Coaching Search Overshadows Vols' Final Game - NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & Sports

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart realizes the challenges involved in rejuvenating the Volunteers' football program.

The Volunteers are assured of their third consecutive losing season and second straight year without a bowl bid. Tennessee had a $3.98 million budget defiicit in the 2011-12 fiscal year. The Vols are on probation until August 2015.

Still, Hart believes he can find a quality candidate willing to take on those obstacles. Hart is seeking a replacement for Derek Dooley, who was fired Sunday.

As Tennessee (4-7, 0-7 SEC) gets ready to finish its season Saturday against Kentucky (2-9, 0-7) in a game that pits an interim head coach (Vols offensive coordinator Jim Chaney) against a lame-duck coach (Kentucky's Joker Phillips), Hart is beginning his quest to find Dooley's permanent successor.

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