Smartest College Football Coach Firings of the Past 10 Years

Oct 27, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys receivers coach Derek Dooley talks with running back Lance Dunbar (25) during the game against the Washington Redskins at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Derek Dooley – Tennessee Volunteers, 2012

Record With School: 15-21
Replaced by: Jim Chaney (interim)

Derek Dooley walked into a buzzsaw in Knoxville and was placed in a true no-win situation. After the Volunteers pulled the knife from their backs left there by Lane Kiffin, Dooley was hired to try and restore order to the Vols program.

Coming from a fine football coaching pedigree, Georgia legend Vince Dooley, the hope was that some of dad’s magic would have followed Derek to Neyland Stadium and that the ghosts of Phil Fulmer would move on.

Dooley was attempting to put out a dumpster fire with dixie cups and it was just never going to work. Add to the mix his stubbornness and some incredibly bad clock management and play-calling, there would be no way that Dooley would survive.

Three losing campaigns later, the inevitable happened when Dooley was fired before the end of the 2012 season.

Next: Charlie Weis