Kiffin’s Exit and Where UT Football Goes Now
CMM January 13th, 2010
So, I’m ashamed to admit that I actually couldn’t sleep last night thinking about Lane Kiffin’s exit as coach at Tennessee. I’m not so self-centered as to not consider this in the grand scheme of things (my prayer’s go out for those affected by the Haitian earthquake), but I’ve grown up a Volunteer. Some of my earliest memories are watching UT football with my parents. To dissect this a little more, part of it’s my competitive nature and the hope I had for winning the SEC East next year, part of it was thinking about the train wreck of misguided team spirit on the campus (really… you set a mattress on fire?), and part of it was thinking about the alternatives. Something about my personality comes to life in a time of crisis; I love the intensity and velocity of navigating and managing a crisis.
Unfortunately, I don’t earn my living thinking about UT football… so I need to get this off my brain so I can be productive. Here’s a download of some things going through my head:
Thoughts on Kiffin’s Exit:
- Let’s be honest… Kiffin’s career flourished at USC and his persona/identity is riddled with USC references (i.e. we adopted a “USC/West Coast” offense). I’d wager that inside his psyche, this was his dream job all along. The school has plenty of money, California loves big personalities, and he has a history with the school. I know its hard not to take it personal, but the guy made a career move. Ill timed and very inconsiderate, but he has wagered his entire career on making USC successful. He failed in the pros, he’s jumped ship on an SEC school after talking trash about most others, and now he’s inheriting a very bruised USC program. If he can’t make it work and quick, he will be reconciled to a tier 2 coach for the rest of his career. Particularly once his dad retires from football.
- I’ve supported Kiffin from the start, but let’s just be honest, the guy has a mouth on him. I grew up seeing Tennessee football and their coaches as classy and confident, not mouthy and arrogant. I’m not sure Kiffin ever fit the Tennessee culture, as much as we tried/pretended he did. Good riddance.
- While the fans are devastated by this, the real victims are the current players, including those enrolled for this season. They were sold loyalty, performance, and discipline from a team of coaches that turned on them in a moment of real need. We need leadership right now from the players. If they don’t step up, this team will have a very difficult time. We still have much of the same team that lost to the national champions by a blocked field goal… Much of that team is returning next year. I repeat, most of that team is returning next year.
- Recruiting is going to take a serious hit… Frankly, I don’t see anyway we hold together a recruiting class that makes it into the top 10. Fortunately, a couple of our large recruiting holes (i.e. quarterback) are “locked in” barring transfer restrictions from NCAA.
- The coaching cabinet is going to be cleared out… although I hope we hold on to some of them, specifically Lance Thompson and Kippy Brown (who has been named interim-head coach).
- I’m not one for taking pot shots at people in leadership positions, but from a business and competitive economics environment, what was Mike Hamilton thinking providing a $800k buyout for a young up-and-comer like Lane Kiffin. I don’t remember the link or the specifics, but I think we had a $4M buyout to fire him in his first year, but he could leave us for $800k. You know we were paying about 80% of competitive salaries in the SEC, so you know there was some flight risk involved. You’ve got to create more protection than that.
Now that I’ve got that off my chest, let’s talk about where we go from here:
- New head coach and recruiting coordinator… STAT! We need to analyze and make decisions on the current recruiting class. Now to be clear, I’m a big Kippy Brown fan and don’t mean to pass him up for head coach, but I’ve heard he isn’t interested. Some of the other coaches may be able to transition with a new coaching staff (can we keep lance Thompson, please?) and some of them need to find other homes. Either way, it needs to happen fast. As an aside, please stick with a pro-style or smash mount offensive strategy. Let’s not get gimmicky. Here are my three picks for head coach:
- Will Muschamp–This guy is the heir apparent for Texas, so he won’t be cheap or easy to secure–he currently makes $900k + bonuses at Texas. The current coach, Mac Brown, has a contract through 2015, so maybe Muschacamp can be enticed away with an early opportunity to head coach. He’s a UGA graduate and worked at Auburn and LSU, so he knows the SEC. He’s currently the defensive guy at Texas, a school with a phenomenal recruiting and winning track record. He’s young and he’s fiery.
- John Gruden–This guy is a little untested in SEC football, although he did work as a grad assistant at UT back in the mid-80’s. His recent stint as head coach of Tampa Bay brought a Super Bowl win and a couple of division titles, and he’s had mostly positive years. One thing that I think is a big selling point is that he has left a wake of successful assistant coaches during his time at Tampa, leading me to believe that he knows how to identity and develop talent– a critical skill for a college coach. His wife is a UT graduate and I’ve heard, although I can’t confirm, she was a cheerleader.
- Kirby Smart– I know this is a LONG SHOT, but the current defensive coordinator at ‘Bama is a stud. He’s young, an awesome recruiter with experience all over the SEC, and worked Bama’s defense (with Saban, of course) into the monster that became the national champions. That defense destroyed Florida. I repeat, that defense destroyed Florida. He would be hard to get, seeing as he just turned down a lucrative offer from his alma-mater to be defensive coordinator at UGA, but the guys is a rising star. Also, making the career move from ‘Bama to the Vols would be a mini-version of Kiffin leaving for USC. All’s fair in love and war… and SEC football is war (thank you to my ‘Bama friends taking pot shots on my twitter and facebook accounts last night).
So, all is not lost Orange Nation. Maintain your composure, stay positive, and don’t riot on the campus (again). If you need a laugh, just remember that at least Lane Kiffin used a Trojan to screw Tennessee.
Back to work and… Go Vols!
