The Vols coach hadn't yet had more than some casual conversations with Hart when practice ended on Tuesday morning at Haslam Field, but armed with some background from a guy both Dooley and Hart know well, the relationship might already be off to a productive start.
"I've had a lot of conversations with him, but I haven't sat down with him," Dooley said. "We're going to do that this afternoon, and I'm really excited about kind of starting a new direction from a leadership standpoint in our athletics department.
"The thing I obviously love about Dave is that he's been around big-time college football at Florida State and Alabama. He knows what a football program needs, the support that we need and that is going to be very appreciated when he brings it to us. (Alabama coach) Nick (Saban) had nothing but good things to say about him, and that's good enough for me."
He'll soon find out for himself what direction Hart would like to take with the Vols (1-0), but considering his background at schools with prestigious football programs, it's safe to assume he'll take an interest in the rebuilding effort Dooley is leading in his second season with the program.
Hart won't officially be taking up his post in time against visiting Cincinnati (1-0) on Saturday (TV: ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.). But he and Dooley figure to have laid out an understanding of the roles each will play in trying to return to UT to a championship level quickly starting with the meeting on Tuesday afternoon."Well, certainly every coach wants their boss to have a real good understanding of their sport because it's challenging if they don't," Dooley said. "I think it's fair to say, I'm not going to have to educate him on football.
"He knows it, so we can get right to the heart of it, and that'll be good."
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