Searching For A Volunteer Coach

When I laid my head down to rest on Thursday evening, I was convinced that Tennessee was going to hire David Cutcliffe as the new head coach for the Tennessee football program. I had questioned the news but when I heard that the official Duke University's football page had removed most or all of the names from the current coaching staff, it caused me to believe that perhaps Tennessee had found their man. Today, I had a lazy day and after watching a movie and a couple of "Man Vs. Wild" episodes that I had recorded on my DVR, I discovered that Tennessee was perhaps negotiating with Derek Dooley, current head coach at Louisiana Tech and son of longtime Georgia coach, Vince Dooley. One thing is for sure, I know someone who thinks it would be a great hire for Tennessee, Barbara Dooley! What about Vol fans? Well, one thing is for sure, Athletic Director Mike Hamilton seems to be "feeling the air" before making a decision. When I look at the present situation at Tennessee and I compare it to Auburn's situation more than a year ago, I have to applaud Jay Jacobs. WHAT? What did I just say? Applause for Jay Jacobs? Yes! I did say it. Auburn Athletic Director, Jay Jacobs, found his man and he hired him. He did not "feel the air" by putting the name all over the media for 24 hours to see how fans were going to react. If he had done that, Gene Chizik would not have been hired. Thank God, Mr. Jacobs did not handle the situation like his counterpart from Tennessee seems to be doing. Gene Chizik was a great hire and he has Auburn on the upswing. The play on the field was much better in 2009 and the recruiting is much better than I ever thought it would be. Thank you, Mr. Jacobs for finding your man and hiring him without feeling around for public opinion. Mr. Hamiliton, shame on you! Go out and find the man you believe to be right for the job and stop worrying about the reaction of the fans. If you know in your heart that you hire the right man and he has success, the fans will come around, even if they don't like it at first. I've seen blogs that have proclaimed David Cutcliffe as the coach and others that have merely said he was offered the job. I have seen blogs naming Derek Dooley as coach, only to find others that state Derek Dooley is merely the top candidate. I truly believe Tennesee Athletic Director, Mike Hamilton, is putting names out there and floating them around first in order to find out if the fan base approves or disapproves. Be a man, sir and do your job. Stop worrying about public opinion and do what is best for Tennessee. If you don't know, step down and let Tennessee hire a new Athletic Director. You hired a good basketball coach. Go out and hire the man you believe is right to coach the football team. Personally, I believe Derek Dooley would be a great hire for Tennessee. Then again, if he has success and another big time school comes calling, he just might take off like Lane Kiffin did. David Cutcliffe would be a loyal Volunteer coach but he is 57 years old. Derek Dooley is a young man with a long run ahead of him. Loyalty or youth? The search continues for a Volunteer coach.