Like Dooley, coaches should put foot down

Ron Higgins
Running back Chris Rainey  is not 'with the team,'  Florida coach Urban Meyer said after the Gator's arrest. But what Meyer didn't do was kick him off for good.

John Raoux/Associated Press files

Running back Chris Rainey is not "with the team," Florida coach Urban Meyer said after the Gator's arrest. But what Meyer didn't do was kick him off for good.

Here's why I want to see Derek Dooley succeed as Tennessee's football coach.

He had me at "goodbye," as in this past July when following a Knoxville bar fight involving several of his players, he threw sophomore defensive back Darren Myles Jr. off the team after he was charged with assault, resisting arrest and evading arrest.

And then Dooley turned around and told his seniors that an incident like that was basically their fault, because they have to demonstrate the leadership to emphasize that every player needs to hold each other accountable.

This isn't to say the Vols won't have any more trouble. But I admired the way Dooley, an attorney, handled the incident. He heard from the accused players, made a decision and actually got rid of somebody.

Nothing screams "discipline" like a guy being told to hit the door and never come back.

You wish more schools would do it, because you see coaches that put up with too much nonsense under the guise of trying to "save" players who come from poor economic backgrounds and broken homes.

The problem is that the arrests go on and on and on. When Florida's Chris Rainey was arrested Monday for aggravated stalking of an off-and-on and now really off girlfriend, he became the 30th Gators player to be arrested in coach Urban Meyer's six years. The Gainesville police have tracked down more Gators than Kentucky's defense.

When asked Wednesday about Rainey's status, all Meyer would say is, "There will be further evaluation as we go. The immediacy of it is he's not with the team."

Translation: If our best playmaker, Jeff Demps, suddenly gets hurt, we immediately need Rainey back in the lineup.

Georgia has had players arrested 23 times in the last three years, including eight this year. It has gotten so bad that UGA, the live Bulldog mascot, rolls on his back and spreads his legs to be frisked every time he hears a siren.

Ask Bulldogs' coach Mark Richt about it and he'll say he doesn't condone it, and tries to discipline the guilty. But Richt also defends his players, saying people expect them to be perfect.

"The thing that is so much different now is the social networking, the instant media, the attention that is brought on these guys," Richt said. "They used to say back in the day that you were in a fishbowl, but it's that times 100 now compared to when I played (as a University of Miami backup quarterback in 1979-82).

"I think if you grabbed 125 fraternity brothers and you followed them around as closely as you follow our guys around, you'd probably find a lot of the same issues."

Probably so. But most of the frat boys aren't on scholarship, don't have the best tutors, don't eat the most delicious food on campus and aren't the apple of that state's eye much of the time.

Some programs, like Alabama, which had its run of off-the-field incidents a couple of years ago, took bold measures, like forming a peer intervention group of players and hiring in the Pacific Institute to teach classes on behavior. Tennessee hired Andre Lott, a former Vols' and Melrose star, this past summer as a character education coordinator to educate players how to make better life decisions.

That's all well and good. But if football programs don't want problems, then don't recruit them.

"It starts by trying to recruit high character kids," said Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, who adds he hopes he's not jinxing himself by talking about his views on discipline. "Then we stress to guys that being a champion isn't a sometimes thing, it's a way of life.

"If you can let the team down on a Saturday night off the field, or in the offseason, you can certainly let the team down on a Saturday night on the field."

Now you know ...

After Georgia coach Mark Richt's team lost its SEC opener last Saturday to South Carolina, he and the Bulldogs must win at home Saturday over Arkansas to avoid Georgia's first 0-2 league start since 1993. That season -- Ray Goff's fifth as coach -- the Bulldogs lost their first four SEC games and finished 5-6 overall and 2-6 in the SEC.


1. South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore: Please don't start the "Lattimore for Heisman" campaign just yet. But after 182 yards rushing in his first SEC game, you can't wait for his next SEC battle, at Auburn on Sept. 25. /

2. Alabama: Nice to see the Tide is willing to play a BCS conference foe on the road, such as at Duke on Saturday. It's one of three such matchups by SEC teams (discounting the traditional rivalry games like Kentucky-Louisville, Florida-Florida State, Clemson-South Carolina) this season. /

3. Kentucky's Randall Cobb: Scored on a reception and a punt return, and threw a TD pass vs. Western Kentucky. If he played for one of the SEC's football powers, he'd get some Heisman consideration. /


1. Tennessee's second half coma vs. Oregon: Gave up 45 straight points to the Ducks. You woulda thought Spurrier was calling Oregon's plays wearing a Florida visor for old times' sake. /

2. Mississippi State's play-calling: Bulldogs recover onside kick vs. Auburn early in the third quarter, get momentum, then State coach Dan Mullen calls three straight pass plays (all incomplete) thrown by a QB who's a vastly better option runner than thrower. /

3. Vanderbilt: The Commodores' best chance to score is on defense. Vandy should probably skip offensive possessions altogether. /


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Comments » 6

martymar writes:

Nice column on disciplin. Terrible jokes.

Almost as bad as Geoff Calkins...(Har)

lonestartiger writes:

I have been a U of Memphis fan all of my 50 years of life! However, I do feel a pull to the dark side of watching and wanting UT to win in football because I like Dooley! I think they made a great hire. I will never wear orange but I have sick feeling I will be watching more UT football games.

RayMan writes:

One Nutt said,
"We're in the people-helping business."
Yeah, right!

biggestmanoncampus (Inactive) writes:

CDD may not have been UT's first choice, but I sincerely believe he was the best choice..GBO!!

baseline writes:

UT and its fans made out like bandits in the Kiffen for Dooley "trade". They got what appears to be a first-class person as well as coach.

fishoutofwater writes:

And how long did Dooley take to make his decision? Also, what if the player(s) involved in the bar fight were all first stringers? It's a lot more difficult when there's much more at stake - such as winning.


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