The Antidote to Ennui: It's Kiffin

I am in awe. This is all kinds of awesome…it also hints that the sanctions will be self-imposed, and likely short-lived for USC.

Hook ’em!

I guess it sucks to be Ahmad Dixon now.

Calling it now: Mike Leach to Tennessee. Can’t you just see him in that awful color they think is orange? That way he can be punished and still have a job.

Wow. The coaching carousel is especial right now. Leach to Tenn?

Why not Tuberville to Tenn?

Odds on sizzlechest recruiting Layla for a screen test in the Valley?

Yeah, so much for the ncaa swooping in. No way USC hires Kiffin if that was the case.

I would think Tennessee would want to bring in a true Volunteer at this point. Not Fulmer, obviously, but someone they can trust.

Eric Berry?

“I guess it sucks to be Ahmad Dixon now.”

We’s aint thru verblin’ yet. Mo schoo’s, mo money mofo…

This is hilarious.

“I guess it sucks to be Ahmad Dixon now.”

As if that were going to be his last commitment anyway.

Muschamp to Tennessee.

Over/under on how long until the Vols get to sing “Rocky Top” all night?

Kiffin demanded TWO helicopters

Bigger douche: Neuheisel or Kiffin?

I think Kiffin right now, but it could be a coin flip on any given day.

This will end badly for SC.

this is what they call “the beat going on”.

Commiefornia legislature is now rushing to pass a bill to tax all signing bonuses 50%.

Budget crisis solved.

Oh boy, let’s hope they don’t dump a trailerload of cash on Muschamp’s doorstep.

There aren’t a lot of good candidates left for Tennessee to poach.

Greg Davis to Tennessee.

Kiffin’s wife is good for my ennui (among other things)

LOL.. Greg Davis…. talk about a dream come true.

Nick Saban to Tennessee.

In breaking news, former Volunteer cornerback Dwayne Goodrich has successfully petitioned the Texas Penal System for his early release and will be named head football coach of the University of Tennessee later this week. After a brief stop at the Dallas men’s club Silver City, he is expected to drive to Knoxville where it is rumored he will name Nu’Keese Richardson defensive coordinator.
In a related story, Lane Kiffen’s wife gives this newsman a boner.
Back to you, Jane…

Mike Leach makes all kinds of sense for Tennessee. Seriously. They’re probably to dumb to do it.

Both Forde and Schlabach consider Will Muschamp the top choice for Tennesse (their suggestion, not anything they’ve heard).

Would be nice if Will gave Mack an ultimatum… either Greg Davis goes or I go.

You’d have to think Tennessee is already on the phone with Gary Patterson. He’s probably the most qualified candidate out there.

Or the coach who just beat him, Peterson.

This story is awesome from all 64 angles.

Would Muschamp be able to turn down a Tennessee interview considering how much money Mack took this year?

I have no doubt a Muschamp coached Tennessee team would beat the ever loving piss out of a Mack Brown coached UT team without Vince Young.

Hearing Leach from two other sources for the Tennessee job.

Good contribution Tim. Sensible, balanced, in no way inflammatory, showing the level of analysis we’ve come to expect from you.

Tennessee ain’t that great of a job really. That’s why Leach makes sense. No recruting base to speak of, and you compete with a bunch of tough SEC schools.

Kiffin is filthy dirty, so USC won’t miss a beat on the recruiting.

I wonder if he’s bringing his Dad this time.

I just heard on the radio his dad is DC and Norm Chow is back as OC.

Tennessee fans say Bon Voyage to Lane.

Lots of smoke on Muschamp to Tennessee…?

Tim says he won’t be able to turn down an interview so I guess we’re fucked..

Bobby Petrino just got out-petrinoed!

McWorter to Tennesse

I don’t know how many “ha ha ha ha”s I will have to string together to express how shitty this hire is.

i hope all this schadenfreude doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass i.e., a departing muschamp)…

Hold steady Will, hold strong

Twitter is on fire with “sources” that claim Muschamp will be named head coach at Tennessee tomorrow. This is like when Bob Stoops was going to be named head coach at Notre Dame… right???

The Kiffin press conference in Tennessee was a glorious thing to watch. He was standing for the duration, delivering a confused and awkward farewell speech while nervously swaying sideways, like a guy who just took a shit in the top of the toilet and really wanted to hit the door before the owner had a chance to flush the bad news. Of course he wasn’t going to field questions, either.

