As expected, the Derek Dooley era at Tennessee is over.
After last night’s dramatic 51-48 four-overtime home loss to Missouri, multiple sources are reporting that the decision to fire Derek Dooley has been made. The only remaining question at this point is the timing of the official announcement.
Per Chis Low of ESPN:
But Tennessee has gone from a top-tier program that had obviously dipped toward the end of Phillip Fulmer’s tenure to a program now that’s totally irrelevant. There really is no decision now for Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart. The only question is if he’ll announce that he’s making a coaching change this week or the next.
With two SEC games remaining on Tennessee’s schedule and a bowl birth still mathematically possible, the timing may hinge on the next loss or the end of the regular season—whichever comes first.
During his tenure at Tennessee thus far, Derek Dooley is a meager 4-18 in Southeastern Conference play, winning just one of his last 14 conference games.
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UPDATE: From Larry Fleming of Chattanoogan.com.
Reports began floating out of Knoxville on Sunday afternoon that the decision to dismiss Dooley had been made. Dooley will be allowed to coach the Vols’ final two games against Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
CBSports.com’s Bruce Feldman wrote Sunday that Tennessee will fire Dooley, but that “there are still some issues the school is trying to sort out” before it makes the move official.
Feldman referenced the volquest.com report that the decision has been made and “the only question is when the school will make the announcement.”
Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart was meeting with the team as the reports began filtering out through various sources.