With the firing of Tennessee Head Coach Derek Dooley, Dave Hart, you could say, is in the same position as an NFL GM with the #1 Draft Pick. Make the right decision, the program will prosper for years. Make the wrong decision and you will be cheering for bowl bids instead of SEC Championships.
Former AD Mike Hamilton made three crucial decisions that led to the downward spiral of Tennessee Football:
1) Firing Phillip Fulmer (would have not been a bad decision given the next one)
2) Hiring Lane Kiffin (Kiffin was never going to be a longterm Vol, leaving on his own will or not)
3) Hiring Derek Dooley when he should have got a proven winner.
Blame Derek Dooley all you want for the state of Tennessee football, but I'd believe you're wrong. Mike Hamilton sent this program into a tailspin, along with the other athletic programs. Gladly, he made one good call by hiring Cuanzo Martin after firing Bruce Pearl for lying about breaking the rules.
Now the weight of Volunteer Football sits on the shoulders of Dave Hart. A former Executive Director of Athletics at Alabama and former AD of East Carolina and Florida State, He has the pedigree for success and been Fire Marshall in Knoxville since day one on the job. The fans are very overanxious and very impatient. He needs to hit a home run with this hire, like Mal Moore did with Nick Saban.
My percentage of John Gruden coming to Tennessee would right now be at 15%. It's going to take alot of money, and I mean A LOT to close the deal. I hear there is mutual interest, but it will come down to numbers, just like it did last year.
Even if the Gruden dream never comes true, Hart can't make a lateral move. There's Bobby Petrino, but that comes with baggage. David Cutcliffe is staying put at Duke. Al Golden would be a possibility if he wanted to jump ship in Miami with NCAA sanctions hovering over the program.
Dave Hart is going to take his time, dot every I, and cross every T, because he has to get this one right. If he doesn't, Vols fans are going to have to show more of what they really don't have right now......and that's patience.
