UT Might Have Another Coach With Attitude

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Derek Dooley didn’t insult any rival coaches.  He didn’t take on the SEC commissioner.  And he didn’t commit any secondary violations during his press conference marking the open of spring practice.

But he did display a bit of attitude, not unlike Lane Kiffin.  Only his disdain seemed to be directed at the Knoxville media.

The Knoxville News Sentinel has posted video of the coach’s remarks and you can judge his demeanor for yourself.

From watching the video, Dooley did seem to be a little short when asked — for the first time — about his policy that requires former Vols to call ahead before dropping in on practice.

His voice rose pretty quickly.  He became somewhat animated.  All of which begs two questions:

1)  Was there press in Ruston, Louisiana to cover Louisiana Tech?

2)  How upset will he become when he’s asked about — you know — actual games, plays and coaching decisions?

While it’s been expected that Dooley would run a Nick Saban-like ship in Knoxville, some Tennessee media members were surprised that the new coach took on an adversarial role on Day One.

Judging by the comments beneath The Sentinel’s story, most Volunteer fans had no problem with Dooley’s attitude or his “you’ll get what we want you to get” media plan.

Perhaps they don’t realize that Dooley’s decision to close the doors to his program will leave them with less information about their favorite team.

Then again, this time last year many of those same fans were 100% in love with Kiffin’s attitude and demeanor, too.