The recent firing of Georgia's Mark Richt means that Vince Dooley is still the last Bulldogs football coach to step down on his own terms.
Dooley retired after the 1988 season, having guided Georgia to a 201-77-10 record in a quarter century that included six Southeastern Conference championships and the 1980 national title. The 83-year-old Dooley was a guest this week on "Press Row" on Chattanooga's ESPN 105.1 FM.
Q: What was your reaction to Richt's firing?
A: "I think it's kind of the sign of the times as far as coaches trying to be at one place for a long period of time. I'm one of the last of the Mohicans, and Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech probably IS the last Mohican. It's almost like corporate America now in that they hire people and pay them good money, but after a period of time there is a change. Mark Richt lasting 15 years is almost like 25 years when I coached.
"I think he was a victim of his own success in terms of high expectations. There were three times when Georgia was picked to win the East, but then Missouri showed up defying the odds and Florida came out of nowhere this year. Mark Richt was highly successful on the field and ultra successful off the field with his character and the way he represented the University of Georgia."
Q: Did you know that Shug Jordan, your former boss, is the last Auburn coach to leave on his own?
A: "I'm sure Coach Jordan is thinking up above that it's the sign of the times, too. He'll also agree that the coaches today sure do make a lot more money than they did in our era."
Q: You were Georgia's athletic director when Kirby Smart was a safety in the late 1990s. What did you think of his hiring?
A: "If I was in the position of hiring the coach, he's the one I would have gone after. I know Kirby, and I particularly know his wife, Mary Beth Lycett, who was my favorite 3-point shooter. We saw both of them in Tuscaloosa this summer and happened to sit in the same pew with them when Coach (Nick) Saban's daughter got married.
"If you had to make a replacement, he is the one I would have hired."
Q: Have you and Derek talked about what he could have done differently as Tennessee's coach?
A: "We have talked about it, and he's said he made mistakes along the way and that he would learn from those mistakes if he ever got the opportunity again. He really was a hard-luck coach in a lot of ways. You think of that LSU game and the bowl game against North Carolina - now they have a 10-second runoff rule that would not allow that to happen.
"You've got to win in this day and time, but he ended up making more money in three years than I did in 25. Barbara likes to give all our children checks for Christmas, and I've told her, 'Don't send him a check. He ought to be sending me a check.' I think he still gets paid a little bit from Tennessee."
Q: Mack Crowder, Curt Maggitt and Brian Randolph were signed by Derek. Do you still follow the Vols, or have you and Barbara moved on?
A: "We've moved on, but at the same time, some of the players you mentioned I still watch closely. I follow Tennessee. We had a great experience going up there. Barbara has a whole wardrobe of orange. I emphasized the white part.
"People would see Barbara in orange and me in white, and I would always stress that Tennessee is orange and white, but there are a lot of great people up there."
Q: When was the last time your entire family was together for Christmas?
A: "It won't be this year. We'll have everybody but Derek's family. We went out to Dallas to see Derek and his family at Thanksgiving. I can't recall the last time we had them all together for Christmas, but that's the price you pay when you're in coaching."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.