Derek Dooley wasn’t Phil Fulmer’s replacement, but he was Phil Fulmer’s replacement’s replacement. It was like when Michael Scott left Scranton, then Robert California took the job and quit for a better one. So Derek Dooley is Andy Bernard in this analogy and he had the level of success you’d expect from a coach who equates to the Nard Dog.
Coming off a 4-8 season as the head coach of Louisiana Tech, Dooley was hired by Tennessee in 2010, and actually improved in the SEC, leading the Vols to 6-7. It was (even farther) downhill from there.
Tennessee went 5-7 in his second season, then 4-7 before firing Dooley with a week left in the 2012 season. He certainly inherited a tough situation, but when life gave him lemons, Dooley couldn’t remember his dad’s lemonade recipe.
Dooley posted the worst record of any Tennessee coach in SEC play at 5-19