SEC Football Previews: New coach earning regard of Volunteers

Tennessee Coach Derek Dooley, in his first year at the Volunteers’ helm, is busy earning the respect of his team while simultaneously trying to repair its image. He is the third coach in three years for Tennessee, following Phillip Fulmer and Lane Kiffin.

Tennessee Coach Derek Dooley, in his first year at the Volunteers’ helm, is busy earning the respect of his team while simultaneously trying to repair its image. He is the third coach in three years for Tennessee, following Phillip Fulmer and Lane Kiffin.

Monday, August 2, 2010

— When Derek Dooley held his first team meeting as Tennessee’s coach, senior linebacker Nick Reveiz liked not only what Dooley said, but the way he said it.

“I was kind of comforted by the Southern drawl,” Reveiz said at SEC media days. “It was nice to hear.”

Dooley, 42, looks and sounds like a perfect Southern gentleman - as in the exact opposite of his predecessor, Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin, who bolted Tennessee after one season to return to the West Coast and become coach at Southern California, seemed to upset someone every time he opened his mouth.

His latest flap involves being sued by the Tennessee Titans for the manner in which he hired one of the team’s assistants.

“Whatever Coach Kiffin said, we backed him up, and whatever Coach Dooley says, we’re going to back him up, too,” Vols senior defensive end Chris Walker said. “But I’ve got a feeling he won’t be saying those things that Coach Kiffin did.”

Dooley has a law degree, but doesn’t figure to get sued for anything he says or does.

“Coach Dooley is an old soul, I guess you could say,” Vols senior tight end Luke Stocker said. “He’s a mature guy for his age. And he knows all about SEC football.”

Dooley is the son of Vince Dooley, Georgia’s legendary former coach and athletic director who led the Bulldogs to the 1980 national championship.

Derek Dooley also has some SEC and national title experience, having been an LSU assistant for Nick Saban when the Tigers won a share of the national championship in 2003.

Dooley said he continues to have a good relationship with Saban, now Alabama’s coach, and that his father is supportive while not being intrusive.

“I would be a fool if I didn’t reach out to him, someone who has had the success that he’s had,” said Dooley, who came to Tennessee after three years as Louisiana Tech’s coach and athletic director. “Certainly, I’ve done that, and I’ll continue to do that.

“But at the end of the day, I’ll continue to shape the program that fits my personality.”

Dooley hasn’t coached a game at Tennessee, but he showed an indication of the program he plans to run when he dismissed starting sophomore safety Darren Myles Jr. from the team and indefinitely suspended defensive tackle Marlon Walls and linebacker Greg King for their involvement in a bar fight earlier this summer.

“I didn’t really act to try andsend a message,” Dooley said. “I did what I thought was the responsible thing to do as the head football coach.”

Said Walker, “The discipline that Coach Dooley brings to our team is something that’s really good for us and something we needed.”

The Vols also need a coach to hang around for a while. Dooley is the third coach for players who are entering their third season in Knoxville.

Stability had been the norm. Kiffin replaced Phillip Fulmer, who was Tennessee’s coach for 16 years. Fulmer replaced Johnny Majors, who also was on the job for 16 years, and like Fulmer played for the Vols.

Tennessee went 5-7 in Fulmer’s last season and 7-6 in Kiffin’s lone season.

“It’s certainly been a tough couple of years for our fans,” Dooley said. “They’re used to winning and stability.”

This figures to be another tough season for the Vols and their fans.

Starting quarterback Matt Simms, a redshirt junior, has no SEC experience and threw 10 passes in two games at Louisville in 2008.

The Vols’ top returning rusher, David Oku, had 23 attempts for 94 yards last season, and Tennessee will break in four new starters on the offensive line.

Five starters, including All-American safety Eric Berry, were lost on defense.

The loss of talent combined with another coaching change resulted in Tennessee being picked to finish fifth in the SEC East, ahead of only Vanderbilt.

“I promise you nobody in our locker room is picking us fifth in the East,” Stocker said. “We expect to go out there and win every game.”

Tennessee’s players said going through another coaching change hasn’t been easy, but the team now seems comfortable with Dooley.

“When he came into that first team meeting, he told us, ‘I’m not going to ask you to trust me,’ ” Reveiz said. “ ‘You guys have been through a lot, and I know you’re not going to trust me right off the bat. But over time, I hope you’ll learn to trust me.’

“That showed me he understood what we were going through, and that’s something I can appreciate because when some coaches first come in, they are just thinking, ‘I’ve got to get the team to do this for me.’

“Coach Dooley has earned our trust now.”

Sports, Pages 13 on 08/02/2010