Tennessee Volunteers Football: Derek Dooley's Clock Is Ticking

Derek Dooley said his team hit rock bottom after snapping a 26-game winning streak to Kentucky. That may be an understatement. 

After two years at the helm, Dooley has done little to bring back the winning tradition to Rocky Top. An 11-14 record for the second winningest football program in SEC history has many die-hard Vol fans calling for the third coaching change since 2008. 

Not so fast. 

The Vols may not be performing on the field but thanks to Dooley's system, they are headed down the right path. 

Dooley took control of a program in 2010 that was becoming more well-known for their recruiting violations and off-the-field issues than production on the field. Rather than having a united team full of highly-touted juniors and seniors like his conference counterparts, Dooley inherited a squad with 28 true freshmen and little star power.

A majority of Lane Kiffin's once anticipated recruiting class from 2009 ended up transferring or robbing too many convenience stores. Kiffin and the Vols had a top-10 recruiting class in 2010 that nearly decimated after his untimely departure, but Dooley did a masterful job of holding onto players like Tyler Bray and landing home run signings in emerging receivers Da'Rick Rogers and Justin Hunter. 

Tennessee is no longer at the forefront of the SEC's off-the-field issues, thanks in large part to LSU and Florida picking up the slack. Although that's not much of a consolation for two straight losing seasons, it is something this program desperately needed. 

Despite improvement in these important categories, Dooley has yet to prove himself worthy to be the head coach at Tennessee. It's hard to do that when a team has virtually no leadership and a schedule that even the Indianapolis Colts might struggle with. 

Oh, did I mention the Vols played most of the season without their two best players, Bray and Hunter? Did I also point out that their second leading tackler from 2010, Herman Lathers, was sidelined all year with a leg injury?

The injuries, inexperience and brutal schedule only go so far to make some sense of going 1-7 in a conference that they've historically dominated. 

When it comes down to it, Tennessee will soon run out of excuses. They're getting older, healthier, and from the looks of it, a much easier schedule (looks like it will be Mississippi State-Missouri instead of LSU-Arkansas in 2011-2012). The time will come for Dooley to beat teams like Georgia, Florida and South Carolina and if he doesn't, he will soon join the growing list of former Tennessee coaches.

The Tennessee football program is going down the right path, and Derek Dooley is driving amidst a brutal hail storm while going 15 mph. The sky will soon clear up, and Dooley will have to put the pedal to the metal. If he doesn't, his foes will continue to zoom right past, and the program will spin out of control. 

So for now, sit back, keep your fingers crossed and hope the ride gets a little smoother.