By Tom Mattingly
Moments of transition are always interesting, sometimes sad, many times poignant, often intriguing. There is a wide range of emotions as you watch one career pass in review and watch another one begin. The day in question was June 4, 2003, in the Neyland-Thompson Center.
You might call it the changing of the guard.
It was sometime after 9 a.m. that Doug Dickey, AD since 1985 and head football coach from 1964-69, told the staff, “I deeply appreciate everything you’ve done for the Athletics Department.”
Calling it a “team effort,” Dickey discussed the Department’s past, present, and future. There were no surprises as he discussed facilities, revenue streams, and cash flow. He also discussed his thoughts about the people he had come to know and respect, even admire, over the years.
He talked about great athletes and great moments, the excitement his two Tennessee careers engendered, and the dynamics that made the University of Tennessee such a great place.
The bottom line,” he said, “is that it’s all about the teams and the student-athletes and how we manage the scene.”
His last words were vintage Doug Dickey: “I have a comfort zone about what you’ve helped accomplish.”
With that, he introduced Mike Hamilton as his successor and quietly left the room.
No one applauded, but they didn’t have to. Dickey wouldn’t have liked that. His final meeting with his coaches a day or two earlier had been marked by a brief show of emotion that was reminiscent of his remarks about Jim McDonald in 1994 when McDonald was named the East Tennessee Chapter’s Distinguished American Award winner.
It could have been in 2001 when Dickey paid tribute to his mentor Bob Woodruff when Bob received the Robert R. Neyland Award.
A flashy show of emotion was not his style, and there are those who wish more people could see the real person.
I’ll remember more than one amazing side to Doug Dickey. There was the ramrod straight young coach who brought the Vol football program back to national prominence in the mid-1960s. Vol fans believed their favorite team would win every time out.
On the night of Nov. 18, 1967, near the site of Tom Black Track, Vol fans came from far and wide to pay tribute after a 20-7 triumph over Ole Miss in Memphis. There was a bonfire and a profound sense of excitement.
The Vols were close to claiming an SEC title and earned it two weeks later with wins over Kentucky and Vanderbilt. On his arrival in Knoxville in December 1963, Dickey had predicted big things happening in the Vol football program in his fourth year. This was the fourth year.
There were Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m. in Knoxville and at various other times statewide, with Dickey and John Ward narrating highlights of the previous day’s game. It was a “can’t miss” event and anxiously awaited each week.
Then there was Doug Dickey, the AD with the big shoulders, who led the Vol program in the mid-1980s and beyond. The adjectives come freely: decisive, tough, and persistent, but always accessible.
There were two major crises in Dickey’s tenure as head coach that happened between October 1965 and March 1966. Three coaches were killed in a car-train wreck in West Knox County the Monday morning after the Alabama game. In March, two players were killed in Benton (Polk County) after a truck sideswiped their car.
Dickey stepped to the forefront in both instances and guided the football program through the Valley of the Shadow, earning respect from thoughtful observers who watched it all transpire.
In 2005, Dickey found out that one of his employees was on the street in the rain outside his home after what appeared to be a domestic dispute. It was not a good scene.
His voice echoed his disappointment with the whole situation. Fortunately, several of us had heard what had happened and were in the process of taking action. It was clear that he appreciated that.
Doug Dickey might have walked out of the room quietly that June morning, but his accomplishments are written in large letters across the landscape of the University of Tennessee and the state of Tennessee as a whole.
The changing of the guard has a sense of finality to it, but it’s a part of the natural ebb and flow of life as we know it.
ITEM: The University of Tennessee Press has announced that Doug Dickey’s memoir, “Just Keep Jumping,” is in the final proof stage and is slated for publication this November.
The book chronicles Dickey’s life and times as a legendary football coach, athletic director, and College Football Hall of Fame member. It is a tribute to perseverance and leadership, as well as to the enduring spirit of a true trailblazer.
“When Doug Dickey spoke, people listened,” said Peyton Manning. “I know I did.”
