Dooley thinks the world is both flat and round

[Cal&Ken]

Agreed.

I guess I am more pleased with DD as AD than as HC. As for caring about him like "other" coaches, "other" coaches were not at Tech. Yes, he is Tennessee's coach and I only really care that he does better than Les Miles does. But, that's "really" care. There is the other issue of him still being referred to as "former Louisiana Tech coach", which even that recent article stated. So, I hope until he becomes fully "the Tennessee coach" that he enjoys some success.

Also, I am not willing to throw him under a bus just because he left for a better job and a MUCH better paying job. Who wouldn't? I am, however, thankful that in two short years he manged to elevate the program, at least from the AD side. Oh, and let's not forget that we also won a frickin' BOWL GAME for the first time since 1977! How many coaches did Tech have between 1977 and 2009 that couldn't....?

Anyway, yeah, I am not a Tenn fan and don't care how they ultimately do. But anytime someone has done something positive for Tech, I can reserve the right to be thankful that person was here.

There are coaches that leave with class, and then there are others. Those that leave with class I wish well.

[RealityCheck]

There are coaches that leave with class, and then there are others. Those that leave with class I wish well.

Much of the criticism aimed at Dooley for how he left has been (and still is misguided). I'm sure that if Dooley would have rather had the way he left been more orderly and at a better time. But I can't blame him for taking the chance when he got it.

The whole set of events starting with Pete Carroll to Lane Kiffin to high-profile turndowns of the Tennessee job before Tennessee finally approached Dooley was not a process that Dooley had very much control over. Dooley certainly did not have as much control as he would have liked. And the level of blame that should be assigned is directly related to that level of control. The level of blame I gave to Crowton when he left is much greater than the blame I gave to Dooley.

[Cal&Ken]

Much of the criticism aimed at Dooley for how he left has been (and still is misguided). I'm sure that if Dooley would have rather had the way he left been more orderly and at a better time. But I can't blame him for taking the chance when he got it.

The whole set of events starting with Pete Carroll to Lane Kiffin to high-profile turndowns of the Tennessee job before Tennessee finally approached Dooley was not a process that Dooley had very much control over. Dooley certainly did not have as much control as he would have liked. And the level of blame that should be assigned is directly related to that level of control. The level of blame I gave to Crowton when he left is much greater than the blame I gave to Dooley.

I do not and never have blamed dd for leaving- actually don't know anyone that does blame him for that- my opinion is not based on his leaving. I KNOW we have a better coach out on the field this year- think we probably miss the AD.

[Dawg06]

There are coaches that leave with class, and then there are others. Those that leave with class I wish well.

From Dooley's press conference (aired on ESPN) when he was introduced as Tennessee's new head coach...

"I do want to thank everyone at Louisiana Tech and everyone in the Ruston community for the opportunity that they gave me, the friendships that I had, the players there that put so much into that program, and it's a very emotional thing to do, to leave a place, to me, because when you put your heart in something, it's a difficult thing to leave, and I wanted to stay through that thing because we laid so many seeds of success, and it's gonna come for that program, and I know it will, and I hate that I'm leaving them at this time, but I know that they're gonna have some great years ahead, and I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Louisiana Tech and the Ruston community."

I am very thankful for Dooley because he completely changed the culture here for the better. We will continue to see Dooley's legacy for years to come: Dawgzilla, South Endzone Project, Populous Master Facilities Plan, Army-Navy-Houston-USM-MSU football series, hiring of Spoon, etc... He raised the bar at Tech. Regardless of our emotions, Dooley deserves our well wishes.

[RealityCheck]

I do not and never have blamed dd for leaving- actually don't know anyone that does blame him for that- my opinion is not based on his leaving. I KNOW we have a better coach out on the field this year- think we probably miss the AD.

I agree that at least to now there hasn't been a dropoff on the coaching side...have to reserve full judgment until we see game prep and gameday performance.

