Tennessee football’s five previous bowls with first-year coaches

Derek Dooley – 2010: 6-7 (3-5)

One year after Lane Kiffin’s departure, Tennessee football had to enter a new era again. To many, Mike Hamilton made another misstep by hiring Derek Dooley, who had suffered a losing record with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, but Dooley was in an unwinnable situation at UT.

Early on, this season seemed like a loss. After seemingly upsetting the LSU Tigers on the road only to have a retroactive penalty give LSU a chance at a last-second score, which they cashed in on, the Vols had a four-game losing streak in the middle of the year and were 2-6 at one point. Then Dooley threw all the freshmen in, most notably Tyler Bray at quarterback.

That excitement combined with an easy schedule to end the year saw them win four straight to get to 6-6, which earned them an invite to the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, the same bowl they’re going to this year. There, they faced Butch Davis and UNC.

In a back and forth showdown, UT had the lead late in regulation, but they allowed a late drive and allowed the Tar Heels to take advantage of no runoff at the time in the sport, where they spiked the ball with too many men on the field and took the penalty so they could kick a game-tying field goal. They hit it and won in double-overtime.

Such a game was indicative of Tennessee football in the 2010s and Dooley’s tenure specifically. It marked the first of four straight losing seasons for the Vols. They are hoping to climb out of that era under Josh Heupel, and this year was a great first start for them.