He was the RB and TE coach this year. Started his coaching career at Chattanooga in 2006, went to the University of San Diego for a short time(as ST coordinator), went from there to UT-Martin, moved on to hipster Miami where he was ST coordinator, and then was hired at South Carolina in 2009.

South Carolina’s backs have run well under him.

And one of the first games I ever remember watching was him running all over Alabama.

I call this a win

Given the shuffling we’ve done…do we hire a QB coach? Do we hire somebody for ST?

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Kick-return-gaffe-costs-Wofford-a-playoff-game?urn=ncaaf-wp11147

1. I think firing Hiestand would be a mistake. I think he’s a solid coach who is taking the heat for a perfect storm of events. Look at the Indianapolis Colts this year. Our run scheme is set up like theirs with the zone blocking. It’s intended to be a pass-first offense and our pass first offense got run over by injuries. Not to mention we are STILL starting 4 SO and 1 JR on the line. That’s younger than any of the SEC teams we played this year. I think a coach with his reputation deserves another year. Not to mention the fact that with fans calling for the HC’s head and a new AD, not many people are going to come here right now.

2. This could still change, but the way these coaching changes are being handled, it looks to me like the administration and staff is a lot less angsty than the fan base. There hasn’t been a sacrificial lamb from the caching staff like Randy Sanders. I’m wondering if Dooley’s being gone after next year is a lot less of a foregone conclusion than people think.

Obviously, I think we all agree that this year needs to be the vertex and there needs to be improvement next year, but I’m wondering if a fourth year is a lot more attainable than we think. Remember, Dave Hart was at Bama so I’m sure he’s got some experience dealing with the chicken little fan base.

3. A lot of the people on other sites and on the radio saying we need to fire Dooley right now are citing the lack of a running game. I just want to remind everybody that Aaron Douglas, Lennon Creer, Bryce Brown, Toney Williams and David Oku all transferred out of the program, largely because of our instability with coaching the last few years. For anybody thinking that another coaching change is going to solve things at this point, I’ve got some ND merchandise I will trade you for a hit of whatever you’re smoking.

Everyone acknowledged it was going to be a long road back for Tennessee when Dooley was hired and yet many are ready to give up already. Those folks need to settle down because I don’t want to be having this same conversation in 2 years after the next guy goes 4-8.

We really won’t see Dooley’s true impact on the program until year 4 or 5. Obviously there will be indicators, but the kind of attrition we’ve seen in recruiting over the last 5 years takes time to flush out of the system.

4. Really excited about Jay Graham. This is a long post already, but seeing Marcus Lattimore do what he did as a Freshman has to make you high on Jay. Not to mention it will be nice to have a guy around the program who knows what it is like to be a Volunteer.