Go West, Young Man

Ten Quick Bullet Points (Pun Intended) on Lane Kiffin jolting the Tennessee Nation


1. The Trojans are a better for Lane Kiffin. USC is a much higher profile job. Recruiting, which is a strength of Kiffin’s, will be much simpler in So Cal. The Pac-10 is a much easier conference to win, with less competition and no championship game. Finally, Kiffin has been on the west coast since graduating high school.

2. Kiffin is the best USC could do. The had already been turned by better names such as Mike Riley and Jack del Rio. Hell, in a lot of ways he is Washington coach Steve Sarkisian “lite,” with a more Hollywood friendly name recognition.

3. Tennessee will not go as outside the box with their next hire. They got burned by Kiffin. He left, taking his Daddy and Ed Orgeron with him, after only fourteen months. UT only won seven games in his lone season and faces possible recruiting violations. Three players were arrested on gun charges exactly two months ago. The Vols need stability.

4. Somewhere, Phillip Fulmer is saying, "You ran me out for this?

5. Tennessee fans have to keep changing their drawers, or at least flip them inside out, every couple of hours.


6. In Seattle, Pete Carroll is very happy. The Kiffin hiring has taken all the focus off his rapid exodus to the Seattle Seahawks.





7. In Knoxville, Bruce Pearl is jumping for joy. Kiffin’s departure, coupled with the basketball Vols upset of No. 1 Kansas, means the December gun and marijuana “incident” involving the four hoopsters at the convenience store parking lot virtually disappears.

8. Georgia defensive coach Rodney Garner is contemplating a change of address. Garner, a former UT assistant, is an outstanding recruiter and holds the title of Assistant Head Coach at Georgia. He wasn’t seriously considered for the indefinitely vacant defensive coordinator job by Mark Richt and may not be head coaching stock. Still, no matter what the title, he would be invaluable helping Tennessee hold on to the current recruiting class (currently ranked sixth in the country by Rivals and Scouts.com).

9. In Lubbock, new Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville is pissed.



10. Frankly, my dear, Nick Saban doesn’t give a damn. And, why should he? As much as it may hurt the Volunteer nation, their place in the SEC hierarchy is simply middle of the pack while their traditionally biggest rival reigns national champion.