Lane Kiffin’s gone, and the Big Orange is mournin’
So how do you feel now, Vol fans? Your brash young coach is no longer your coach at all. The guy you defended whenever he committed one of his secondary violations, which was hourly; the guy you believed would recruit his way to the top of the SEC … well, he’s in the wind, and you’re up the creek.
This is what you get when you entrust your program to a brat. He hits town talking big, and he leaves you in a Big Orange lurch. Ten years from now — heck, 10 minutes from now — we’ll be looking on Lane Kiffin’s season in K-Town and saying, “What the heck was that?” Called Urban Meyer a cheat, choppered down on Georgia high school stadiums, smirked at every abrogation of NCAA bylaws and then … poof, he’s gone.
Like Keyser Soze. Gone so fast you wonder, “Was he here at all?”
What do you do now, Vol fans? Gonna go hire yourselves another fast talker? Jon Gruden, maybe? Gonna let your heart be broken by another guy with an eye on the escape hatch?
Say this for the guy deposed to make room for Kiffy: Phillip Fulmer was a loyal Volunteer. He won you a national title and two SEC championships and never ran off to California or Connecticut or anywhere in between. He wasn’t glib and goodness knows he wasn’t sleek, but by gosh he was a Vol. That orange jersey meant everything to him. (Heck, he wore the thing.) Know what it meant to Kiffin? A way back to L.A.
Apart from signing a few players and making a slew of enemies and beating Georgia by 26 points, what exactly did Kiffin do? His one and only team finished 7-6. And if you were looking for his second team to topple a Tebow-less (and perhaps Urban-less) Florida, you can forget it. There’ll be no second team. Just another coaching search, another new man, another season of transition. Only this time — surely — at lower volume.
I feel for you, Vol fans. You gave your hearts to the brat, and he tore them out and stomped those suckers flat. (Apologies to Lewis Grizzard.) He’s gone to Southern Cal with his lovely wife and his professorial dad and his henchman Ed Orgeron. And you’re sitting at home in Caryville and Oak Ridge and Sewanee and Chattanooga weeping tears of rejection.
Weep not, I say. Or at least not for long. For all the turmoil you’re about to undergo, yours is the luckier program. You’ll find yourselves a coach and go forward and try to forget this ever happened. The Trojans, meanwhile, have traded the NCAA scrutiny left in Pete Carroll’s wake for the heavier dose sure to come under Kiffy and Eddie O. And here’s the darnedest part: Nobody is yet sure if Kiffin the Younger can coach a lick. (Career record: 12-21.)
You can do better than him, Vol fans. You knew as much all along, but you let yourselves be charmed by glitz and brass and promises now rendered as empty as the West Town Mall on a day when the Vols are playing. Deep down you’ve known all along this would never work. Deep down you knew the proud program of Cafego and Atkins and White and Holloway and Majors and Gen. Neyland was never a place for a brat.
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1,115 comments Add your comment
GHOST OF ERK RUSSELL
January 12th, 2010
10:16 pm
HEY VOL IN SUWANEE-OUR DC HUNT IS PROBABLY ALOT FURTHUR AHEAD THAN YOURS FOR HC.I THOUGHT WE HAD PROBLEMS UNTIL I SAW YOURS!!!
King Ealey
January 12th, 2010
10:16 pm
Gatorfan. Go somewhere. Nobody is exactly impressed with your new DC. And UF’s run is over with all the players and coaches jumping ship. Looking forward to Jacksonville this year.
jim
January 12th, 2010
10:16 pm
There is a God. Kiffin actually managed to make Al Davis look like a prophet. ” A proven liar” was what old Al said and he was 100% right. And the best part – he still needs his daddy. What a joke.
Mikey in the SAV
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
Anyone know how much $$ it cost UT for the one year ?
Between Lane, Monte, and Org..it had to be a whole bunch of ching.
Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
This could finally be the year that South Carolina or Kentucky makes it to the Ga Dome. If they can’t get there when UF is rebuilding, UT is reeling, and UGA is retooling then I don’t think either will ever make it.
TampaGator
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
Can you dig it?….You know, I think you are right. Cutcliffe would be the perfect fit for the Vols. He would restore respectablity. But would he return to the program that fired him???????? I believe he was not happy about what happened to him there.