They’re running the drive-by presser continuously on ESPNEWSOMG! I’d catch it if you can. It’s hilarious. There’s a guy in the background wearing an Argyle sweater vest and he looks pissed. Dude’s glasses look like they’re going to fog over with anger steam. For a moment I was expecting him to stab Kiffin in the neck. Perhaps a Vol fan can enlighten us to Mr. Angry Argyle’s position within the athletic department. I’m interested because it’s the first time I’ve seen anyone look menacing while wearing Argyle.

Looks like Chow as OC is a sure thing.

The Vols have given the interim HC title to a man named Kippy Brown. Kippy. Kippy Brown.

Downtown Kippy Brown: he was Jimmy Johnson’s offensive coordinator for one season with the Dolphins.

Argyle is the new leather.

Vol fans are reacting to the news with typical SEC restraint.

They are burning mattresses and jerseys and are trying to block the streets around the coaches office — apparently under the delusion that Kiffin is actually in there cleaning out his desk.

So they’re not excited about Kippy?

UCLA is now saying that the reports of Norm Chow jumping across town to USC are not true.

This is better than HBO.

Fifty bucks says Pat Forde’s next column will be titled “Changing Lanes.”

If Muschamp goes to the Vols I’ll be irate. That would totally kippy my brown. I’ll be so pissed. You know, like completely draped in Argyle.

if yr looking for mass speculation, twitter is for you. “insider” information says muschamp is staying/leaving…

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&tbo=p&tbs=mbl%3A1&q=muschamp+twitter&aq=&aqi=&oq=&fp=78c1a1a2b7ae180d

Here is the link to his farewell speech:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4821021&categoryid=2564308

If this is what it takes for chooky to fire up his dial up and chime in from the farm, we all win.

Argyle socks are fierce, imo.

This needs to be set to music, show-tunes style -

“I’m just wild about Kiiipyyyy,
And Kippy’s wild about meeee!”

Mushamp turned down the same fucking job a year ago.

The only difference is Mack Brown wasn’t guaranteed $25 mil over the next five years when that happened.

Trips Right is friends with Sally Brown on facebook. Maye he can clear this up for us.

does anyone have any info on muschamp?

why is there not a “live blogging” post solely for the muschamp situation.

folks this is the biggest news of the year for UT fans.

Mangino to tennessee>>>

z – don’t worry, they’ll be right back. everybody has to mix up their purple kool-aid for the presser tomorrow..

I’m getting a bad feeling on this one. The only good thing is that we’ll know pretty soon how it’s going to fall.

After getting kicked in the ’nads by Fate over the past 9 months or so, it would be pretty much par for the course for us to lose Will Muschamp because of some douchetastic SEC/USC shenanigans.

By comparison, Major Applewhite’s career seems to have taken a serious nosedive since he stumbled at bama under Saban.

They are already contacting recruits to follow them to USC.

 
“They had the nerve to call me and ask me to come to Southern Cal. And coach Ed Orgeron (who is going with Kiffin to USC) said that he was going to be my coach at Tennessee.”

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/news/story?id=4821151

Real classy!

“Four-star safety Ahmad Dixon (Waco, Texas/Midway) was stunned by the news and now may be on the verge of committing to his fourth different school. He previously was committed to Texas and Baylor before committing to the Vols over the weekend. Don’t be surprised if he ends up signing with the Trojans”

Would one of you fine gentlemen post a picture of Kiffin’s smokin’ hot wife to make this thread complete?

TIA.

Also, can you imagine the epic meltdown on the High Plains if tubberville said “f it” and bolted before even really starting?

Wow.

Has Dixon prayed over his decision yet?

Is it wrong that I interpret this all as a massive conspiracy to fuck Texas?
1. UTK immediately names Muschamp as the top target.
2. USC is going after Norm Chow again to make sure our SOS (UCLA) stays in the cellar for the next two years.

Our SOS will not mean shit if Muschamp leaves.

Mack needs to give Muschamp that bonus he just got, RIGHT NOW.

“Thank you, Mack. However in the future, I would prefer a non descript briefcase to the sack with a dollar sign on it.”

Chooky – “Life in the Fast Lane” maybe?

Hey Lane, welcome back to L.A.

I thought about this a lot last night and this morning. Whatever message we delivered by giving Mack the 5 years guaranteed and the big-day, if it wasn’t just a “hey, we’ll take care of you when you take over for Deloss,” would send a signal to Muschamp. If we sincerely plan on keeping Mack for another 5 years then it is impossible to blame Muschamp for moving on.

