Tag: Tennessee Volunteers (Page 3 of 4)

      Kiffin tells recruit he’ll ‘wind up pumping gas if he plays for South Carolina’

      March 10, 2009 /

      Apparently Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin wasn’t too pleased with Alshon Jeffrey’s (one of the nation’s best high school wide receivers) decision to play for South Carolina next year, and told him so.

      According to Jeffrey and Wilson, Kiffin told Jeffrey that if he chose the Gamecocks, he would end up pumping gas for the rest of his life like all the other players from that state who had gone to South Carolina.

      Jeffrey was doing his best to stay awake at that point, but that comment from Kiffin woke him up. He clearly hasn’t forgotten it, either.

      “He said it, but it’s not worth talking about,” Jeffrey said.

      Wilson was a little more diplomatic. He wrote it off as Kiffin pulling out all of the stops and simply not wanting to concede defeat. Wilson acknowledged that’s about as negative as it got that morning.

      “It was his last resort. That’s all it was,” said Wilson, who also attended high school in South Carolina.

      “When you get pushed against the wall and your back is there, you’re going to come out with something. You should have heard coach Carroll. He was wide awake at 3 o’clock in the morning. Remember, he was on West Coast time and fighting to get Alshon to the very end.

      “But the war was over at that point.”

      I’m sure college recruiters have said much worse to recruits, but Kiffin’s act is starting to wear a little thin. He’s already pissed off several of the SEC coaches and now he’s not endearing himself to future prospects. Maybe he should relax a little and win a few games at Tennessee before pissing everyone off.

      College Football

      Monte Kiffin joining son at Tennessee next season

      December 15, 2008 /

      Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin has decided to join his son, Lane, at the University of Tennessee next season. The elder Monte confirmed the news following the Bucs’ 13-10 overtime loss to the Falcons on Sunday.

      “I made the decision last weekend and I went back and forth,” Kiffin said. “It was a very, very hard decision because of players, our fans. When you’ve been in a place since 1996, you don’t just jump ship. I’ve had other opportunities. There was one that came up last year that was a great opportunity and people don’t even know for sure about the whole thing. But I stayed here, decided to sign back up for two years. But the club was very good about giving me the option to go with my son.”

      Lane Kiffin recently took the job as head coach at Tennessee, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity for he and his father to do something they’ve talked about for years: work together.

      “It boiled down to one thing: It was your son, and that’s what it is,” Kiffin said. “I love these players. I addressed it Wednesday. I told (General Manager) Bruce (Allen). Jon (Gruden) was the first person I told. The head coach, he should know first. I told the defensive staff before I went downstairs at a quarter ’til 4. We had a team meeting at 4 o’clock and the whole team was there.

      “I told them kind of what I’m telling you. I said, “Guys, this was a tough decision. I went back and forth. I said I just want you to know now. I didn’t think it was right to keep carrying it out.”

      Huge, massive, enormous blow for the Buccaneers. Monte Kiffin has consistently been one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL this decade and the teams in the NFC South must be celebrating after hearing this news.

      College Football

      Report: Lane Kiffin to be the next head coach at Tennessee

      November 28, 2008 /

      ESPN.com is reporting that former Oakland Raiders’ head coach Lane Kiffin is heading to the University of Tennessee.

      Kiffin, 33, will be making his college head coaching debut in succeeding Phillip Fulmer, who will coach his last game for the Vols on Saturday.

      Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton denied reports on Wednesday that Kiffin had been offered a contract. But Kiffin has been at the forefront of the Vols’ search for some time.

      Part of the holdup is that Tennessee didn’t want to do anything officially this week that would take away from Fulmer’s final game Saturday against Kentucky. Fulmer was fired by Hamilton on Nov. 2 and allowed to finish out the season. He’s been at Tennessee as a player, assistant coach and head coach for 35 years.

      The university has dubbed Saturday’s game “Phillip Fulmer Appreciation Day” at Neyland Stadium in celebration of his 17-year tenure.

      One of the big draws with Kiffin was the staff that he’ll potentially be able to put together. He’s talked with his father, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, about joining him at Tennessee. The elder Kiffin is considered one of the foremost defensive minds in football.

      Outside of drawing recruits with his NFL resume, I’m not sure Kiffin is a great fit at Tennessee. But the Vols are in major need of an offensive facelift, which is supposed to be (read: supposed to be) Kiffin’s specialty.

      How huge would it be if Lane could convince papa Monte to come up from Tampa and join him? Monte Kiffin’s defenses are always so underrated and he’s easily one of the best schemers in the NFL. It’s doubtful he would leave the Bucs, but one would have to imagine that the temptation to join his son would be strong.

      College Football

      Tennessee’s next head coach: Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly?

      November 19, 2008 /

      Brian KellySince Phillip Fulmer made the decision to step down at the end of the year, speculation has run rampant on who will replace him as the next head coach at the University of Tennessee. While The Oregonian suggests that Oregon State’s Mike Riley could be in line for the position, I’ve got another name to keep your eye on: Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly.

      Five years ago, Kelly was a nobody winning multiple Division II championships at little old Grand Valley State in Grand Rapids, Michigan. From there, he was hired at Central Michigan University, which had won more than three games only once in the previous four seasons. After finishing with a 4-7 record in 2004 (his first year in Mt. Pleasant) and 6-5 in 2005, Kelly led the Chippewas to a MAC Championship in 2006 before jetting to Cincinnati before coaching CMU in the 2006 Motor City Bowl.

      In his first season at Cincinnati, Kelly led the Bearcats to their second ever 10-win season (first since 1949) and a top 25 ranking. He was named Big East Coach of the Year and currently has the Bearcats ranked 19th in the nation despite having to play a total of four different quarterbacks this season due to injury.

      Tennessee needs a confident, offensive-minded leader and Kelly fits the bill. Many in the Mt. Pleasant area hate him for the way he left CMU in the lurch after winning the MAC Championship in 2006, but the fact of the matter is that he made that program relative again (the Chips are going for their third straight MAC title this season). He was the one that converted Joe Staley (who is currently starting for the 49ers right now) from tight end to offensive tackle, and also the one who recruited Heisman candidate Dan LeFevour. And the job Kelly has done at Cincinnati in his two years has been remarkable to say the least.

      When talking to people who have worked with him in the past (like Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun columnist and Central Michigan beat writer Drew Ellis, who is a close friend of mine), you get the impression that Kelly is a cocky, but confident coach. The Vols need someone headstrong that can turn the program around in only a few short years. No offense to Riley or any other candidate Tennessee may consider, but Kelly has won everywhere he’s gone and he seems like a coach that can light a fire under that program’s ass.

      College Football

      Tennessee is an absolute mess

      November 8, 2008 /

      Tennessee VolsIt’s one thing to lose to Georgia, Alabama or South Carolina. Those teams are in the SEC. It’s quite another to lose to a MWC team – not to mention a bad MWC team.

      The Tennessee Volunteers reached a new low Saturday after they lost at home 13-7 to Wyoming. The Vols managed just 219 total yards of offense, including only 118 through the air. They were held to single digits for the third game in a row and their seven points was their fewest in a non-conference game since 2002 when Miami beat them 26-3.

      It’s not that Wyoming has a terrible defense (they did rank 39th in the nation coming into this game), but to only score seven points is against an inferior opponent is embarrassing. Outside of sophomore tailback Lennon Creer, the Vols have next to nothing in terms of offensive talent. They can’t move the ball and even when they do, they cap drives off with turnovers when they get into opponents’ territory.

      Whoever takes over for Phillip Fulmer has his work cut out for him.

      College Football

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