Bleacher Bum
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
Little did we know that Al Davis knew what a bum this guy is.
groundfog
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
Mike Leach to Tennessee!
Smokey
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
Uhhhhhhhhh this sucks!
Chuck Uga
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
Matt, you are delusional. UGA has won 6 of the last 10 and will win in 2010. Guaranteed.
Tina
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
Great story from an Oak Ridger and Vol fan!
Nachos
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
Bama fan here who is pretty pissed about this. What a little slime ball Lame Kiffin is. This guy makes Dennis Franphony look decent.
SEC rules
In The Know
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
As Grandpa used to say…This is better than snuff and half as dusty. Tennessee will be a better university after tonight. You got what you paid for and you thought the Georgia DC search was a joke. What does this say about the Mighty Trojans? Looks like they have sprung a leak.
GT STILL IS A 4TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
BAMA FANS DO NOT REJOICE YET BECAUSE SABAN MAY JUMP SHIP FOR 10 MILLS TO THE VOLS TO GET HIS 3RD MNC TROPHY IN ANOTHER SCHOOL TO MAKE HIM THE GREATEST COLLEGE COACH THAT EVER LIVED. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAAHAH
Maddog
January 12th, 2010
10:17 pm
Nothing like a “lane kiffin bolts UT for USC” story to help me get my mind of our ridiculous search for a DC.
WoodstockDawg02
January 12th, 2010
10:18 pm
Kiffin wasn’t kidding when he said he would never lose to Mark Richt…..HAHAHAHA!!!!!
boots
January 12th, 2010
10:18 pm
The SEC is better off without that guy around. The good news for him is that his cheating ways will be overlooked while he is at USC. Those guys will NEVER be put on probation. Meanwhile, Tennessee is going to lose some scholarships and its coaching staff. Remind anyone else of Jim Harrick’s time in Athens? Sweet the sin, bitter the taste in my mouth…
Bobby Petrino
January 12th, 2010
10:18 pm
Lane, I’m glad you took my advice. You make me proud!
GHOST OF ERK RUSSELL
January 12th, 2010
10:18 pm
IF THE NEW HEAD COACH COMES IN AND DOES AWAY WITH THE PROSTITUTE PROGRAM AT TENN-HALF OF THE RECRUITS WILL BOLT.
kerryb
January 12th, 2010
10:18 pm
USC deserves what it is getting. A total moron for a coach that will have them on probation in a few years. Mark your right. Why do top programs keep hiring this clown that has’nt proven he can win anything. I don’t understand it. Maybe I should get into the coaching profession.
Baba O'Riley
January 12th, 2010
10:18 pm
Al Davis also claimed that he fired Kiffin because CLK was against the drafting of JaMarcus Russell. Al davis is no prophet.
Stink Bomb Mark
January 12th, 2010
10:18 pm
It is an embarrassment and humiliating to the Georgia program that the USC job was not offered to CMR.
Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2010
10:18 pm
I hate to admit it, but Kiffin was right when he said that Tennessee would never lose to UGA while he was coach. Good thing he is gone so that we can take it to UT this year in Sanford Stadium.
Mark Bradley
January 12th, 2010
10:19 pm
I think Cutcliffe has to be the leader in the clubhouse. Stability is, as TampaGator says, the key at this moment. Heck with sizzle.
mike on lake hartwell
January 12th, 2010
10:19 pm
USC and KIFFEN. what a marriage! they deserve each other.
uberVU - social comments
January 12th, 2010
10:19 pm
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by MarkBradleyAJC: Bratty Lane Kiffin leaves the sadder but wiser Big Orange in the lurch. http://bit.ly/7yj8cz…
TampaGator
January 12th, 2010
10:19 pm
Dawg Fan…keep on believing that Florida is rebuilding. They may be remodeling, but the Gators are certainly not rebuilding. If you don’t believe me, take a look at their two deep roster…even with the jrs. leaving…and they will soon be joined by the best recruiting class (possibly) in the history of college football.
dawgster
January 12th, 2010
10:19 pm
I didn’t think it would play out this way, but i have been saying all season that “it was just a matter of time”, i do feel bad however for the true Vol fans that didn’t buy into this guy..did you see him at the press conference a few minutes ago…What a Jerk….
tenn.DAWG
January 12th, 2010
10:20 pm
How funny,somebody was telling me today how stupid CMR was looking and how great kiffin is.Wow,things change fast.They are forming a lynch mob at Hillbilly High right now.