That being said, Mack is the bird in the hand, and his track record is impossible to argue with. Muschamp has never been a head coach, so who knows how it will go for him? In other words, if we promised to keep Mack for 5 more years I can’t say that was a bad decision, because Mack has been incredible and shows no sign of having lost a step at all.

On the other hand — Tennessee is not a great job, especially for a brand-new coach. If Muschamp is going to leave for a head coaching position, Knoxville does not seem like the right place. Which is probably part of why he turned it down last year. What is different this year? Nothing really, except that Texas may have committed to Mack for another 5 years. Tennessee is the same job it was, only Kiffin has f$#ked everyting up with the NCAA and the other SEC school.

Kiffin’s statement is a riot. Here’s the paraphrased version:

“You guys have been awesome to myself and myself’s family. The support here has been so amazing I can only generically not mention anyone by name. I’ve given you every single day of the last 14 months, (except for this one), and the gigantic turd myself just left in Knoxville smells better than what I found when I got here.”

Muschamp has to consider the task ahead of him when evaluating Texas versus other programs.

In particular to Tennessee, he would be facing a heavy rebuilding job in a cut-throat conference with limited nearby recruiting base as a first-time head coach with a demanding fanbase. At Texas (assuming he takes over in the next few years), he gets a few more years of apprenticeship with a master, a plentiful recruiting base, more money than just about anyone, and in all likelihood a reload situation (as opposed to rebuilding).

If he’s as well-suited to coach the Longhorns as we all believe him to be, and he has the good sense (and patience) to wait for the golden ticket, the calculus should be pretty easy for him.

Welcome back,
Your dreams were your ticket out …
Welcome back,
To that same old place that you laughed about.
The names have all changed since you hung around,
But the dreams have remained, and they’ve turned around.
Who’d’a thought they’d lead ya
(Who’d’a thought they’d lead ya)
Back here where we need ya,
Yeah we tease him a lot, cause we got him on the spot,
Welcome back,
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome baaaack….

At any rate, I hope Muschamp reads deadspin. The shit that the Tennessee fans are doing (were up all night doing) is so retardedly insane that it should scare off anyway. There are a lot of hill people in Tennessee.

www.deadspin.com

BEHorn,

did you have to look that up or do you still know the theme song by heart?

I’d rank Tennessee as the 5th best job in the SEC and around 13-15th best overall in the country. Texas would be top 3, maybe 1. I would probably only stay at Texas if I had an increase in compensation and Mack Brown’s word that he would be gone within two years.

The Kid is in over his head. That’s why he brought in Chow and Orgeron. The chinaman and his henchmen can now do his dirty work.

Luckily he’s taking over a team that just went 8-4.

The chinaman is not the issue here dude.

tclimb – by heart. I’m old(ish).

If Muschamp was interested in another head coaching job, he would have pursued either Notre Dame or USC. I have a hard time believing if he had called Garrett or Swarbrick, he would not have been a top candidate for those jobs. Both are better than Tennessee in just about every way. Less competition, more national attention, better recruiting bases. (I suppose Notre Dame has an academics vs athletics issue Tennessee doesn’t have but otherwise I just don’t see it).

The Texas job when it comes open is also a better job than Tennessee — better recruiting base, less competition and he will more than likely be working for an athletic director. named Mack Brown. Given one of the reasons Leach was fired at Tech and Carrol left USC was their adversarial relationships with AD’s WM may think twice about working for an AD he hasn’t worked with.

Now I suppose there is a question about whether WM would be perceived as a better candidate at those schools than the person they hired. Both Kiffen and Kelly have head coaching experience.

This is the best off season ever and it just started. I can’t wait to see what happens after signing day. ( by by Urban????)

Chooky – Forde’s article is titled “USC latest proving ground for Kiffin”, but the front page link is “Fast Lane”

Top 5 jobs in college football:

1.) USC
2.) Texas
3.) Florida
4.) Miami (As much as I hate to put Miami on the list they’re hard to ignore.)
5.) Notre Dame

Other than Notre Dame which makes this list only because of unmatched national exposure. All the other schools are in warm climates, with great recruiting bases good to great football tradition and they are located in nice places to live.

USC takes the top spot mainly because it really may be the NFL franchise in LA. But given some of LA’s negatives—possible competition from UCLA; the location of the campus; traffic; (of course Austin is no traffic wonderland either) and you could make a convincing argument that Texas is a better job.

