Like pretty much every major program, the Tennessee football team has had some rough coaching hires over the years. But Tennessee, unfortunately, has two former head coaches who ended up making one of the most embarrassing lists in all of college football.
Recruits see Tennessee football as a legitimate CFP contender under Josh Heupel
FanSided's Saturday Blitz released their "College football coaches no school should ever trust to run their program" list, and two former Tennessee head coaches have unfortunately been named.
Author Nicholas Rome had former Tennessee coach from 2010-2012, Derek Dooley, on his list at No. 8. Rome said, "It's rare for a head coach to get a job in the SEC, and never get another head coaching gig after, but Derek Dooley managed just that. Dooley's 4-19 mark in SEC play while leading Tennessee is the worst of all coaches in Vols' history while he's also amassed the worst record among Tennessee coaches to spend multiple seasons at the helm."
Then, at No. 1 on the list, it's no surprise, but Lane Kiffin. Rome said, "Two things are certain when you hire Lane Kiffin, he'll bring a ton of buzz, and he'll leave in spectacular fashion creating a world of drama. Kiffin's firing by the Raiders was headlined by Al Davis using a projector to bash him, Kiffin left Tennessee in the middle of the night after one season, USC left him on the Tarmac, Nick Saban fired him as OC ahead of the National Championship, and he left Ole Miss ahead of the College Football Playoff. Will you win games with Lane Kiffin, yes, but the ending will almost certainly erase any good memories from the era."
Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley among the college football head coaches that no program should trust again
Lane Kiffin being ranked No. 1 is not surprising. Everywhere he goes, things tend to end dramatically, generating a lot of headlines. He is a good coach. There is no denying what he has done at Ole Miss, a program that is usually an SEC bottom-tier team. However, the constant drama surrounding his career is what makes him feel untrustworthy to people. It's always chaos with him, and is it really worth it?
Derek Dooley ended up out of coaching and eventually moved into politics. Even before he got to Knoxville, his stint at Louisiana Tech wasn’t exactly standout, and things didn’t improve when he took over the Tennessee.
His time in Knoxville didn’t really push the program forward, and that’s a big reason he never got another head coaching job in college football afterward. It wasn’t until years later that he even got a coordinator job. Respectfully, he just isn't a very good coach.
The good news is that Josh Heupel has brought a real sense of stability to the Tennessee program, and there isn’t nearly as much chaos or uncertainty surrounding the team anymore.
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