Derek Dooley has posted an 11-14 record in two seasons as Tennessee’s head coach. (AP)

Gentle readers,

You are intelligent, good-looking people who do not need to be told that some college football coaches may lose their jobs this season. They will lose their jobs eventually because they did not win enough football games. They are in danger of losing their jobs right now because they did not win enough football games in the past. None of this is rocket surgery.

But between all the drive-time radio rants and FIRECOACH_____DOTCOM blogs, are there elements setting the temperature of coaches’ posteriors that we have not considered? To find out, we recruited a half-dozen fans and bloggers surrounding some of the most hotly debated coaching positions. Some of them wanted to defend their skippers. Some of them are Boston College fans. Read on to find out which is which:

Derek Dooley, Tennessee

• Campus Union: The point we keep coming back to regarding Dooley’s reign at Tennessee is that so many things seem to happen to the team that it’s hard to get a clear read on where the Vols really are at any given time. That said, a losing record for two straight years does not bode well for the lifespan of any coach in God’s Own Football Conference. And that’s before getting to the part where Dooley now has to live with being the guy who snapped the Kentucky win streak. So what are we missing in our rush to condemn the tenure of the SEC’s greatest active hairdo? Will Shelton of Rocky Top Talk has one answer:

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It’s early in the day and early in his tenure at Arkansas, but we get the feeling we’re never going to feel shy about declaring John L. “John-El” Smith a social media winner:

Exciting first day of practice!I can see some steam rising #GYPH

— John L. Smith (@JohnL_Smith) August 2, 2012

The only downside:

Guys, I’m starting to think John L. Smith might not be a licensed urologist.

— sir broosk (@celebrityhottub) August 2, 2012

John L. Smith, SEC Media Days champion. (Landov)

We get asked a lot why we bother with SEC Media Days. Occasionally, we wonder ourselves. But every year we skip could mean missing out on the next Robbie Caldwell, which in 2012 happened to be Arkansas’ new head ballcoach. He tops our 2012 SEC Media Days Power Rankings:

1.  John L. “Johnelle” “John-El” Smith: He shook hands with the cameramen. He openly ridiculed questions at the podium. He introduced a nation to the slogan “GET YOUR PISS HOT.” He has extremely expressive hands, which we have named Butterscotch and Flibbertigibbey. Are we overly susceptible to folksiness? Probably. Do we care? Not a fig. LSU-Arkansas 2012 just morphed into a buddy-cop movie where both leads are the loose cannon on the force. Not a by-the-book buttoned-down type in sight, and we can hardly wait.

2. T.J. Moe: Mizzou’s leading receiver brought a rare burst of logic to the dreaded “how excited are you” question: ”We’re as excited as anybody. We’re the ones that actually have to go out there and do it.” Oh, and then he went and said this:

Mizzou’s T.J. Moe on SEC: “They say girls are prettier here, air’s fresher & toilet paper is thicker”

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyCBS) July 17, 2012

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Interim coach John L. Smith hopes to stay at Arkansas beyond this season. (AP)

HOOVER, Ala. — A Memphis-based reporter asked John L. Smith, ”Would you like to be at Arkansas for more than one year?” Smith didn’t have to think about it for long.  ”OF COURSE. Do I look stupid? DON’T ANSWER THAT.” We like you, Johnelle. A LOT. Even if you hadn’t used the word nine times in your opening statement, we’d already know we’re going to be blessed to have you around live mics this season.

• On the transition from the Bobby Petrino regime: “It’s gonna be the same, as much as it can be.” We actually sort of buy this given Smith’s history with the program and the fact that so many assistants remained with the Razorbacks. ”If you’re committing to an individual, you’re committing for the wrong reason. You commit to a school. You commit to a program.”

• Has Johnelle talked with Bobby? “Can we move on to the next question, at least one with intelligence?” Temperatures in the room plummeted after that one, and John-El rocketed up our Crusty Codgers leaderboard.

• We’re trying really hard to convey what it was like to sit in a room and watch a coach express normal human emotions at a podium, and if we’re not completely getting our point across, perhaps one of Smith’s players can lend assistance:

Ark's Wright says his fav John L-ism is "get your piss hot." We had to get chemical explanation for that, but it makes sense for high energy—
Travis Haney (@TravHaneyESPN) July 18, 2012

We do not have any particular affection or contempt for Arkansas football, but do we like having this guy within a day’s drive.

Yes. Yes, we do. Arkansas football interviews have been colorless affairs since the departure of the Reverend Houston Dale. We cannot wait to ask you many questions, John L. Smith. Welcome.

John L. Smith has run with the bulls in Spain, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, skydived, trained with Marines. … SEC Media Days, rejoice.

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) April 23, 2012

More on the hire from Mandel and from around the bloggy sphere after the jump:

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