USC knows its about to go on probation so it is hiring someone expendable to preside over the rock bottom years

More important than any of this is the report by Drudge that a human-faced lamb was born in Turkey yesterday. Imagine the panic in College Station right now.

of course Austin is no traffic wonderland either

Ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha!

I live in L.A. I know traffic – I’m a friend of traffic — and you, Austin, have no traffic.

ransom, that is awesome

Muschamp to Central Michigan

Just saw some of the videos of the Vols students going Detroit…stay classy UT(ennessee)!

So far the only evidence on google trends is “5. layla kiffin pictures”. Nice to see that the internet community has its priorities straight. Also, google suggests that “lane kiffin is” should be completed with “a douche”, “an idiot”, “hot”, “a joke” or “a jackass”. Tim is solely responsible for one of those.

Muschamp to the United Nations.

“of course Austin is no traffic wonderland either”

Really? (with my best Washington DC hipster sneer.)

Ransom -

I just checked out those pics of that animal. very scary. It was born dead, so I guess that means lamb and human DNA just don’t splice.

Who would ever think that students would riot over a coach that goes 7-5. That’s worse than pulling down the goal posts after beating Rice.

Bates:

There isn’t a top 10 college football job any where near DC so the traffic there does not concern us.

Muschamp to Miller/Gold Agency

Check out the chin on goat-boy. It looks just like Pete Carroll.

5 years @ $3.5 million plus is how much?

To be fair to Tennessee fans re: rioting over a 7-5 coach Tennessee had a top 5 recruiting class already in the bag and potential to get in the top 3 with Florida and Texas before this blew the whole thing up.

Scary thing is some of those elite Tennessee commits will now be signing with Florida.

Meh, the intertubes say moving from Austin to LA would require a 50% pay increase just to break even. Then they whispered to me that Muschamp isn’t leaving.

And the internet never lies.

@name – Maybe USC would have had a better season if Pete Carroll hadn’t been moonlighting as a shepherd.

@roach – As a Bama fan, I understand why you would leave us out of your “Top 5 Programs.” But we deserve to be there ahead of Miami — hell, Michigan and Ohio State deserve to be there ahead of Miami. We drew over 90,000 people to our A-Day game for crying out loud.

My top 10 coaching list goes something like this:

1. Texas
2. USC
3. Florida
4. Ohio State
5. Michigan
6. Notre Dame
7. LSU
8. OU
9. Alabama
10. Nebraska

Penn State almost makes it at 11.

I don’t know why people are acting like this is a bad hire for USC. Lane Kiffin is practically a clone of Pete Carroll (albeit from the offensive side of the ball.) Mediocre to bad field coach at his speciality (defense for Carroll, offense for Kiffin), great recruiter, horrible field coach as a game manager, entirely reliant on player talent and coordinators for any success. And Kiffin is (presumably) cheaper.

Tennessee may not even be in the top 25

And don’t forget he plays the street agent game with the best of them.

Going to be interesting to see just how many people say “No I will NOT coach your Legendary Program” to Tennessee.

@Ike:

I didn’t say top five programs I said top 5 coaching jobs. Alabama may well be a top five program its certainly higher than Notre Dame and Miami at this point. But you have to admit that the competition for recruits (limited in state talent base), competition in the SEC, and the fact that Alabama may not be the most desirable place to live effect the attractiveness of the head coaching position. It is certainly a top 10 coaching job though if it makes you feel better.

@Ghost

I considered Michigan and Ohio State but as Huckeberry points out income taxes take a big chunk of your cash and the woeful economies of those states tend to depress the attractiveness of the jobs I can’t quibble too much with your list but you really think Nebraska is a better job than Miami?

Muschamp, Stoops, Meyer to form a man band combining the moves of Backstreet with the harmony of Bone Thugs. Album dropping in May. Opening at a little place called Jerryworld in July 2010. stay tuned

@ Roach —

Yeah, I don’t think there’s too much difference between 4 – 10 in most respects. I think Nebraska is a pretty incredible program — rich history, you own the Mid-west, completely rabid fanbase. Having visited Lincoln, and known a lot of huskers (almost all of them fantastic folks) I really think it’s a job that rates very highly. Miami has a comparatively thin history, although it’s more recent. Also, Miami as a SCHOOL has much less to offer structurally than Nebraska.

Miami has shit fan support and shit facilities. Not a top 10 coaching job.

