The CheckerBoard

I just hope we win. Shock the world. Stem the Tide. I'm an old school Vol fan. Beating Bama makes the season.

I really dont care anymore. If we make a change, we better do it right this time.

hdrizzle--if you told me we would go 0-12 against the big boys I would not and still can't believe it. I bleed orange, read orange, believe orange and have a belief that our team is always going to win when we grip up and get ready. I can't stand Fla, UGA, bammer, and until CSS got to USCe never really thought of them but they are working quickly to get into that club. In the end every dog has his day and Smokey will have a big day. I for one never thought I would see a national championship with my eyes--1998 changed all of that so I know that we have the ability to be that team, we have to get that first big win and get that taste and once we get the taste for blood, learn how to win agian, and expect to win we will turn the corner and be there. As hard as this year has been for the true fans the wins will be so much sweeter. I will be cheering for the Vols Saturday and for the next one and the next one til I don't have anymore left. That is about all I can tell you.

This! Listening to national guys about this stuff is usually as factual as a message board. The local guys usually know best.

Feldman just posted this in his mailbag today. I can't say I disagree with anything he says here.

From @lucky931: Did u tell Finebaum Dooley had to win the Bama or USCjr game to keep his job?

I did. As I've said before, Derek Dooley took over a bad situation. The Tennessee program was a mess in the wake of Lane Kiffin bolting to USC. Dooley has brought some stability. I say some because he's also had a huge amount of staff turnover in his three years too, and that's been a lot more for players to sort through. UT football is certainly better than when Dooley arrived.

I suspect the problem here is that the Vols simply haven't shown enough under him by now to convince the power brokers at UT that he is the right guy to lead them going forward. UT isn't a young team any more. There are a lot of two and three-year starters. They have talent, but for whatever reason, the Vols aren't getting results. They haven't proven they can beat a good team. Dooley has never beaten a ranked team in his coaching career. He's also 1-10 in his last 11 SEC games. That's bad if you're at UK or Ole Miss. It's unthinkable at Tennessee. He's also lost to programs UT had dominated for years (UK, Miss. State). My hunch is barring a big upset of Alabama or South Carolina, it's not going to be enough to get Year Four.

I mean is it going to win people over if they end on a three-game winning streak in SEC play but it came against Mizzou, Vandy and Kentucky – teams that are a combined 1-11 this year in conference? I seriously doubt that.

If the Vols go 7-5, which is no easy task, Dooley will be retained. Dooley's 5 million dollar buyout is just the beginning of the cost. Each of the seven coaches hired last year all have buyout clauses which would double that 5 million buyout. Unless Haslam is willing to come up with ten million or Tennessee loses one of the final four games Dooley stays. We are all upset about losing on the road to State. Dooley has not been given a fair chance to show what the talent he recruited can do.All he has to do to keep his job this week is beat the number one team in the country. Considering the talent level and number of men he started with 3 years ago that's more than a tough task. Let's support the Vols and their coach. We wont be making any decisions about a coaching change. We have half a season to support our team and our coaches.