Re: Tennessee woes
So I had another conversation with my rabid Vols fan buddies this weekend. And I put the question to them. Dooley doesn't appear to be particularly dense, so he must have known the damage that switching to a 3-4 D was going to do to his record this season. And he must already have known his job was in peril. So if he knew both those things, why would he go ahead and make the switch?
And there was some chin-scratching, followed by some off-color jokes, followed by a short drunken fight in the parking lot, after which the two pugilists kissed and made up and popped another top, and then somebody hit on an idea. The Vols DC, Sal Sunseri, was a defensive coach under Nick Saban, who, at the time, was running a 3-4. And the UT AD would have had to buy off on Dooley's idea to hire Sunseri.
So maybe Dooley put the option to him, somehow sold him on the idea of the 3-4, wave of the future or some happy bullshit, and Sunseri along with it, but with the understanding that their D would stink for a season or two as a consequence. And maybe the AD bought into it.
At the time, Bray was in the midst of throwing for a school record 530 yards (second most in SEC history), so even in a drunken stupor, it wasn't hard to figure out the Vol's offense was pretty potent.
But the Vols still only squeaked past the mighty Trojans, who were 10 for 19 on 3rd down conversions and scored three TDs from more than 25 yards, including two from more than 50, which made it pretty easy to incriminate the new 3-4 format.
Anyway, that was the best answer they could come up with before they sobered up.