Is it true the pirate ship has hit land in knoxville? Leach to Tenn sounds like a bunch of shit.

This is from RumorCentral on ESPN Insider, so I figured I’d post the whole thing:

Two sources have told ESPN affiliate InsideTexas.com that Longhorns defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will not accept Tennessee’s head coaching position. Instead, he will either hold a press conference or issue a statement later today to say that he is remaining with the Longhorns (with a raise, natch).

On Wednesday afternoon, Matt Hayes of Sporting News reported that athletic director Mike Hamilton reached out to former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach/now ESPN broadcaster Jon Gruden — who began his coaching career on Johnny Majors’ staff; is married to a former Vols cheerleader; and was Monte Kiffin’s boss for several years with the Bucs — on Tuesday night but was turned down.

Several sources had told ESPN.com’s Chris Low that Muschamp — who fits the Lane Kiffin mold as a coaching wunderkind — was Tennessee’s top target. Sources also told InsideTexas.com that Gruden and Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt are the other two coaches who were contacted by Tennessee officials — but remember, Lane Kiffin may have been Plan E for USC, so who knows how many names UT will have to go through before it gets its man.

Nutt has an SEC pedigree, having coached at Arkansas before heading to Oxford, and he spoke to Kansas AD Lew Perkins about the Jayhawks opening last month, indicating a willingness to move on to perceived greener pastures.

Both SI.com’s Stewart Mandel and Rivals.com’s Tom Dienhart threw out the name of Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, who was in the mix for the job before Kiffin was hired. (North Carolina’s Butch Davis was also associated with the opening at the time and could resurface.) Dienhart also tweets that Syracuse coach Doug Marrone is “another name that may gain steam.” Marrone was Tennessee’s TE/OT coach in 2001.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen tweets that the Vols should go get David Cutcliffe, who was a Peyton Manning tutor, and has now revitalized the Duke program.

ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach suggested on ESPNEWS that Randy Edsall of UConn, who was heavily linked to Notre Dame until Brian Kelly got the job, might get a call as well.

Two recently deposed coaches, Jim Leavitt and Mike Leach, are hot names in the blogosphere, but we’re not buying either just yet. Hot mid-major coaches Gary Patterson (TCU) and Chris Petersen (Boise State) are linked to pretty much every major opening. Some have speculated that Steve Spurrier would listen, if offered, though he’s recently stated his commitment to South Carolina. Hamilton said that former coach Phillip Fulmer is not a candidate, but Gene Wojciechowki writes that some boosters may be trying to bring Fulmer back as AD. (No wonder Hamilton says he’s not a candidate!)

One more name to keep in mind: Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. Alabama coach Nick Saban told ESPN.com’s Chris Low earlier that he thinks Smart’s next career move was going to be to a head coaching gig. Smart has been around the SEC for a while, despite being just 34 years old. (Kiffin was 33 when he was hired last year.)

A big concern for the Vols is that Monte Kiffin, Lane’s defensive guru father, and Ed Orgeron, his ace recruiter, are going with Lane. So they need, essentially, a total package hire.

Oh, please pick Leach.

@Ghost

My parents are both from Omaha so I’m certainly familiar with the place. No question Nebraskans are good people, and there is no in-state competition at all, but if there is a worse climate in the continental US I would be surprised. Hence it seems half the state has moved to Colorado.

I’m interested to see if Nebraska can be revived. Although the commitment is there from the school and the state, I just don’t know if they can recruit well enough consistently enough, with the resurgence of Texas, USC and OU and the new found competency of Kansas and Missouri to a certain extent I don’t see a go to recruiting ground for them.

When Nebraska was at their best, Texas, OU and USC all pretty much just sucked. That is a combination of factors I doubt we will see again.

They have the tradition, but the coach is going to have to work harder than most to get it done.

@ Dick,

Yeah but they probably have more talent within the city limits than all but 3 or 4 entire states. And how hard can it be to recruit 18 y/o boys to South Beach. Talk about drawing a moth to a flame.

If Leach can turn being fired by tech into a job at Tennessee the off season would be complete.

The only more entertaining thing will be if Tuberville goes to Tennessee so we can all watch Tim jump off the tallest building in Lubbock and mildly sprain his ankle.

“Fifty bucks says Pat Forde’s next column will be titled "Changing Lanes."

Chooky, after a ruling from the judges, you win. Headline on ESPN this morning “Lane change: USC unveils new coach Kiffin”

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