The CheckerBoard

We are a good coach and two corner back recruits away from being pretty good. A good coach makes a lot of the juniors stay....probably not the big three but the d line probably should / could stay another year.

LBs get better next year with depth (and hopefully going back to a 4 3).

FWIW, USC went after Jack Del Rio, Mike Riley, Jeff Fisher, and Steve Sarkisian before finally having no choice but to call Kiffin. Where did you come up with the idea that coaches take jobs where they weren't the first choice?

I think stepping back and looking at that situtation makes the smart, rational fans realize what an amazing stabilization job Dooley did here. USC, a top 5 job, had to settle for their FIFTH choice, and all because of looming NCAA sanctions. Tennessee, not even in the same league as USC as far as job attractiveness, is now being mentioned with coaches such as Gruden, Stoops, Strong, FIsher, etc. when just 3 seasons ago we couldn't find a JUCO coach who wanted this job.

You made the statement that coaches seldom take jobs where they weren't the first choice. That point was quickly disspelled.

And yes, I stand by USC being a more premier job than Tennessee, and only a true homer would disagree with that. A private school located in Los Angeles in one of the top-3 recruiting states in the country. 11 national championships. 473 NFL draft picks, 7 Heisman winners. Yes, USC is a better job than Tennessee. That's uh, why Lane Kiffin left.

And you're only setting yourself up for disappointment if you're pinning your hopes on on ONE longshot coach. There are plenty of rational Vols fans (myself included) who realize there are other capable, competent coaches not named Jon Gruden.

As long as Gruden doesn't go to Arkansas over us I think the fans will give anyone we hire a good chance. I mean they embraced Dooley and his resume was far worse than anyone on our list right now. I think the only way this goes down in a catastrophic manner is if we do lose Gruden to Arkansas, he's hugely successful, and our guy isn't. At that point all bets are off, and we will really see what apathy looks like.

We had to give Dooley a chance. We had no choice. Everyone else said no. Our fan base was (and some still are) about how bad of a job we were at the time. You can't be rebel against the only guy who wanted the job.

You're basically trying to speak for the entire Tennessee fan base when you say that any coach we hire not named Gruden wouldn't be embraced. I wholeheartedly disagree.

I'm not against the Gruden hire, but I'm not in fantasy land either. I'll support whoever the next UT coach is until he gives me a reason not to.

It's like you're saying since the homecoming queen turned me down to the dance I'd be miserable if I ended up going with the runner-up.

I also stand by the statement that USC was and is a better job than Tennessee, that's why Lane Kiffin left. I also stand by saying that Derek Dooley did a great stabilization job at Tennessee. The fact that Stoops and Gruden being linked to here is a testament of his 3 years here.

We're fans of the same team, we just disagree.

JCJ, I recognize you are a new poster and not familiar with others here. Bear would not attempt to speak for the entire fan base. I disagree with him on Gruden, because he is more cautious about hiring him than I am. I think your putting words in his mouth with saying what you are, or at least taking it way wrong.