The CheckerBoard

Good Info. Thanks Wes. What Dooley says sounds reasonable...but he does on most occasions. Time gonna' tell.

A good manager always has a person or persons in mind when it comes to replacing key people. It is disappointing that there appears to be no one in mind at this point as Dooley has three key positions to fill. One of which has been open for quite some time.

Just because Dooley didn't mention names doesn't mean he has nobody in mind. It makes more sense for Dooley NOT to tell the public who he's looking at, as leaking such information might a) spur other schools interested in that coach to swoop in with a better offer or b) dissuade the coach from taking the job.

I imagine Dooley and Hart have had a short list of potential DC candidates for awhile - they just are not prepared to publicly relay these names.. It was a matter of time before Wilcox and Sirmon left. The only thing I am surprised about was it was not a HC job.

A couple of positives I see -
1). Going to Washington will mitigate the loss of recruits who may have followed them to a more central location or a more "name" school. For this same reason I don't see us competing against Sirmon on the recruiting trail. At least for the near future.
2.). The eventual departure of Wilcox / Sirmon has been looming for some time and with it a feeling of "instability" that followed us in recruiting. Dooley / Hart can move forward now that the inevitable has occurred and remove that negative vibe with a good hire.

The point is not that he tells us options but that there is a hire soon (a couple of days not weeks). There is nothing to indicate that will happen. In fact, he has a long standing opening (Baggett) that has cost one recruit so far.

Actually, Baggett's opening I believe was filled when they hired Jay Graham. If I remember correctly, they moved Hinshaw, the QB coach to receivers, and moved Chaney from OC/running backs coach to OC/QB coach. The opening on the offensive staff would be to replace Eric Russell as tight ends/special teams coach.

Of course, depending on who is available on the offensive side of the ball, there might be still be some musical chairs on the offensive staff.

It is good to hear from Coach Dooley, but I am very nervous about holding onto these defensive recruits. We had some beasts committed and we need to shore up their committments. Before the departure of Wilcox and Sirmon broke, I was telling a friend of mine that UT just needed to get to National Signing Day without any drama...and then BOOM! Now I am just hoping to keep these young men committed to play for the University of Tennessee and for Dooley to make a couple more great hires soon (his track record is pretty good). Here's to hoping. Go Vols!