And at least to now there hasn't been much of a dropoff on the AD side either. Maintaining momentum by executing the existing plans and developing new plans over the next year will be crucial.

[PawDawg]

And at least to now there hasn't been much of a dropoff on the AD side either.

Dooley would have never let Grambling and Glover to take advantage of him and Tech.

[DONW]

From Dooley's press conference (aired on ESPN) when he was introduced as Tennessee's new head coach...

"I do want to thank everyone at Louisiana Tech and everyone in the Ruston community for the opportunity that they gave me, the friendships that I had, the players there that put so much into that program, and it's a very emotional thing to do, to leave a place, to me, because when you put your heart in something, it's a difficult thing to leave, and I wanted to stay through that thing because we laid so many seeds of success, and it's gonna come for that program, and I know it will, and I hate that I'm leaving them at this time, but I know that they're gonna have some great years ahead, and I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Louisiana Tech and the Ruston community."

I am very thankful for Dooley because he completely changed the culture here for the better. We will continue to see Dooley's legacy for years to come: Dawgzilla, South Endzone Project, Populous Master Facilities Plan, Army-Navy-Houston-USM-MSU football series, hiring of Spoon, etc... He raised the bar at Tech. Regardless of our emotions, Dooley deserves our well wishes.

How did I miss this?

[Dawg06]

How did I miss this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3a5uMvUags
That comment starts at 7:37. He seems genuine and gets a little choked up at the end talking about his heart for Tech and Ruston.

[RealityCheck]

Dooley would have never let Grambling and Glover to take advantage of him and Tech.

The Tech-Grambling game was not going to happen with Tech dictating terms. Would you rather be opening at a BC$ opponent than against Grambling in Shreveport?

[dawg80]

The Tech-Grambling game was not going to happen with Tech dictating terms. Would you rather be opening at a BC$ opponent than against Grambling in Shreveport?

I don't buy that either-or scenario. How about opening at Aillet against ANYONE else?

My point is, if GSU didn't want to play in Ruston, find someone else. Southern would be a better opponent anyway. SU has waaaaay better fans than GSU. WAAAAY better! It's not even close.

And, I don't just mean for 2010 cuz maybe SU wasn't available for a game this year. But, in the future...

Screw GSU. We shouldn't be propping up that loser school anyway.

[dawg80]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3a5uMvUags
That comment starts at 7:37. He seems genuine and gets a little choked up at the end talking about his heart for Tech and Ruston.

Sounds pretty classy to me....

[Dawgpix]

The Tech-Grambling game was not going to happen with Tech dictating terms. Would you rather be opening at a BC$ opponent than against Grambling in Shreveport?

I'll interpret for Maddawg . . . DD wouldn't think of giving GSU the upper hand on terms. Period.

[PawDawg]

The Tech-Grambling game was not going to happen with Tech dictating terms. Would you rather be opening at a BC$ opponent than against Grambling in Shreveport?

So you assume that Dooley couldn't have gotten us a better deal with Grambling. Why didn't he just go ahead with the contract weeks before he left?

We can all guess what the sticking points were to getting the contract signed. Here's what we know for sure...

-Dooley was in charge for Tech.

-The contract was not finalized when he left.

-After Dooley left BVDV leaked information about what the contract contained. Some of that informations was reported by the Times. That information turned out to be inaccurate. We didn't discover this until a Grambling fan pointed it out.

As an AD, why spin when you signed such a great deal?

[TECH88]

I don't buy that either-or scenario. How about opening at Aillet against ANYONE else?

My point is, if GSU didn't want to play in Ruston, find someone else. Southern would be a better opponent anyway. SU has waaaaay better fans than GSU. WAAAAY better! It's not even close.

And, I don't just mean for 2010 cuz maybe SU wasn't available for a game this year. But, in the future...

Screw GSU. We shouldn't be propping up that loser school anyway.

Don't worry, once we hang a 50 on GSU they'll never play us again.