Isn’t that torture? 
They were actually decent, relative to the norm. Spurrier was there for a few of those years.
I’ll always love Spurrier for his tradition of giving Duke a vote every year in the preseason coaches’ poll.
And yeah, I remember the last genuinely good season Duke football had – 8-4 and a bowl bid in 1994 under Fred Goldsmith. That was also the Dark Year for Duke basketball…man, some of those losses were excruciating. Although I was third row center court for the double overtime game against Carolina (with Capel’s shot), and even though we lost it was one of the best live sports-related experiences of my life.
Derek Dooley is the new head coach at Tennessee.
I had never heard of him before, but the last name is definitely recognizable. Vince Dooley, former head coach of the Ga Bulldawgs, is his father.
I had never heard of Lane Kiffin either, but I haven’t followed the NFL for quite some time, until this year.
Derek Dooley???
I thought USC acted too hastily, but this… THIS is the best Tennessee could do???
Agreed, both USC and UT looked liked they were going into damage control. They had to act quickly to keep committed recruits.
I wonder if the NCAA changed the timing of “signing” day would alleviate the “urgency” situation. Maybe to mid-March rather than February.
That would be good for USC as well. Then they could take advantage on more “end of the sales year” deals on the cars and SUVs they have to give these kids!
We all know that Kiffin has been pining for USC (may he reap his just rewards there. Ptui.), but some of the stuff that’s coming out now about his coaching practices is just bizarre. Seems he jettisoned most of UTK’s traditions (Neyland’s maxims, etc.), and took down photos of legendary Tennessee players (and put of photos of Reggie Bush, etc. in their place).
It gets better.
http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2010/01/12/volunteer-sources-say-kiffin-never-embraced-tennessee/
Very weird stuff. Good riddance to bad trash. I’m definitely no Tennessee fan, but I value the rivalry. I think Dooley is a better hire.
Wow. I think it remarkable that they managed to put together a winning season, under those circumstances.
I went to ND, and understand and love football tradition. I lived in Mississippi for a while, and saw how the SEC lives and breathes in tradition and football ceremony. Tennessee is so much better off now that Kiffin is gone. Another year, and he’d have gotten rid of “Rocky Top”. What an unoriginal piece of trash he turned out to be.
Oh yeah, and I forgot that Ed O did the shirt-ripping schtick at Ole Miss too, so that one was already getting long in the tooth. What a bunch of punks.
I strongly agree. There are a lot of strong traditions at SEC schools, and especially at historically powerhouse teams like Alabama, Tennessee, etc. I hate to see those beloved traditions torn down at any school.