The CheckerBoard

Interesting of Dooley to speak about his self evaluation.

Seems like he skirted the SEC meetings issue. He's got something on his mind to say there, lol.

...something ready that Slive will have OK'd privately in advance. He's not as dumb as some seem to think those orange pants make him look.

Fear the slacks!

And didja notice part of the year-end eval. w/each player involved asking them what the coaches could do better, too? That cuts directly against the attempt some have made to cast him as arrogant. He wants to control his program, but he knows he's not perfect, and that he makes mistakes.

govols247: What could you do better?

Dooley: “Probably the biggest thing, Wes, is just committing to a certain set of values that are gonna be the road map for us every day — in how we conduct our business, how we work as a team — and doing a better job of making sure those values are getting practiced by the staff and by the players.”

Reading that makes me feel better about Dooley. It's what I have been waiting to hear. If he executes on this then he will be a better coach and this team will reflect that.

It takes time to rebuild a brand that has last it's way. It's a tough job as well, particularly when things go horribly wrong. And they had.

I used to cringe when I would read of a UT player being arrested. But, I got over it when we were winning. Not so much when we were losing. (I do take pride in UT players representing the team well, particularly when I see the names of other team's players included in arrest records.)

But, along with losing discipline at the player's personal behavior level, it appeared that the team itself had lost the disciplined ways that made it a winner. The team began losing on and off the field.

Changing coaches, the way we did, did not help. Along with dramatic shifts in philosophy and losing coaching continuity, we also lost many players through transfer.

Dooley had to face a depleted cupboard of talent and (numbers of players), instill a new philosophy, and a winning attitude among the players that remained. And, he had to do it by building a solid foundation built on UT values, rather than flash and dash, smoke and mirrors. He has had to replenish the numbers of players and add quality players while instilling discipline on and off the field. Basically rebuilding a solid foundation that will last. Not an easy job when people want immediate results.

I hope/believe we will begin to see his efforts pay off with a better team performance and record this year, and with leadership among the players. If he continues to focus on improvement each year as a team, as players and as coaches, the future will be bright.

Go Vols.

Good post, Bsginc. Please chime in more often on the board.