The CheckerBoard

I guess we are actually a top 20 team since no one outside the top ten have beaten us

Completely agree with you, but Darr was ranked #1 by some services (don't remember who they were) and so was Palardy. Probably the hardest job is projecting punters and kickers.

I actually do think UT is a top 25 team. Most of the non-SEC top 25 teams would not have much of a chance to come to Neyland and beat UT.

Remember, Candy just dropped OSU and Northwestern from their schedules via us mail. So he is getting better by playing lessor teams.

Look UT is in a no win situation with some of the fans--we drop a good team fromthe schedule and work to get some wins that way we are weak, we keep strong teams and we are not smart need to take a break from the SEC schedule. No win with some of the A-hole opinions.

One thing is for sure-if you listen to the USCjr players post game you would realize what they said and what they thought of our coaching ability. If you are so narrow minded that your message board coaching ability is that good and choose not to open your view point then yes you are a legand in your own mind.

What did USC say? I haven't heard what they have said. And legend in my own mind? No not quite brother, just don't see how we haven't improved every year since he has gotten here. W's and L's don't always tell the whole story, but for some of this fanbase it sure seems to.

So any team that is winning 10-12 games a year is "dirty" and "classless"? This has got to be the most asinine comment ever made on this board and it surprises me none that RockytopATL agrees with it. How you guys can try and defend him at this point astonishes me. All I keep hearing is excuses and more excuses which Dooley said himself before the year started that this was the year of no excuses. He has now ruined the longest winning streak against a conference opponent in the country by losing to a pathetic UK team and we are now in the same company as Vandy as being the only two teams to ever start 0-5 in the conference for 3 years in a row. There are a couple of coaches out there who I personally feel would be worth making a change for and it is only if we cannot get them do I believe Dooley should be retained because you are right about one thing, stability is undeniably important. But please quit defending him, it makes absolutely no sense.

Simple question....do you think a coach that has never beaten a ranked team, is 1-12 in his last 13 SEC games, has not out recruited the teams he plays every year and hired a DC with no significant coordinator experience can win SEC championships? Someone convince me what he has done to make me believe things are going to be any different next year. If you can't out coach or out recruit them what ' s left? Beating Akron, Troy, Ga. State and hoping to not get blown out by the good teams?

You're "pretty sure?" You wrote it. Don't you know?

I didn't downvote you. I met you face to face.

But since you downvoted me, I guess you're 10.

First of all, I would store all of my UT belongings in a bin and cease being a fan if we ever hired Petrino. The guy is scum and I can't believe the number of UT fans I've heard lately say that they would love to hire him. It's sickening to even think about. Obviously we have to agree to disagree because you defending him is no different than me wanting to make a change. It's a moot point and we could sit here and go back and forth all day as to why we feel the way we do. I was a massive Dooley supporter until the UF game. That was the first time I ever questioned his ability to lead our program back to great things. And it's because as I sat in AA watching the events unfold, I realized I was watching the same movie I had seen the previous two years. I pretty much lost all hope after the MSU game. Getting in such a hole early showed me that we were completely unprepared and we had just come off a bye. There is absolutely no excuse for that. Other things that turned me have been the botched pooch kick, the inability to improve this defense throughout the year, his lackadaisical demeanor on the sidelines during the USC game, specifically regarding the blatantly terrible calls that seemed to go unargued by him... Need I continue? The man is simply not getting the job done and he has given me absolutely zero indication that he ever will get it done. Dooley has hung himself out to dry, not me. And if he is let go, he has no one to blame but himself. Instituting the VFL program, stabilizing our roster, finishing with the 7-9th best recruiting class in the conference every year, and going 0-12 against our big four SEC foes is not good enough IMO and it's time to give someone else a shot.