Sunseri: Was there a reason?

#1
D

Dougie_D

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#1
I like juicy stories. The Dooley era is over, but it's always fun to bring back the past till game day. I'm hoping this forum has members who can now tell us the real story on things.

Question number 1:

What was the purpose of Sunseri being our DC at that time?

Thanks.
 
#2
#2
Well, I think the primary purpose was because Dooley thought he would a good DC. He was Alabama's LB coach and they had some ridiculous LB groups during his tenure. Of course, a big part of that was talent, but most thought Sunseri was a pretty good hire. It turned out that, like Dooley, he was a good position coach but a terrible X's and O's guy. He couldn't communicate the gameplan, as evidenced by some of the disgustingly bad sets we ran on defense with players way out of position.

I don't think it was anything more than people thinking it would work out and it didn't. That's what it comes down to most of the time.
 
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#3
#3
He had been the assistant DC at Alabama who has been dominate on defense lately. Seemed like a great catch but ultimately was a bad hire due to his system and our lack of players to fit said system.
 
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#4
#4
Jnunn said:
Well, I think the primary purpose was because Dooley thought he would a good DC. He was Alabama's LB coach and they had some ridiculous LB groups during his tenure. Of course, a big part of that was talent, but most thought Sunseri was a pretty good hire. It turned out that, like Dooley, he was a good position coach but a terrible X's and O's guy. He couldn't communicate the gameplan, as evidenced by some of the disgustingly bad sets we ran on defense with players way out of position.

I don't think it was anything more than people thinking it would work out and it didn't. That's what it comes down to most of the time.
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Ugh... I was hoping that Dooley caught himself in a fist fight and Sunseri happened to be there to defend his butt.
 
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#5
#5
volfan607 said:
He had been the assistant DC at Alabama who has been dominate on defense lately. Seemed like a great catch but ultimately was a bad hire due to his system and our lack of players to fit said system.
Click to expand...

IIRC he was just never the assistant DC. He was just the LB coach
 
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#6
#6
Dooley being a lawyer, I always thought he was never in it for coaching... just the money. I feel Dooley made a deal with Sunseri. He told Sunseri to make the defense too complicated for anyone to understand so that it would cave. So bad that it would cause the UT staff to fire the entire staff...

Why would a man want to be fired? Easy, big paycheck after forcing the University's hand to breach the contract by sucking.
 
#8
#8
jlindsa4 said:
Dooley being a lawyer, I always thought he was never in it for coaching... just the money. I feel Dooley made a deal with Sunseri. He told Sunseri to make the defense too complicated for anyone to understand so that it would cave. So bad that it would cause the UT staff to fire the entire staff...

Why would a man want to be fired? Easy, big paycheck after forcing the University's hand to breach the contract by sucking.
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Wow.
 
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#9
#9
Dougie_D said:
I like juicy stories. The Dooley era is over, but it's always fun to bring back the past till game day. I'm hoping this forum has members who can now tell us the real story on things.

Question number 1:

What was the purpose of Sunseri being our DC at that time?

Thanks.
Click to expand...



Personally, I think that Lance Thompson would have done a better job than Sal did. Lance was already on board with us as the LB coach and did a good job. The defensive players even wanted him to be promoted to D.C.

When Sal was hired, Lance left and returned to "O Bama". That hire got Dooley fired! Just like Fulmer's hire of Clawson got him fired!

Had the defense been better coached, in 2012, we would have had a real good season. The offense was good with C.P., Zack Rogers, etc. etc.so offense was not an issue.
 
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#11
#11
Rudy123 said:
Personally, I think that Lance Thompson would have done a better job than Sal did. Lance was already on board with us as the LB coach and did a good job. The defensive players even wanted him to be promoted to D.C.

When Sal was hired, Lance left and returned to "O Bama". That hire got Dooley fired! Just like Fulmer's hire of Clawson got him fired!

