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
kerryb
January 12th, 2010
10:30 pm
USC will fire this clown in about three years. Theres no way this guy is going to follow what Pete Carrol did. He’s not that good of a coach. He makes a lot of noise but when it comes down to actually having to coach, he’s not that good. Not on the level of Carrol.
TNChick
January 12th, 2010
10:31 pm
Ironic that TN beat GA with that “piece of crap”, Kiffin, in the drivers seat. Its all part of the game, boys… see you in the fall. Go Vols!
Pit bull
January 12th, 2010
10:31 pm
Kifen just stepped on their face with a hobnail boot. He just crushed their face!
Sonny Clusters
January 12th, 2010
10:31 pm
This would allow Coach Richt to bring in his group of coaches at Tennessee. Willie and the boys. Tennessee is a big time job and somebody is going to want it. This would seemingly make a good DC hold on for awhile before committing somewhere. Lots of options out there right now.
GT STILL IS A 4TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
January 12th, 2010
10:31 pm
LET’S BE FAIR. KIFFIN MADE LIFE IN THE SEC MORE INTERESTING AND FUNNY. HE ACTUALLY ADDED TO THE NOTORIETY OF THE SEC. ANYWAY SEC IS NOT A CONVENT FOR THE MONKS. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Mark Bradley
January 12th, 2010
10:31 pm
I understand, Hollywould. And I’m sure folks in Oxford wouldn’t be stunned, either.
Opinion
January 12th, 2010
10:31 pm
RELEVANCY RANKINGS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PROGRAMS IN HISTORY
1. ALABAMA
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12. GEORGIA TECH
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52. GEORGIA
SORRY DAWGIES…….BETTER CLEAN THAT DUST OF OL’ 1980….ITS BEEN A WHILE!
Baba O'Riley
January 12th, 2010
10:31 pm
JESUP- How many times are you going to post that?
Hurt Curbstreet
January 12th, 2010
10:31 pm
Pollack just twittered – It’s a done deal, Paul Johnson to UT. Pretty much a sure thing.
mullets for life!!!
January 12th, 2010
10:31 pm
Wow, and I thought just the pure ugliness of their fan base was enough reason to laugh at Vol followers…..
rook76
January 12th, 2010
10:32 pm
USC will get what they deserve. Do you think that Kiffin will be trying to get all that attention from the NCAA at his new school. I think they will be watching pretty closely.
Pit bull
January 12th, 2010
10:32 pm
TNChick, you sound HOT!
Opinion
January 12th, 2010
10:32 pm
BET YOU HAD A GREAT DAY WHEN KENTUCKY BEAT THEM PUPS HUH MARK BRADLEY?
dawgs on top
January 12th, 2010
10:32 pm
Does anyone think Phil Fulmer would go back to UT if offered the job?…do you think they would offer the job?
Since Vince
January 12th, 2010
10:32 pm
When the heck is UGA gonna hire a DC because the season is OVA !
GT STILL IS A 4TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
January 12th, 2010
10:33 pm
UGA SHOULD RECOMMEND RICH TO THE TENN VOLS. HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHHA
Ryno
January 12th, 2010
10:33 pm
As long as we can get Muschamp to UT out of the deal it’s salvageable….and very, very doable.
hind tit
January 12th, 2010
10:33 pm
get a class coach hire fulmer back. they don’t make men like anymore.
kerryb
January 12th, 2010
10:33 pm
There are options out there for coaches but, I think an established program would be better than one that is starting over.
SLP
January 12th, 2010
10:33 pm
Mr. Strickland, I knew Lewis Grizzard, he was a friend of mine. He did not “hate” as you so crudely put it. He would have not minded one bit that Mark wrote that.
Buckhead Bulldog
January 12th, 2010
10:33 pm
Jeff: Nice!
Jack
January 12th, 2010
10:33 pm
So is this a good thing or a bad thing for the dawgs? I mean, in terms of recruitment, definitely a plus but it seemed to me that Kiffen posessed the ability to completely implode the program.
Mark Bradley
January 12th, 2010
10:33 pm
I can’t imagine UT would rehire Fulmer, dawgs on top. But 90 minutes ago I wouldn’t have thought the Vols would have an opening.
In The Know
January 12th, 2010
10:33 pm
This is why big money is BAD for college football. The recruits and players are the losers here.
GT STILL IS A 4TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
VINCE DOOLEY WILL RECOMMEND RICHT TO THE VOLS. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH
Damn good Dawg
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
where O where are you tonight, we searched the world over and thought we found True Love, you found another and poofff you wuz gone !
GT Fan
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
I hate it for the UT’s fans. I believe they will be better off in the long run. Kiffin was trouble, now they can find a coach that will be loyal to the school and not a smart ass.
UT shouldn’t have a problem getting a Coach. Great support and $$$.
Hope GT & UGA get their D-C soon.
Good job Mark.
