Fans Waiting For Puffs Of Smoke In Auburn, Knoxville As Fates Of Chizik, Dooley Stir Rumors

November 12th, 2012 09:28 AM║ Posted By: John Pennington ║ Permalink ║ Schools: Auburn, Tennessee
Tags: Auburn, Neyland Stadium, SEC, UT

Yesterday evening Auburn’s Gene Chizik and Tennessee’s Derek Dooley lost their jobs.

At least if you believe everything you see on Twitter. In reality, of course, neither man was officially jettisoned from his school on Sunday.

But that didn’t make Sunday evening any easier for a site that tries to cover 14 schools and 28 football and basketball teams. We had to chase the rumors with calls and texts. All to arrive right back where we’d begun.

My cell phone started ringing shortly after 5:00pm ET with word that Vol officials had just informed Dooley that he would not be back in 2013. I called around until I had two Tennessee sources who said they had heard that UT’s embattled coach got the news about 5 o’clock or 10 after.

Well, saying “I heard that,” isn’t confirmation. So on behalf of MrSEC.com, I chose to sit on it waiting for more confirmation. While I waited, Twitter exploded with news that Dooley was done. In addition, websites and papers across the country picked up and ran with a story posted by VolQuest.com – the Rivals’ site covering Tennessee.

At least one Knoxville television station pronounced Dooley was dunzo. But the VolQuest story was actually pretty darn generic:

“Tennessee is expected to seek its fourth head football coach since 2008 by season’s end, numerous sources have told VolQuest.com, and based on conversations with multiple people the final piece of the equation centers on when to formally signal the imminent end of the three-year Derek Dooley era.

The question at this point seems only to be when and not if Tennessee will make a change following a disturbing 51-48, four-overtime loss Saturday afternoon to Missouri inside Neyland Stadium…

There are two trains of thought, according to sources, that UT decision-makers are confronting: Announce a change Monday or in the near future; wait until the regular-season finale against Kentucky, since the Vols still can win their final two games and earn a bowl berth. That contest could potentially be the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, which had a high-ranking official at the Vols-Tigers contest, if the Vols can defeat Vanderbilt for a seventh-straight time and rebound in their finale against Kentucky following last season’s stunning loss to the Wildcats.”

Yep, that’s what started the ruckus on this here interweb. No offense to the folks at VolQuest… they simply confirmed in generic terms what everyone around the SEC already knew — that Dooley could not survive a sixth loss this season and he recorded a sixth loss at home to Missouri (51-48 in four overtimes) on Saturday. The VolQuest.com writers did not announce that Dooley had been fired as so many fans on Twitter/messageboards — and more shamefully — media members suggested.

When contacted by The Knoxville News Sentinel, a UT spokesperson said, “There’s nothing to report” and that athletic director Dave Hart had actually been watching a Lady Vols soccer match at the time that he was supposedly firing a final torpedo into the sinking SS Dooley.

Oh.

The reality is that there’s really no way Tennessee can keep Dooley now. If the Vols do, it will likely mean one of the following:

1. Dooley has photos of some Vol administrators in compromising positions

2. The makeup of Dooley’s coaching staff was impacted by Hart and Hart feels guilty about it

3. The Vols simply don’t have the money to buy anyone out at this time

4. The UT administration is fully prepared for angry Vol fans to storm their campus castle in anger

Dooley has won four SEC games in three seasons. Lane Kiffin won four SEC games in his lone season in Knoxville. Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin — who UT could have had instead of Dooley back in 2010 when Kiffin exited — already has already recorded five wins and a takedown of top-ranked Alabama in his first SEC season.

So UT’s coach is a goner, but the stuff zig-zagging across the web yesterday was equal parts rumor, exaggeration of what Volquest.com had written, and fan hoping. Vol fans weren’t alone in tweet-chasing.

While all that Dooley stuff was going on in Knoxville, the Chizik Watch kicked into high gear on the Plains. Auburn’s coach — whose team fell to 2-8 on the season with a 38-0 Saturday loss to Georgia — was late for his Sunday press conference. Uh-Oh.

About 15 minutes after he was supposed to show, I got a text from a friendly reporter in the room to let me know that media members were beginning to wonder if Chizik would actually show or if another Auburn official would walk in and reveal that Chizik had been let go.

