The big matchup between Tennessee and South Carolina isn’t until Saturday, but already the hyperbole has begun on the future of Volunteers coach Derek Dooley.
NBCSports.com’s College Football Talk reported Wednesday that if UT officials decide to part ways early with Dooley and his staff, it could cost more than $9 million.
Dooley is in his third season as head coach of the Volunteers — and many are already calling it a less than admirable tenure thus far. Since coming to Knoxville, Dooley has yet to win even one game against opponents that are ranked in the top-25, and overall the Volunteers have won just four games over fellow SEC opponents, the same amount that current USC coach Lane Kiffin had during his stretch as Dooley’s predecessor at UT.
Hence, Dooley is practically facing a must-win situation Saturday against and at the 17th-ranked Gamecocks of South Carolina.
If UT loses, you can expect the call for Dooley’s hide — and rumors about potential successors like former NFL coach Jon Gruden — both to increase exponentially.
Now, as for that $9 million figure, the Knoxville News-Sentinel published a story that said the school would be on the hook to buy out the contracts of Dooley and his staff, a collective amount that could range from $5.6 million at the very least, to as much as $9.3 million, and could potentially stretch over the next four years.
While the numbers breakdown is complicated, Dooley would earn $5 million and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney would be owed almost $650,000. Both numbers are guaranteed, the News-Sentinel reported.
Other coaching staff members would receive various amounts, based upon their ability to find new employment. Defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri, who is reportedly the highest-paid staff member, would collect $1.84 million up to early 2015 if he does not find another job before then.