CFN Analysis - Derek Dooley To Tennessee
Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley By Staff <javascript:location.href='http://search.scout.com/a.z?s=451&p=4&c=1&search= 1&sskey=%22'%20+%20author%20+%20'%22&sssiteid=451&type=2';> CollegeFootballNews.com Posted Jan 15, 2010 <http://cfn.scout.com/2/938091.html#email-a-friend-window#email-a-friend-win dow> <http://cfn.scout.com/a.z?s=451&p=10&c=938091&refid=4781> | More <http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=scout> Will Muschamp said no. David Cutcliffe decided to stay at Duke. Tennessee needed to hire a coach in a hurry after the abrupt loss of Lane Kiffin, and while Derek Dooley of Louisiana Tech is an interesting hire, he's a bit of a head-scratcher. The CFN writers give their take on the new Vol head man. CFN Analysis Derek Dooley to take over Tennessee Pete Fiutak <mailto:[email protected]> Uhhhhhhh, Tennessee. You do know that by hiring a guy with the last name of Dooley you don't also get 1980 Herschel Walker in the deal. Derek Dooley is a decent young coaching prospect, but in three years at Louisiana Tech he went 5-7, 8-5, and 4-8 and is coming off a hugely disappointing season. Of the 17 wins, only one came against a team that finished with a winning record, and that was against a 2008 Fresno State squad that went 7-6, the one bowl win was against a Northern Illinois team that finished 6-7, and the only other halfway decent win came last year against Mississippi State in the season opener. That's it. Tennessee, start burning your mattresses now if you need to because this just doesn't make sense. Dooley might turn out to be a star and he might do wonders with the big stage to play on, but based on his résumé and his body of work, Nick Saban, Les Miles, Mark Richt, and the rest of the SEC coaches aren't going to have a problem recruiting against the Vols. Dooley will bring the Kiffin-like energy and he bust his tail to make this work, but is he the mega-watt star needed to make Tennessee a superpower again? Alabama went out and bought Saban. Florida will get Urban Meyer back. If Tennessee wanted to be at that level, it needed to get itself one of those types of stars. At the moment, Dooley is a guy and that means Tennessee will be just a program. The big question will be what can Dooley do to make the Vols special. Is Tennessee really getting a guy on the upswing? Again, it's not like his Louisiana Tech career was worthy of a plum gig like this. Meyer dominated at Bowling Green and Utah before going to Florida. Saban, Miles, Houston Nutt, and Bobby Petrino were proven winners when they jumped in the SEC pool. Tennessee is taking a big chance partly because it likes Dooley and partly because there was no other choice. Unfortunately, hiring Dooley isn't a face-saver after missing out on Will Muschamp and David Cutcliffe. This might be a treading water hire, and now it's up to Dooley to show that he can be more. A lot more. Oliver Barry CRS,GRI Real Estate Broker Bob Parks Realty 1517 Hunt Club Blvd Gallatin TN 37066 Phone: 615-826-4040 Fax: 615-822-2027 Mobile: 615-972-4239
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