I zipped over to Twitter. As unreliable and nonsensical as that medium is, it’s where you must go to make sure you’re not missing something official somewhere else. Tweets like this from the AP’s John Zenor were already popping up:

More tweets from more people followed. Right up until Chizik finally showed up and did his normal Sunday thing, saying that he had a plan to turn around Auburn in 2013. When word emerged that Chizik had arrived, there was disappointment among many Tiger fans who are longing for his official ouster.

Last week, AuburnUndercover.com — the 24/7 site covering Auburn — reported that AU president Jay Gogue had informed some Auburn trustees that he was planning to keep AD Jay Jacobs but was preparing to blow up Chizik. As with VolQuest’s story yesterday, the AuburnUndercover story made the rounds nationally and was taken as gospel by many. Whether it was 100% correct or not remains to be seen.

What is obvious is that both Chizik and Dooley are facing slim, slim chances of survival. Sure they’ll both say they’re keeping on keeping on and they’ll definitely pass that word to as many recruits as possible, too. But the reality is that both men are in deep trouble.

Dooley will need a miracle after saying at SEC Media Days that the league wouldn’t have Tennessee to kick around anymore. As it turns out, the SEC still kicked UT from one end of the league to the other and it’ll likely be Dooley who won’t be around in 2013 to absorb any more kickings.

Chizik would have already been given the heave-ho had he not:

1. Won the BCS title just two short years ago

2. Signed a contract extension that will pay him a $7.5 million buyout upon dismissal ($10 million if booted before December 1st)

Bottom line: The watch is on in Auburn and Knoxville. Everyone is waiting for a puff of white smoke to go up and announce that the old coach is out and a new coach is coming. First school to call Bobby Petrino wins.

But as of 9:25am ET this morning, there’s still really nothing official to report on either man’s situation.

Regardless of what you’ve been reading on Twitter. Ah, life in a world of instant communication.

« Thought Of The Day – 11/12/12

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12 comments

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mikec1000000

As a UT fan, I hate to see a good man like Dooley lose his job, but his time has come in Knoxville. The idea that Petrino would be a good replacement sickens me. The man may win football games, but he has no moral center. His record speaks for itself. Flying from Louisville to Auburn while in mid-season, leaving a sticky note as a good-bye present to the Falcons, and then the affair ridden, con job in Arkansas all add up to someone I would not trust recruiting my son to play ball. If ethics mean nothing, I would prefer Jim Tressel and that is laughable considering the show cause issues. The fact is, integrity has to be a staple of the job at UT considering the circus over the past few years. Petrino is definitely not the man. Gruden is a fantasy for some, but doubtful. Realistic targets would be Charlie Strong or Kirby Smart. Defensive issues plague the Vols and it will take a defensive mind to right that ship.

sojourner

@mikec1000000

in case you haven't noticed, we're reaping the benefits of prizing the staple of integrity over competence. does anybody in knoxville feel cleaner?

mikec1000000

@sojourner I believe integrity and competence can be found in the same person. We lowered our standards of integrity with the Kiffin/Orgeron experiment and look what that produced? NCAA investigations and a cloud over the program that most kids and coaches would avoid. Hamilton hired who he could at the 11th hour (which was not a smart move by him, could have been his only recourse given the situation). Regardless, here we are, three years later, with a mediocre team, a diminished national standing, yet we still have some talented young men. The right leadership can do better than what we have seen lately and we dont have to compromise an ethical idea to get the right person.

sojourner

@mikec1000000 @sojourner

you're missing my point. i don't deny that competence and integrity can inhabit the same person (pat summitt for example), but some people have made a fetish out of integrity to the point that it is supposed to excuse the most obvious ineptness. that has been the fall back position whenever somebody pointed out that dooley had zip for qualifications other than his last name. "oh, but he's doing it the RIGHT WAY". truth is, he was doing squat, regardless of how many merit badges he had in his closet. the undeniable truth is that when it comes to things like attendance, t.v. ratings, general respect, and championships, a rogue like saban or petrino beats the likes of 'dudley do-right' dooley every time.

