Derek Dooley’s 2011 at Tennessee was notable, not for wins but for weirdness. There was the Opportunity is Nowhere movement, the Orange Dog, and the bombastic celebration after barely beating Vanderbilt at home. His offseason, after a 5-7 finish, has been no less eventful.

Dooley has faced issues with players. He has also seen an exodus of assistants, with five departing since the season’s end, most notably defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. The former Boise State man opted to return to the Northwest, joining Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Washington.

Him leaving is a blow practically. Wilcox was one of the hottest coordinators in the country, one of the few sources of light during Dooley’s moonless tenure. His acumen departs, as do a fair number of his recruits. It’s also a blow psychologically. Wilcox left Tennessee, a big SEC program, to join a second-tier Pac 12 team.

After whiffing on John Chavis, Dooley hired Alabama outside linebackers coach Sal Sunseri to be his defensive coordinator. The three-year $2.4 million contract will make Sunseri one of the nation’s highest-paid coordinators. There’s a small catch. He has just one year’s experience coordinating a defense, at Illinois State in 1994.

We know Sunseri can recruit. We know he has coached great defenses (Alabama 2011 is one of the best in recent memory). But, does he have the expertise level to coordinate, to call plays and to innovate at an elite SEC level? Dooley, himself, is proof that having been around greatness does not indicate the ability to replicate it.

There are two ways to interpret the money and the multiple year deals being handed out. Half-full: AD Dave Hart will spend what it takes to restore Tennessee football. Half-empty: The exorbitant salaries and guaranteed contracts are the premium Tennessee must pay to get coaches to work for Dooley. There’s a stark risk Tennessee’s investment could go belly up. It may end up costing the school more than if they had fired Dooley in November.

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