Derek DooleyKNOXVILLE — Though officially off-limits for media interviews Monday, Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray couldn’t resist having a little fun at the reporters’ expense.
Knowing at least a few of us ink-stained wretches were still lingering about in the indoor practice facility after talking to the Volunteers who were available, Bray shouted loud enough for all to hear: “I just got a text from my dad. He wanted to know if I knew that they’d just fired Coach [Derek] Dooley. This is sooooo unbelievable.”
Bray laughed as he spoke. It’s good to know that at least one person within the football program can find something funny in this rapidly deteriorating situation.
Off the record, in hushed tones urgent enough to make Watergate’s Deep Throat proud, there seems to be a near consensus that Dooley’s days in charge of the Vols are now down to less than two weeks, his probable pink slip to arrive within 48 hours of the end of the Kentucky game on Nov. 24.
Not that Dooley’s acting as if that’s the case.