Tennessee's iconic rock has long been a place for students to express their feelings about almost anything, and following the Vols' 41-31 loss to Mississippi State and an 0-3 start to SEC play, the sentiment was to fire coach Derek Dooley.
The Rock, which has since been painted over, read "FIRE FOOLEY" and cited his overall record, his record against ranked opponents, the SEC teams he has yet to beat, last year's loss to Kentucky and his lack of leadership.
"You can't have it both ways," Dooley said during his Monday press conference. "You can't have 102,000 screaming fans and not have an expectation of results."
Dooley isn't the first coach to be bashed on the rock. When former coach Lane Kiffin left for USC, the Rock was used as a place for angry fans to vent. Prior to that, former coach Phillip Fulmer was greeted with a "Fire Phil" message.
Dooley could turn negative sentiments into positive pretty quickly with an improbable win over No. 1 Alabama this weekend. And if that doesn't work, there's always No. 7 South Carolina next weekend. Unfortunately for Dooley, he has yet to beat a ranked foe during his three seasons on campus.
But after that tough two-game stretch, the Vols have four winnable games to become bowl eligible, which might take some of the sting out of what has been a frustrating season.
Thanks to r/cfb for the photo
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