In his most recent Mailbag, Bruce Feldman gets pretty specific about SOD’s immediate future.
From @timHill_:How many wins does Dooley need this year to stay safe?
At least eight. If Derek Dooley ends up 7-5 in the regular season, I’ve heard from people around the UT program that he’ll be gone. Remember, there is a new AD there (Dave Hart), and there are going to be some intriguing candidates available. Alabama DC Kirby Smart for starters.
Feldman thinks the schedule breaks nicely for nine wins, but there’s a fairly brutal four-game stretch the Vols have to endure mid-season:
Aug. 31 NC State (in Atlanta)
Sep. 8 Georgia State
Sep. 15 Florida
Sep. 22 Akron
Sep. 29 at Georgia
Oct. 6 OPEN DATE
Oct. 13 at Mississippi State
Oct. 20 Alabama
Oct. 27 at South Carolina
Nov. 3 Troy
Nov. 10 Missouri
Nov. 17 at Vanderbilt
Nov. 24 Kentucky
That’s three tough road games and Alabama. It’s arguable UT loses all four, which would require a perfect slate against the likes of Florida (which Feldman notes has beaten Tennessee by double-digit margins five straight years) and Vanderbilt (I couldn’t help it) for Dooley to make it to the eight-win level.
The good thing for him is that his team returns more starters than any other school in the conference. But the Vols are still thin in spots and a couple of key injuries could derail things just as badly as last year.