Georgia Tech Virgin
January 12th, 2010
10:20 pm
What are the odds that Petrino’s bags are being packed AS WE SPEAK?
hjay
January 12th, 2010
10:20 pm
Tenn. should go after Muschamp. He’s making $1 mil, Brown is going to be around for 10 years. Tenn will pay more than $2 mil/yr.
Jack
January 12th, 2010
10:20 pm
Tubbs to knoxville. Just watch.
UT Girl
January 12th, 2010
10:20 pm
My favorite part of reading this is all of the grammatical and spelling errors from the UGA fans. I guess it’s true what they say about UGA grads and tornados having a lot in common…(both are headed for the nearest trailer park!)
Damn good Dawg
January 12th, 2010
10:20 pm
Where of where are you tonight, you found another and pooff you wuz gone!
Me
January 12th, 2010
10:20 pm
You can say what you want about Ga’s DC search…but in the end, my money is on the fact that you won’t be able to say that GA hired a one year blunder
JESUP
January 12th, 2010
10:20 pm
Markeith Ambles come be a Dawg……. Brandon Willis come be a Dawg……. Corey Miller come be a Dawg……….. JaWuan James come be a DAWG………..Michael Taylor WE REALLY NEED YOU RENEE IS GONE..
C. Gordon
January 12th, 2010
10:20 pm
I bet Tommy Tuberville wishes now he hadn’t jumped so quickly when T-Tech called.
kerryb
January 12th, 2010
10:20 pm
If TN is smart they will go after Cutcliffe. A solid coach that will be around for a long time. MS was crazy for firing that guy.
GHOST OF ERK RUSSELL
January 12th, 2010
10:21 pm
LITTLE KIFFIN IS PROBABLY THE ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD THAT MAKES AL DAVIS LOOK LIKE A GOOD GUY!!!!!
GT STILL IS A 4TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
January 12th, 2010
10:21 pm
SABAN SAYS WINNING A THIRD MNC TROPHY IN 3 SCHOOLS IS BETTER THAN REPEATING IN THE SAME SCHOOL. IT PROVES YOU CAN COACH UP AND THEREFORE THE BEST COACH THAT EVER LIVED.. EAT THAT MEYER.
SEE YA!!!
January 12th, 2010
10:21 pm
This is the best news I’ve heard in a while. PLEASE don’t let us hear that KS is going to head at TN!! Oh please, oh please!
C. Strickland
January 12th, 2010
10:21 pm
Mark, I’d appreciate it if you would refrain from quoting Lewis Grizzard. He wouldn’t approve, apologies or not. He’d hate your livers and guts.
Mark Bradley
January 12th, 2010
10:21 pm
I bet Tommy Tuberville is wishing he’d waited a few days to decide on Texas Tech, Jack. But I can’t imagine he’d bolt now.
haywood...
January 12th, 2010
10:22 pm
it would be nice if he could leave his wife here.
TampaGator
January 12th, 2010
10:22 pm
Baba….Al Davis called Kiffin a liar on national TV. In Kiffin’s case, he was a prophet.
Baba O'Riley
January 12th, 2010
10:22 pm
It’s “you met another”…not you found another. If you’re going to quote Archie Campbell, Grandpa Jones, Kenny Price, and Junior Samples…get it right!!!!!!!!
Mikey in the SAV
January 12th, 2010
10:22 pm
Cut has done a great job at Duke and frankly it would be easier to replace him there…not a glamour position like SEC jobs are.
GT STILL IS A 4TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
January 12th, 2010
10:22 pm
THE VOLS WILL GET SMART BUT WITH SABAN ATTACHED. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA
Damn good Dawg
January 12th, 2010
10:22 pm
Where oh where are you tonight, you found another and poofff you wuz gone!
North Georgia Dawg
January 12th, 2010
10:22 pm
This is perfect! However, what would be even better is when the NCAA slaps the meat to USC and takes all of there Scholarships away for the next 4 years! Then what is little Lane gonna do then?