Derek Dooley Fired: Replacement named!
The Tennessee Volunteers used to be one of the top contenders every year.
Since 2001, when they dropped the SEC Championship Game to LSU and handed over the keys to the BCS National Championship against #1 and Undefeated Miami to what ended up being a well overmatched Nebraska Cornhuskers team, the Volunteers have struggled to remain relevant.
The Volunteers have only won 10 games three times since 2001, and while that is successful to some schools, for good ol' Rocky Top that is not acceptable.
Why not? Well for one the Volunteers have a history of winning, 9th overall for most wins in college football history and 2nd in the SEC. They have been to 49 bowls, and have won six national championships. That pedigree places them amongst the elite, and alumni are tired of waiting for the glory days to return.
The Volunteers have had 3 straight losing seasons, and had losing records for four of the last five. If that isn't enough to spark change, their SEC Rivals the Alabama Crimson Tide have returned themselves to dominance, while the Volunteers are losing to the likes of Vanderbilt and Kentucky, recently have 22 and 26 game winning streaks against the basement dwellers of the SEC snapped.
The Volunteers have sought a new head coach, and have landed a fine one at that. Jerry Partridge, former head coach of the Missouri Western State University Griffons (Division II) has built a solid resume the past 16 seasons with the Griffons. He had built a once lowly walking mat program into a solid team with solid recruiting and developing players to their maximum potential. Missouri Western competes in the MIAA with Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State, which have combined to go to the Division II National Championship 6 of the last 6 years, and have won the national championship twice in the last six years. In short, the Griffons play in a conference similiar to the SEC in dominance, only it's at the Division II level. Seeing what Jerry Partridge has built from scratch, Tennessee hopes he can rebuild what used to be a prestigious program.
Partridge is familiar with Division I level football as well. Partridge served as a graduate assistant coach at both the University of Notre Dame and the University of Missouri and was a member of the Notre Dame coaching staff when the Fighting Irish won the 1988 national title by winning the Fiesta Bowl against undefeated West Virginia under Head Coach Lou Holtz. He is originally from Grandview Missouri, a short one hour drive from St Joseph, Missouri.
So why would Partridge leave all that he has built up to go to a struggling FBS program where expectations will be high?
"The challenge. Missouri Western will be just fine without me. I am not taking any of my coaches that didn't want to go, and most of the one's coming along are guy's who want to pursue their masters degrees, so they will work for the football team as graduate assistants and get a quality education. Missouri Western doesn't have master's programs like UT does, so in a way I am providing a gateway for smart football guys to get their feet wet with a team and system they know. It's not just about the money, but when they wave a big dollar contract filled with bonus's for stuff like beating arch rivals and making bowl games every year it's really hard to say no. I have lived in this great state before, and I don't mind coming back for a few years. I will end up back in Missouri, no doubt, but for now I welcome this challenge." Partridge was the defensive coordinator at Austin Peay University in Tennesse, so he does have a little history with the state.
Partridge will officially start his duties in Tennesee December 7th, 2012 or after the Griffons finish their season in the Division II Playoffs.
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