Tennessee Volunteers: Will Coach Dooley Experience the Second-Year Bump?

The SEC is widely regarded as the nation’s premier conference. The SEC consistently has the best players, the best facilities, and the best coaches. However, for some reason, several coaches have come into the SEC and had tremendous success in their second and third seasons.

The University of Georgia head coach,Mark Richt, led the Bulldogs to a record of 13-1 in his second season and they won the SEC championship and the Sugar Bowl.The Bulldogs were one play away from the BCS national championship game. The previous season the Bulldogs were 8-4.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban led the Tide to the SEC championship game in just his second season. the Crimson Tide were defeated by the eventual national champions Florida. The Tide finished the season 12-2 and would go on to win the BCS national championship in Coach Saban's third season. Alabama was just 7-6 in Coach Saban’s first season.

Former Florida Gator head coach, Urban Meyer, led Florida to the BCS national championship in his second season with the Gators. Florida finished the season 13-1 and dismantled Ohio State 41-14 in the championship game. He would later lead Gators to a BCS championship game in his fourth season. However, in his first season the Gators were only 9-3.

Last season this trend continued as Coach Gene Chizik led the Auburn Tigers to the BCS national championship in just his second season as head coach.  The 14-0 Tigers experienced a 6 game win increase from his first season when they finished 8-5.

This season, in Coach Derek Dooley’s second year as head coach, the Tennessee Volunteers are off to an impressive 2-0 start. Will the Volunteers experience the recent trend in the SEC for second year coaches or have the Volunteers been feasting on a weak schedule?

This question is impossible to answer at this time. However, after this week’s game against the University of Florida, we might be a little closer to the answer. If the Vols are able to defeat the Gators it could be the start of special season for Tennessee.

The Volunteers have two things that are standing in the way of them receiving the second year bump. The first hurdle is the youth of their defense. This defense is loaded with talent but their defensive players do not have a lot of experience.  While that might not show against teams like Montana and Cincinnati, it is likely to when the schedule gets tougher.

The second hurdle is the month of October. Their October schedule is one of the most brutal for any college football team. The Volunteers have to face UGA, LSU, Alabama, and South Carolina in consecutive weeks.  Three of those games are in Knoxville, so that might lessen the blow.

In my opinion, the Volunteers are more likely to take the Bobby Petrino road to success than the second year bump. The Razorbacks had a three game increase in Coach Petrino’s second season and finished 8-5. In his third season they won ten games and played in the BCS Sugar Bowl. Now, in his fourth season, the Razorbacks could be competing for a national championship.

Time will tell which road the Volunteers will travel down. But it does seem clear that they are on a better path than they were last season.