad mouthed once they are fired. Even Fulmer got bad mouthed a lot after he left.



True, but he also failed to develop Tyler Bray into the top-tier SEC QB that he should have been. That vaunted UT offense also couldn't move the ball against UF, Bama, or even Vandy.

Tyler Bray had 3500 yards and 34 TDs his final year here. He was a Top-tier SEC QB. His issues were off field. Even best Coaches in nation face off-field issues from their players. Meyer, Saban all. Dooley was a average Coach whose QB, while gifted, was not fully dedicated. Tyler had 11 300+ yards games. He did well against South Carolina, Missouri, GA (all good teams in that season)



All the goodwill he earned from building a great offense was flushed down the toilet when he hired a completely unqualified and inexperienced guy who was going to fundamentally change the defensive scheme in a pivotal, make it or break it year.

Yes. Never said he was a good Coach. But the hatred that he neglected etc is puzzling. He did not force us to hire him. He was a bad overall Coach who did not pick right assistant.


Yes, and every single one of those OL left after the 2013 season. That's why coaches map out the depth chart years in advance in order to prevent huge holes in the roster from forming. Let's not forget that we also lost all experienced DL before the 2014 season as well due to poor recruiting and foresight.[/QUOTE]

Again. All that shows is he was bad at planning. Where is negligence ? Honestly Dooley was banking on a Monster 2012 season so he could get some quality recruits on both OL and DL. Bad Planning=Yes. Negligence = No evidence.

 

[chargervol]

Refusing to build relationships with the high school coaches that we recruit from, is most certainly being negligent.
As is the o line.

Maybe some are misunderstanding the word negligent.
The definition is
Failing to take proper care in doing something.

That describes his actions perfectly.

An oral history of Derek Dooley was the thread and story name.
If anyone missed the behind the scenes accounts of his arrogance and mishandling of the program.

 

[FïreBall]

Refusing to build relationships with the high school coaches that we recruit from, is most certainly being negligent.
As is the o line.

Maybe some are misunderstanding the word negligent.
The definition is
Failing to take proper care in doing something.

That describes his actions perfectly.

An oral history of Derek Dooley was the thread and story name.
If anyone missed the behind the scenes accounts of his arrogance and mishandling of the program.

Oral History of Derek Dooley

http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...ooley-era-at-tennessee-an-oral-history-070615

 

[chargervol]

Oral History of Derek Dooley

http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...ooley-era-at-tennessee-an-oral-history-070615

Thank you sir

 

[allvol123]

And who did OSU hire? An already proven multiple NC winner. Ok, there's 1. How many more have ever done it? Do you actually think that Hamilton-the guy that screwed up the Fulmer dismissal, the Kiffin hire, the Dooley hire, the Pearl tenure, the Raliegh tenure, etc...-would be able to hire a NC coach?? If your answer is yes then you have alot more faith in that idiot than I do.

Good or bad, the Dooley hire is on the hands of his boss - MH. He wanted Fulmer gone 10 months after taking us to the SECCG because a young up n comer said he needed an answer. Then he hired him without creating any sort of buyout to protect us / dissuade him from leaving all with him saying at the interview USC was his dream job. Then he screwed us and 11:59 and MH had to scramble. Hindsight is great and its easy to argue now that an interim would have worked but at the time that option was far from optimal.

Thinking Kippy Brown would have been a worse hire than Dooley is asinine.