Matthew
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
As funny as this is for the stupid orange-wearing douchebags… Lane Kiffin is a snake. Pete Carrol is leaving USC, a sinking ship, and Lane Kiffin is arriving to bury the school into the grown permanantly.
Opinion
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
BREAKING NEWS:
CHAN GAILEY IS THE FRONT RUNNER AT THE VOLS……LOOKS LIKE THE DOGS WILL BE RELEVANT AGAIN !!!
BREAKING NEWS:
CHAN GAILEY IS THE FRONT RUNNER AT THE VOLS……LOOKS LIKE THE DOGS WILL BE RELEVANT AGAIN !!!
BREAKING NEWS:
CHAN GAILEY IS THE FRONT RUNNER AT THE VOLS……LOOKS LIKE THE DOGS WILL BE RELEVANT AGAIN !!!
BREAKING NEWS:
CHAN GAILEY IS THE FRONT RUNNER AT THE VOLS……LOOKS LIKE THE DOGS WILL BE RELEVANT AGAIN !!!
Pit bull
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
Pollack just twittered– Smart to Tenn, press conf. tomorrow at 11 am.
ReptilesRule
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
What I find particularly satisfying is that all I have read on UT message boards is how unsettled the Florida coaching staff situation is and how it’s gonna destroy Gator recruiting and how Kiffin is gonna take over the SEC. Well, guess who is still standing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And guess who is left standing!!!!!!!!! I LOVE it!!!!!!!!!!!
Mark Bradley
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
I don’t think we can say whether it’s good or bad for Georgia until we know the new Vol coach. If he’s really good, it’s not good for Georgia. If he’s not, then it is.
willie martinez
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
Mark, were you running buddies in the old days with Lewis?
GT STILL IS A 4TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
SABAN WILL GO THE THE VOLS FOR 10 MILLS. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAA
NoGaGator
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
TampaGator is right about all these coaching changes. All it does is leverage up the price of thses guys. There is no culpability for the coaches – they just go to the latest and highest bidder with no liability on their part. Richt himself got 3 guys huge raises.
I’m a capitalist and all for free business but somebody needs to step in and enforce a contract for these $multimillion coaches who can change without recrimination.
How about the NCAA enforces a coach to sit out a year when they break a contract? we’d at least have more stability and the gypsies like Lame would have to sit on it. (Then again, I’d dread watching that a**h*le as a talking head for a year in timeout).
Fredo
January 12th, 2010
10:34 pm
Lane Kiffin named his son Knox (short for Knoxville?). Guess that’s kind of like being named Colt in the state of Texas. But now the dude’s gone to Southern California.
Lame Kiffin is the Johnny Knoxville of coaching. In honor of him departing from the SEC, let us all pick up our banjos and sing an Osbourne Brothers Rocky Top one last time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RamatoyEdwg
Yee Haw Lane Kiffin. Guess the surf’s up dude.
Opinion
January 12th, 2010
10:35 pm
Okay Mark, I apologize……I just had to get those posts out of my system….I’m calm
Since Vince
January 12th, 2010
10:35 pm
Its a shame that Lame has left early… I wanted to see if Markie could squeeze out a win over him….
Pit bull
January 12th, 2010
10:36 pm
This just in, Smart not going to Tenn, given another big raise at Bama. Saban and Smart out doing the town, AGAIN!
Milburn Drysdale
January 12th, 2010
10:36 pm
Looks like Lane loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly. Hills that is. Swimmin pools, football teams.
Mark Bradley
January 12th, 2010
10:36 pm
Not running buddies. I only met him a couple of times. (He never came into the office.) But he was, as I say, very complimentary toward, which pleased me greatly. (I’m not exactly used to compliments, as you’d imagine.)
Gen Neyland
January 12th, 2010
10:36 pm
Yo, Mark. What in Gawd’s name is going on?
Baba O'Riley
January 12th, 2010
10:36 pm
Did Pollack break the story?
hjay
January 12th, 2010
10:36 pm
Gus Malzahn to UT.
Sanford Drive
January 12th, 2010
10:36 pm
I guess that whole UT Wildboys thing was just a one year contracted deal.
Pit bull
January 12th, 2010
10:37 pm
This just in Smart now making 12 million a year at Bama!
GT STILL IS A 4TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
January 12th, 2010
10:37 pm
MARK, THE ONLY THING THAT WILL BE GOOD FOR UGA IS IF THEY GET THE RIGHT COACHES. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA. WHOEVER GOES TO TENN VOLS WILL NOT MATTER IF UGA GETS THE RIGHT COACH. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHA
Jack
January 12th, 2010
10:37 pm
I didn’t like the guy from the start and I’m glad he is gone.
Since Vince
January 12th, 2010
10:37 pm
Hey Pit…. Is pollack 100 % on the tweet ?
Bill
January 12th, 2010
10:37 pm
Mark you made Lewis Grizzard SMILE !!!!!!