Had the defense been better coached, in 2012, we would have had a real good season. The offense was good with C.P., Zack Rogers, etc. etc.so offense was not an issue.
Click to expand...

I don't think Fulmer wanted Clawson
 
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#12
#12
Dougie_D said:
I like juicy stories. The Dooley era is over, but it's always fun to bring back the past till game day. I'm hoping this forum has members who can now tell us the real story on things.

Question number 1:

What was the purpose of Sunseri being our DC at that time?

Thanks.
Click to expand...



My guess is that no other co ordinator or position coach wanted to work for Dooley. Just a guess!

(1) Word gets around in the coaching circles of how he treated the other D.C. before he left for Washington.

(2) Anyone out there could see that 2012 would likely be Dooley's last year at U.T. So, do you want to hitch your wagon to Dooley for a year and then be out of a job at the end of the year, when Dooley is forced to leave?
 
#13
#13
Rudy123 said:
(1) Word gets around in the coaching circles of how he treated the other D.C. before he left for Washington.
Click to expand...

Any link to support this? I personally doubt Dooley and Wilcox had any issues and Wilcox left because he realized Dooley (and by extension whole staff) will be on hot seat the following year and bailed because of that. Remember that only one year earlier Wilcox turned down Texas DC position - so how much could he have hated Dooley if he decided to turn down that lucrative offer?
 
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#17
#17
Writing on the wall, nobody with any smarts would have come to Knoxville to be the DC with Dooley on the HOT SEAT. Saban just outsmarted Dooley knowing that if he would hire Sunseri that Saben would get the better recruiter and coach with Thompson.
 
#18
#18
Dougie_D said:
I like juicy stories. The Dooley era is over, but it's always fun to bring back the past till game day. I'm hoping this forum has members who can now tell us the real story on things.

Question number 1:

What was the purpose of Sunseri being our DC at that time?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

No reputable DC wanted to come work for a coach who was clearly on a path to be fired sooner rather than later. That's why Dooley could only find a position coach who wasn't a current DC. Wilcox saw the writing on the wall and jumped off the sinking ship. Only a guy a like Buddy Hackett would sign on to take a pay raise and change in title for one year and then move back to being a position coach.
 
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#19
#19
ManningBerry#1 said:
He was a sabotage that Alabama knew they could implant within our system.
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Alabama did need/want to implant anything within our system. They already had us where they wanted us, which was down. Why implant anything to mess that up? :crazy:
 
#21
#21
KBVol said:
No reputable DC wanted to come work for a coach who was clearly on a path to be fired sooner rather than later. That's why Dooley could only find a position coach who wasn't a current DC. Wilcox saw the writing on the wall and jumped off the sinking ship. Only a guy a like Buddy Hackett would sign on to take a pay raise and change in title for one year and then move back to being a position coach.
Click to expand...

this.
 
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#22
#22
jlindsa4 said:
Dooley being a lawyer, I always thought he was never in it for coaching... just the money. I feel Dooley made a deal with Sunseri. He told Sunseri to make the defense too complicated for anyone to understand so that it would cave. So bad that it would cause the UT staff to fire the entire staff...

Why would a man want to be fired? Easy, big paycheck after forcing the University's hand to breach the contract by sucking.
Click to expand...



Dooley has a law degree and his wife is a OB/GYN. They will never hurt for money and your theory is asinine.
 
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#23
#23
I thought he was going to be a great DC. He heard great things about him when he was on the Carolina Panthers staff, and then he was getting a lot of recognition in Alabama when he went there.
It was just a total swing-and-a-miss. I'd imagine Derek Dooley had at least something to do with that whole thing going as badly as it did.
 
#25
#25
IIRC, a good majority of VolNation was excited about Sunseri coming to UT. Not long into the season, though, the "3rd down and me" jokes were overplayed as everyone, well mostly everyone, realized how poor of a hire Sal was.

A simpler defensive scheme that tailored to our subpar defense could have been the difference in a successful season in 2012.
 
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