SevierVol

UT may not be able to afford to fire Dooley without putting itself in a financial bind but, they certainly can't afford to keep him.. $5-million is a lot of money to pay out but it pales in comparison to the amount lost by donor apathy and 25,000 empty seats per game. Not to mention the fall in clothing and memorabilia sales. Sure Dooley was dealt a bad hand but the program has not improved under him - especially from a won-lost standpoint. A new coach, especially if it is a big name coach, would excite the fan base but that coach too must show some gradual improvement. I know Petrino can coach and he will produce a winner wherever he ends up. But I can't help but believe that as many UT fans would be upset at his hiring as those who would be happy. I think the "Campus Castle" may be stormed if Dooley is not fired and I think it may also be stormed if they make another knee-jerk hire and don't hire a proven commodity. The torches are probably being lit as we speak, just in case.

sojourner

fact is dooley had no business being hired in the first place. for three years those of us who didn't deny that fact were bombarded with, 'you're a hater, look at the mess he inherited, nobody else wanted the job', yada, yada, yada. the biggest excuse for keeping him was, 'the disaster of having three coaches in four years'. oh, the horror! well, here we are, three years in and dooley has lived down to his resume. i'm still waiting for someone to explain why it would have been so disastrous to have canned him after last year's kentucky fiasco than keeping him for another damaging year. all that keeping an unqualified coach does is put a program further down in the dumps. the mess dooley is going to leave is a helluva lot worse than what he was handed.

KevinMcCallister

As usual, the information above is incorrect. He is not owed $10 if booted before Dec.1 and $7.5 million after. His buyout is prorated, and paid monthly, starting with the month he is terminated. Therefore, his buyout on Nov. 1, 2012 was about $7,702,702.60 and on Dec. 1, 2012 would be $7.5 million. The point is that waiting a month or doing it now is not some "doomsday" scenario as most people in the media keep trying to sensationalize it as being. He's likely already been paid this month's salary so that's a sunk cost anyways.

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2012/10/gene_chiziks_auburn_buyout_not.html

KevinMcCallister

Just to clarify -- that wasn't intended to be attacking. Just pointing out that it has been widely reported wrong without most entities taking the time to do the public records request and read the actual contract.

John at MrSEC moderator

1 Like

@KevinMcCallister

Now why would I take the statement: "As usual, the information above is incorrect" as an attack?

I hardly think this site is "trying to sensationalize" anything. I haven't read Chizik's contract. Unlike Kevin Scarbinsky, I don't write one story per day... I write dozens in at attempt to keep you abreast of everything big that's happening in the SEC.

I know simply that since he signed his deal it's been reported that the buyout for Chizik was scheduled to be $10 million on December 1, 2011 and $7.5 million on December 1, 2012. That's factually accurate. But bully for AD Jay Jacobs if he worked it with a month-by-month drop. Smart move.

Now, if you'd like to attempt to cover 14 football teams, 14 basketball teams, and -- possibly -- four football coaching searches as we do here everyday (for free) AND still have time to read every coach's contract to make sure what's been widely reported is in fact true, I welcome you to give it a shot. And then you'll get to enjoy comments like "As usual, the information above is incorrect."

John

KevinMcCallister

@John at MrSEC @KevinMcCallister

Can you not read or is English just your second language? I intended the "as usual" to apply to media reports in general, not your site in particular. As far as I'm aware, you don't "write" that many stories on Chizik's contract so the "as usual" really wouldn't apply to you individually. That is why I took the time to post a follow up in an attempt to clarify that I wasn't attacking you or your site but was simply pointing out the falsity of the reposted information in your article.I understand that you don't have the time to "to make sure what's been widely reported is in fact true" before you repost other media outlets' reports. That's fine. But if you are too short on time to ensure the credibility of information that you report then you certainly should not spend any of your time writing sarcastic posts in response to a post that was simply pointing out an error in one of your repostings that I thought you were asserting to be your own.

Clarence

I applaud you for not publishing rumor as fact as so many on the online world. It appears to be inevitable on both counts, but not worth hyping as fact to generate hits.

Just don't go spreading Kliff Kingsbury rumors.

Go Johnny Football.

John at MrSEC moderator

2 Like

@Clarence

Thanks for the kind words, but I probably phrased that whole bit poorly. I do internet, radio, TV and have done print as well... so whenever I say "the media does X," I'm including myself in that... good or bad. As a whole, we're in a bad state as everyone just races to be the first guy to write something on Twitter. Chicken or the egg, of course, as that's what fans all run to... TWITTER!

But at this site, we need to either a) get multiple, PROVEN sources to confirm something or b) we need to hear word from someone involved in the story before we'll run with something.

We might not always be first, but we'd rather try and be correct than first.

At any rate, all of us in the media need to do a better job of racing to find the story... rather than racing to tweet.

Many thanks for reading the site,

John

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November 12, 2012 at 9:56 am

[...] John Pennington Article on Dooley and Chizik Nothing really new it, but interesting read just the same. Fans Waiting For Puffs Of Smoke In Auburn, Knoxville As Fates Of Chizik, Dooley Stir Rumors [...]

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