ATLANTA -- There has been a ton written and said this offseason about what Friday means to Derek Dooley's career at Tennessee. Maybe that's fair.
There's no doubt Dooley's seat, heading into just his third season, is as warm as any coach in the country.
But winning or losing tonight at the Georgia Dome may not mean everything. People are quick to forget that regardless of what happens in the opener against North Carolina State, the Volunteers have Florida coming to Neyland Stadium in two weeks. The rest of their non-conference schedule is light, and their four games in November -- Troy, Missouri, at Vanderbilt, and back home against Kentucky -- are all very winnable. Losing to N.C. State wouldn't be an ideal way for the Vols to start 2012, but there are plenty of opportunities to recover.
It's conceivable that when we look back on this game in December, it's merely the difference between Tennessee going 9-3 or 8-4. The Vols could realistically get there without even beating a top-25 team.
Would Tennessee fire Dooley off an 8-4 season? It seems highly unlikely, especially if he beats Florida on Sept. 15.
Either way, there's no doubt Dooley needs to do something like that to save his job after going 11-14 his first two years. That's simply not an acceptable record in Knoxville, even though he lost his starting quarterback (Tyler Bray) and a talented receiver (Justin Hunter) to injury early last season.
It's impossible to tell at this point whether Dooley, 44, is in over his head in the SEC or simply the victim of unlucky circumstances early in his tenure. This season will render the verdict one way or another.
But does that mean we get the answer tonight? Not necessarily.
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