UT coach Derek DooleyKNOXVILLE – Amid reports that he won’t return for a fourth season as Tennessee’s football coach, Derek Dooley said at his regular news conference today that athletic director Dave Hart told him he’s not made a decision regarding his future as the leader of the Volunteers’ program.
“I didn’t ask him that, but I did ask him a lot of things,” Dooley said. “We talked very frankly about it. He told me he had not made a decision, whether we go 6-6, despite what all the reports are.
“Either the sources are wrong, or Dave wasn’t being forthright with me, and I have no reason to think Dave’s not being forthright. He’s an honest man, he’s always been honest with me and I’ve appreciated how he’s handled everything about this. I really have.”
Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told the Times Free Press on Sunday that Dooley is not expected to return, but with the Vols still needing wins against Vanderbilt and Kentucky to reach bowl eligibility, a timetable on an official announcement is unclear.
Saturday’s quadruple-overtime loss to Missouri in Knoxville dropped Tennessee to 0-6 in the Southeastern Conference for the second consecutive season, and the Vols have lost 13 of their last 14 conference games. Dooley is just 15-20 in two-plus seasons in Knoxville, and he’s won just four SEC games in his tenure.