We all know about the mess Derek Dooley inherited. However, what happened in 2012 was on him. It started with his mistakes in not setting the standard for the program in 2011, which he admits, and that culminated with a loss to the Kentucky Wildcats for the program to finish 5-7, one year after it went 6-7 and lost its bowl game.
More from Vols Football
- How to Win a GUARANTEED $200 Bonus Betting Just $5 on the Vols vs. Florida!
- Tennessee Football at Florida: Five Keys to a Vols Victory
- Week 3 SEC Power Rankings: Did Tennessee Football’s Win Help At All?
- Week 3 AP Polls: Why Did Tennessee Football Drop in the Polls?
- Tennessee Football: Top Five Performers in 30-13 Win vs. Austin Peay
That loss sent numerous staff members away, as Dave Hart all but confirmed Dooley was on the hot seat. Most notable of those staff members was defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. Dooley was going to replace Wilcox with Kevin Steele, but that became a hard sell after Steele allowed 70 points in an Orange Bowl game with the Clemson Tigers.
Given the environment, he couldn’t find an elite coach, so he had to settle on Alabama Crimson Tide linebackers coach Sal Sunseri, who installed a 3-4 just as Dooley was trying to take Tennessee football to the next level. It was a horrible match, and it wasted an epic year on offense with Tyler Bray, Justin Hunter, Cordarrelle Patterson and Mychal Rivera.
UT started 2-0, though, exorcising its Georgia Dome curse with a win over the N.C. State Wolfpack in the process. The Vols got into the top 25 for the first time since the first week of 2008, and they had a 20-13 lead over the Florida Gators with the ball in the fourth quarter in front of a College GameDay offense. Florida then reeled off 24 straight to win 37-20, though.
After beating the Akron Zips, the defensive issues really hit. UT proceeded to lose four straight at the Georgia bulldogs, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Alabama and then at the South Carolina Gamecocks despite scoring over 40 at Georgia and over 30 at MSU and S.C. Then they needed their most productive offensive performance in school history to beat the Troy Trojans 55-48.
After that, though, the Vols lost 51-48 to the Missouri Tigers, and at 4-6, Dooley was effectively fired. The distractions resulted in a 41-18 loss at the Vanderbilt Commodores the next week. Dooley was then officially fired.
UT closed things out by beating Kentucky to finish 5-7. But if not for that series of events early, Tennessee football may have gone 11-1 with a competent defense. Instead, Dooley was replaced by Butch Jones, who became a failure on his own, although it took a good bit longer.