What happened to loyalty and respect in football?
Southeastern Conference Football is, in my opinion, the best football in the whole nation with the quality of players, the quality of teams and the quality of coaches. Many men that have succeeded in the coaching profession have started their careers in the SEC as assistants and most even as players. Which brings me to my point in this article, I am a huge Tennessee fan I have loved the Volunteers for a while and have watched them for a long time. There is no greater scene than on a crisp cool fall day in Knoxville, Tennessee watching the Volunteers football team run through the “T” no greater scene. The Volunteers have a storied tradition in football from great players like Reggie White to Peyton Manning and great coaches from Johnny Majors to Phillip Fulmer, but I must say what has transpired over the past two weeks really disturbs me.
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Lane Kiffin was brought in as Tennessee’s head football coach a year ago and when he was brought in he really pushed the envelope. He in, 14 months, called out Florida accusing them of recruiting violations, he told a recruit that he shouldn’t go to South Carolina because he didn’t want to pump gas for a living, and Kiffin also had recruits lose their head and get caught up in a robbery during the football season. There was no doubt that Lane lit a fire under the Vol Nation and those same fans rallied around him and stood by him as well as the players, but what a cheap shot from coach Kiffin. By the cheap shot I mean high tailing it out of Knoxville for Southern California and taking his entire staff (and some recruits) with him. After all that the Tennessee faithful had done and was willing to do for him he left them high and dry. When Lane Kiffin was at UT, I really saw good things that were going to happen, Tennessee was ranked sixth in the nation in recruiting and came off of a 7-6 record and bowl game in 2009 so there was promise. Where does UT go from here? What direction will they go for a coach? Early reports out of Knoxville were that the Vols were going after Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, but Muschamp turned down the deal with the Volunteers. Now it seems that Tennessee is going after David Cutcliffe or maybe even Troy Calhoun from the Air Force Academy.
No doubt that the Volunteers are looking to make a big move and make it soon, with national signing day just a couple of days away they are in a hurry to make that move. With good reason four of the 4-star recruits have already de-committed from the Vols and more could soon follow. So in 14-months Lane Kiffin built up the hopes and dreams of Rocky Top and in a matter of days he broke the hearts of the loyal Tennessee faithful. What happened to loyalty and respect in coaching? Think about it Phil Fulmer was at UT for 14 years and before that Johnny Majors was there for 14 years and then we have Kiffin one and done. What Tennessee needs is someone who desires to embrace the traditions and passion of Rocky Top Nation. I hope the best for Kiffin, okay not really, what I do hope is that USC will end up playing Tennessee in a bowl game in the near future and UT puts it on the Trojans, that would be a fitting end to this crazy mixed up story and a fitting end to the Lane Kiffin era in Tennessee.
Sam Adams
SEC football staff writer