Dooley, recruiting, and the future on The Hill...

[tm3]

Sorry to throw water on the warmth of this fire... but the guy has inherited an extremely difficult situation.

which seems to me yet another plus in the DD column.

what we absolutely have to have is someone who is willing to work damn hard to get us out of this cumulative mess. not someone who is content to rest on their laurels.

 

[smowkee]

well said Eric.

 

[MOTOVOL]

I asked in another thread and no answer so I will try in this one. I am not up on the recruiting like a lot of you are so I have a few questions. Does or is Coach DD recruiting someone we would want. And is there an oppurtunity to get someone else we might not of gotten with the Punk? I have seen Seastrunk (spelling?) could be an option others?

 

[volger]

Great post Big E. I am excited about the hire myself, and wish him the best. I thought about getting a spreadsheet going on the CDD haters, fence riders, and who supported him from the start, then pull it out in a couple years to see where the naysayers are then. You know the.... "I knew all along he was going to be a great hire" types.

 

[Tampavolz]

I want to and will support him,, but cannot say he is my guy until I see them line up next fall,,, recruiting is one thing and I think he will do well - we all know he or anyone else has to get top 15 each and every year to stay up with the rest of the league. I am interested in how well the team tackles, how well they pass, and how hard they hit -- I. E., THE MAXIMS.

 

[sjt18]

I think a bunch of Fulmerites wanted Kiffin to fail, and this is their "evidence" of that "failure.":blink:

No. This is evidence that the guy is low class and lacks character... and that's being very kind. UT gave him a shot when no one else would. They gave him a very, very long leash. They ran cover for his recruiting "mistakes"... and then with 3 weeks to go until NSD he hosed UT in the extreme.

If his original plan was to do all he could to destroy UT football for the next 10 years, he could have scarcely done any better without being banned by the NCAA.

He didn't fail.

Well I don't know what he might have done. I was admittedly optimistic with the talent he was bringing and what they had accomplished with the 09 team.... but frankly I don't think 7-6 is the definition of "success" at UT.

In the meantime, he soiled UT's reputation and then left the Vols. It reminds me of a movie I saw where a good wife was seduced by a louse who used her, destroyed her marriage and reputation, then left her with nothing.

Don't give me recruiting rankings either. If recruiting rankings were the measure of success then Fulmer should still be HC. Fulmer's problem was class attrition. Well guess what? CLK had already lost two notable guys and his greatest coup (Bryce Brown) has a hip injury that some have suggested could be permanent and serious.

We will see if much of this class is lost, but he did not leave the cupboard nearly as bare as it was with Fulmer. All that is needed now is to continue the progress.

Yes he did. Unless Dooley and staff pull off a minor miracle and hold this class together then UT next year will be in much worse shape than UT last year.

Hamilton is doing a great job. Get off his back (all ye Fulmerites)!

Hamilton made the choice to go mercenary. He knew what he was getting and hired Kiffin anyway. Kiffin is very talented. He's very charasmatic. But the character concerns weren't a complete secret.

If Hamilton had hired Calhoun instead, UT would be on a path to recovery rather than where they are. It wouldn't have been a glamorous choice... but the guy has class and a load of talent.

 

[Sabanocchio]

You once believed in a man that left you hanging, now believe in the man that will be here for a long time and help bring the prestige back to Rocky Top.

If we've learned anything from this, it is that there are no guarantees of that. This guy isn't going to have long before wins become necessary to secure his job.

This is a different era of coaching...

 

[joey-nac]

If he doesnt win 8 games in either of his 1st 2 years, I would doubt him getting a 3rd.

 

[VolDC]

I hope the best for Dooley. That being said, if we were going to experiment with the football program, it should have been with Kippy.

 

[D'sgonnaBmean]

So yall need to get off coach, a whole lotta folkz kno betta than yall and truzt me he gon b aight....watch and see, da ones that leaving let 'em go,we getn back into family REAL family....

 

[coffeevol]

I am glad we have Dooley, lets see him put it together on the field before we cast him aside....

 

[SteelerVol]

So yall need to get off coach, a whole lotta folkz kno betta than yall and truzt me he gon b aight....watch and see, da ones that leaving let 'em go,we getn back into family REAL family....

Agreed! Hey, Saban didn't take DD with him to the Dolphins for nothing.... And Saban didn't leave the Phish because he was killin' it and look at him now. Heck, they're calling him the next Bear Bryant (who my dad played for btw at UK) I'm just sayin' that DD excites me more than anyone other than Muschamp and Muschamp was the one that told Hamilton that the best available coach out there was DD. Too, remember that 70% of what happens after spring practice is on the coordinators. If he can recruit even close to what Kiffin did than he's a better coach.

 

[the.one.the.only]

So yall need to get off coach, a whole lotta folkz kno betta than yall and truzt me he gon b aight....watch and see, da ones that leaving let 'em go,we getn back into family REAL family....

are you jacques?

even if you aren't, I completely agree. X wasn't what UT is about, or the south even. It's all about family down here. Glad to see that POS traitor gone

 

[TideWarrior]

I think some fans miss the big picture here. The sky is not falling and UT is still positioned to be heading in the right direction. Remember all a good recruiter does is get players to visit. The better they are the more that show up to see if what you are telling them is valid. The real selling point or close the deal point is their visit. It does not matter what a coach tells them. These players have all the same info we do if not more about a team. They know the depth chart and the opportunity for them to play early. Some of you think they have no clue but they do and no matter what the coach tells them they know the truth and for the most part are realistic.

What closes the deal is the tradition of the program, the campus, the fans, and the atmosphere of the university. A coach brings them in but it is everything else that gets them commited. Why do you think C Miller is staying. Yes he might of wanted to play for CMK, but he also loved UT and wanted to play in the SEC. Do you think if the old staff was at La Tech these players would have considered it, even as good as they recruit. No, they were able to sell UT because UT can sell itself. It is alot bigger then your head coach.

In regards to the few players UT has lost, I doubt it really had much to do with the coaching turnover. I would say it just gave the few a way out. M Taylor was already reported to look elsewhere. A Dixon was never a lock until NSD. B Willis had already decommited once. D Jones has been looking around for a while now. Even M Ambles was already panning visits, not saying he will not be a Vol. The fact is the players that seem to bail already had those intentions prior to Kiffin and Co leaving.

Now some will say that it might of took UT out of play with some players left out there, but it might help get some that were not interested. Now that Kiffin is gone C Nelson looks to be even more interested then before. I also think UT will land some they did not think they would get in the end.

Remember the key for UT is not getting 5 stars, though I know some fans think if you don't you are doomed, but UT needs to fill holes of players graduating or leaving for the NFL. High profile recruits are great, but depth is more important. M Ingram was a 3 star when we offered him.

 

[D'sgonnaBmean]

Not only iz da sky not fallin but da sun gon shine again, like i said, the onez dat are here and comin are here for UT and we'z family now for real this time tho.