UGA’s Dooley The Elder Takes Up For UT’s Dooley The Younger

September 24th, 2012 05:29 PM║ Posted By: John Pennington ║ Permalink ║ Schools: Georgia, Tennessee
Tags: Frank Beamer, Georgia, recruiting, Vince Dooley Derek

Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley is on the hot seat. After taking over the mess that two coaching changes in two straight offseasons created, the coach has restocked the Vols’ cupboard to a point… but not to the point where most Vol fans would like. In three years with UT, if Dooley wins Saturday at #5 Georgia it will be his first SEC win outside the borders of the Volunteer State.

Well, ex-Georgia coach Vince Dooley — Derek’s dad — believes his son needs more time to turn things around up the road in Knoxville:

“He’s still got a very tough job there. He’s still lacking in recruiting and getting some athletes in order to compete. It’s an instant success generation that we’re in. Frank Beamer, when he went the first six years (of his career at Virginia Tech), I think he was 24-48. If you look at this record the first six years it’s amazing that he stayed, that he held on to his job. But he did, and now he’s one of the winningest coaches in the country, with 240 wins. But patience is very thin, and this is an important year for him. So I hope it will allow them to have patience to give him time to get a chance to get established up there. Because he did inherit a tough situation.”

As is usually the case when his son leads Tennessee against the school he himself coached for decades, the elder Dooley will be nowhere television cameras can find him. “I will not be at the game. I’ll be watching the game on television by myself.”

A win for Derek could go a long way in making sure Vince and Derek aren’t able to watch next year’s Georgia-Tennessee game on television together.

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8 comments

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bradleygator

HoustonVol, would you take Petrino? Petrino at UT would scare me a little bit. More than Spurrier at USC actually. Spurrier is obviously a better coach but SC has a lower ceiling than Tennessee.

HoustonVol

@bradleygator Would I want Petrino as the Vol coach? No. While his programs have never had issue with the NCAA, yet. He personally does not have any moral fibers in his body and is not worthy of being the Vol head coach. Plus I think he has shown his limit as a college coach. He needs to have a come to Spurrier moment. Spurrier could score by the dozen, but never won a NC until he started feeding the defense the talent that he recruited for the offense. That and hiring a defense coach and just let him coach (Stoops). If Dooley is let go, the first coach I would go after, was also my first choice after Fulmer; Dantoni from Michigan St. I think that he has the ability to take UT back to the top.

I would love Spurrier, but I don't see that happening. While I hate him as a coach, it is only because his victories usually come at my Vols expenses. He wins cleanly, and can flat out coach. The TN boy coming home could be a nice story. As far as USCe having a ceiling, I think as long as Spurrier is there that ceiling is lifted. Once he steps down, they will revert back to 4th in the East.

HoustonVol

I am not ready to jump ship on Dooley. however this is a key season for him, and the team. While I am still optimistic in this season, it is time to start showing upward progress for the program. I fully expect this team to upset someone. I stated last year that I hope the Kentucky loss was the cleansing loss that a new coach needs to see who is on board and who needs to be shipped off. Usually that key game happens in the first year, but up to that point UT had one every game they were supposed to win and lost every game that they were supposed to lose. (if you question that take a look at Saban's first year at Bama and LSU, and Miles first year at LSU). Of course sometimes those cleansing loss cause the team to bail on the coach and starts the changing process. So far it looks like it woke up these players and allowed the "fire sale" staff that Dooley had to put together to be shipped out and Dooley to bring in his guys. Changing from the 4-3 to the 3-4 (or vice versus) takes more than one season to be smooth. It will give up big plays until the guys learn the system. So outside of a complete crash this year, I don't see Dooley being fired. With the budget constraits in place, the money just is not there unless someone fronts the money.

I want Dooley to succeed. I think he has the tools to succeed at UT, but will he have the time? Comparing UT to VT is not a fair comparison. Before Beamer - VT really had no football success. He was building the program from the ground up, and there were not expectations. There are expectations at UT. A better comparison would be to compare Dooley to Majors. It took Majors 8 years to get UT back into the top 20 consistantly. The string of losses to Bama hit 11. UT is not a ship that can turn as quickly at a UF, Tx, LSU or even Bama. The local talent is not there to feed a program. Even Nashville is as close to Bama as it is Knoxville, and Memphis should be counted as another state. So almost every athlete has to be plucked from another state, and school. So to think that there is a coaching wizard that can just come in, wave a wand and produce a top ten team is delusional. It is why so many coaches passed on the job - it was not a money issue. UT will and is able to pay for coaches. Very few top level coaches will step into a losing situation, which is what UT was two years ago.

bradleygator

What would concern me, if I were a Vol, and I thank the good lord I am not, is that Dooley's teams aren't tough. Toughness meaning you outhit the other team and keep composed. Toughest team wins the SEC these days, (notable exception: Cam Newton) and toughness filters down from the coach. Bama, LSU and SC have the best blend of toughness and talent. Florida's on the come. Georgia's always talented, but their lack of mental toughness holds them back. That's why Spurrier OWNED Richt. Dooley's teams fold under pressure (although perhaps there's some residual from Lane Kiffin's influence). I was concerned about Muschamp last year, but I'm starting to see it from his teams. I think he needed to clear out all the Meyer-coddled mama's boys.

virginiavol

Leave Coach D. Dooley alone, and give him and the players support. I am a UT grad living in Virginia. I just can't believe all of the negative comments coming from so called Vol fans. You are not going to turn this program around in 2-3 years, from what state the program was in when he arrived. Leave the guy and the team alone and give him a chance for gosh sakes.

John at MrSEC moderator

@virginiavol

Who are you talking to? I see two comments here and one is pro-Dooley and the other anti-Dooley.

Thanks for reading,

John

titanreb

I agree totally with Poppa. Dooley did come into one hell of a mess. As an Ole Miss fan i can understand a situation. If we are 6-6 in our third year under our new head coach i wouldnt be ready to jump ship. If Nick Saban dropped dead today (god forbid) i'd still expect Bama to go 12-0 next season cuz there is sooooo much depth and talent there. Recruiting is everything in the SEC and if you are a "lowly" team its gonna take longer than three years in my humble opinion. Every 5 star in the southeast wants to go play for Bama or LSU. Just sayin.

RoadTrip

I know you are taking up for your son, but, c'mon Vince! You are comparing a mediocre at best Va Tech program and facilities before Beamer arrived against the tradition and national prominence of UT - with the largest recruiting budget and top 5 facilities in the nation in the best conference that ever existed. UT was in the SEC championship game a few years before your son arrived.It ain't happening with him. He might make a reasonably good AD at a mid major and that's about it.

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