Derek Dooley Stays On Point Through SEC Media Days

It's a time we all know and love down here in the SEC. Media Days! Where the head coaches and select players from each team are available to the media. Last year the big story was who did not vote for Tim Tebow in the preseason All-SEC team. It turned out Steve Spurrier had some member of the athletic department fill it out and left Tebow off. Also, everyone was very interested in what then Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin would say.

This year the big stories have been about agents as pimps and new Vanderbilt head coach Robbie Caldwell's first job working on a turkey farm (which was actually very funny as Caldwell said he was on the "inseminating crew").

Tennessee of course has Derek Dooley as the new head man on Rocky Top and he came prepared for the media gauntlet today. Dooley was first asked about his parents and what colors they would be wearing to games (real tough questions I know) since Dooley's father Vince was head coach and athletic director at Georgia for decades. I thought Dooley handled all questions quite well trying to keep the focus on what is going on now and what this season will bring instead of what his predecessor had done.

Dooley's biggest point had been the same he had talked about since he got the job, character. He wants his players to be accountable for their actions and be great representatives of the University of Tennessee and the community. “Certainly our image is not where we want it to be,” Dooley said. “All I know is that whether you have two incidents, four incidents, five incidents, either way, you don’t want any incidents in your program. So it’s important to do a lot of things internally to minimize the risk of those incidents.”

The biggest test of this policy came a few weeks ago after the brawl at Bar Knoxville in which safety Darren Myles was dismissed from the team and linebacker Greg King and defensive tackle Marlon Walls were suspended. Dooley said that the team as a whole felt responsible for what happened as the leaders of the team did not do their best at educating the players to take responsibility for their actions. This is something Dooley is looking to change on Rocky Top. Many know it is not going to happen overnight, but I think they are off to a good start.

Overall I thought Dooley did quite well at the podium. Being a former lawyer he knows how to work a room, is very engaging, and he thinks before he says anything. Which was good since the media kept trying to get him to take a shot at his predecessor.

While I think Dooley has said and done things the correct way so far, the real test comes this fall when he has to coach the Big Orange in Neyland Stadium. As always the SEC media days really signals the countdown to football season! So let's get rolling!

Reaction to Lane Kiffin Leaving Tennessee

Well well, what a 27th birthday indeed! I figured my birthday would be as good a day as any to start a new blog, rambling about Tennessee, movies, video games, etc. I just never thought it would start off like this.

I was announcing a basketball game at my high school when I got a text telling me that Kiffin had taken the job at USC. My first reaction was not of surprise like so many of my Tennessee friends have had. Maybe it is because I am a little bit of a cynic and really never believed that Kiffin bought into the whole Tennessee family. I told my parents two months ago that the only other head coaching job Kiffin would take would be at Southern California. I just did not think that job would open up so soon.

In reality it is a better job for Lane Kiffin to be the head coach at USC. You can be a little more laid back in the Pac-10 than you can in the SEC where you have to be on your game 24/7 and fans live and die by every little rumor that they hear. Also, at USC all Kiffin has to do is recruit the state of California and the Trojans will have a competitive team every year, instead of having to recruit against Florida, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, and the rest of the SEC for every five star recruit.

My first reaction was actually of disappointment. I felt really upset for the Tennessee players who will be under their third head coach in as many years. The reaction on campus and in the players meeting when Kiffin told his players he was leaving was one of betrayal. No surprise there as the players believed Kiffin would be in Knoxville long enough to at least to see his first recruiting class graduate.

Fans in Big Orange Country are not used to seeing this happen either. Johnny Majors and Phillip Fulmer were on Rocky Top a combined 32 years, so loyalty and longevity are big in the minds of the Tennessee faithful.

Tennessee fans may feel hurt, but you have to take off the orange shaded glasses and realize this is the college football world we live in. Coaching promises mean nothing anymore. Fans will just have to understand that Tennessee will probably go out and do the same thing USC just did and get a coach from another school. Fans at UW-Milwaukee were not happy with Tennessee after we hired Bruce Pearl in 2005. This is just the nature of the beast.

Now, the ball is back in Tennessee's court. AD Mike Hamilton will have to find a new head coach that will have to not only clean up the mess that Kiffin left on his way out, but salvage a recruiting class with only three weeks left until National Signing Day.

On top of all that is the 2010 football schedule, not only does Tennessee have to go through the usual wars in the SEC, but the defending Pac-10 champion Oregon Ducks come calling in week two.

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday yesterday! I look forward to all of your comments!