Lane Kiffin to USC

[cumberlandreds]

Dooley from Louisiana Tech is emerging as the leading candidate. Sounds like it may he's becoming one of the few interested. Article says Utah coach turned them down yesterday as well as others.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4829107

[Newport Red]

You would have to be willing to accept that this class is going to be filled with a bunch of Tennessee high school kids who would die for the chance to play in Neyland Stadium if Mickey Mouse was the head coach. That would hurt for a little while. On the other hand, hot commodity coaches like Petersen at Boise and Patterson at TCU aren't going to even return a call at this time. The timing of this has severely limited the Vols choices. Sacrificing this year's class and keeping Kippy Brown as the coach for next year allows them the entire field of coaches to choose from.

You're probably right. I'm on the outside looking in.

If the pick is next year, does the current AD survive that long, or will a new AD make the pick.

[joshnky]

They are already screwed for this year. Probably next year too. So why hire someone just to hire someone you'll fire in 3 years anyway? Unless they can get some hot NFL assistant - or head coach - you might as well wait for someone good. Now if they get someone like Leach or Mangino who are looking for work, then they should go for it. Maybe Brown's the guy but why make a decision in haste?

I agree they should take their time but they should still make their decision for this year. Take a couple more weeks and while you might not get the ideal candidate you can probably hire a top assistant or hot mid-major coach. If they wait a year they will have two recruiting classes of nobodies and enough transfers to decimate the upperclassmen ranks. It will be four or five years before UT is back to full strength.

[Red Heeler]

You're probably right. I'm on the outside looking in.

If the pick is next year, does the current AD survive that long, or will a new AD make the pick.

I'm not sure Hamilton (the AD) survives this regardless. The word around here is that there is still a power struggle between Hamilton and Fulmer with the Board of Trustees and boosters split between them. The attempted hiring of David Cutcliff (Fulmer's buddy) was almost certainly not Hamilton's idea. Speculation is he was forced to offer Cutcliff the job and then hard lined the negotiations to make sure he wouldn't take it.

[Joseph]

This whole situation is so reminiscent of what UK went through on the basketball side a couple seasons ago when we hired BCG. Large program, proud fanbase, elite schools....spurned by some name coaches before settling on a 'rah rah' kind of guy with more bravado than brains.

Will UT be back to the drawing board in 2 years?

If its the LaTech guy I'm gonna have to answer yes.

[Red Heeler]

This whole situation is so reminiscent of what UK went through on the basketball side a couple seasons ago when we hired BCG. Large program, proud fanbase, elite schools....spurned by some name coaches before settling on a 'rah rah' kind of guy with more bravado than brains.

Will UT be back to the drawing board in 2 years?

If its the LaTech guy I'm gonna have to answer yes.

Unless he comes up with a Herschel Walker clone in a hurry, you are probably right.

Hamilton is in a no win situation here. The only coaches he can hire at this time are going to be big time gambles. If he keeps an interim coach, Hamilton probably won't be around to make the permanent hire.

If I were in Hamilton's shoes, I'd take my chances on Mike Leach. Yeah, he's a gamble, but at least you know he can hold his own in a BCS conference.

[Reds4Life]

Unless he comes up with a Herschel Walker clone in a hurry, you are probably right.

Hamilton is in a no win situation here. The only coaches he can hire at this time are going to be big time gambles. If he keeps an interim coach, Hamilton probably won't be around to make the permanent hire.

If I were in Hamilton's shoes, I'd take my chances on Mike Leach. Yeah, he's a gamble, but at least you know he can hold his own in a BCS conference.

I think Leach would be a good hire. He built something from nothing at Texas Tech, with minimal resources compared to what he'd have to Tennessee.

[improbus]

I don't think Leach could really hold up in a media heavy, tradition rich, and demanding coaching situation. Lubbock was a nice bubble where they were happy to be winning and the media wasn't going to push him on anything. It took the National Media to step in a get him in trouble. A place like Tennessee would be very different (although it is a moot point because they just signed Dooley from LT). The same thing happened to Gillespie at UK. He simply wasn't ready or equipped for that kind of spotlight. And that is okay, not everyone is.

[WVRed]

I don't think Leach could really hold up in a media heavy, tradition rich, and demanding coaching situation. Lubbock was a nice bubble where they were happy to be winning and the media wasn't going to push him on anything. It took the National Media to step in a get him in trouble. A place like Tennessee would be very different (although it is a moot point because they just signed Dooley from LT). The same thing happened to Gillespie at UK. He simply wasn't ready or equipped for that kind of spotlight. And that is okay, not everyone is.

I do think Leach would be familiar with coaching in the SEC. He was the OC at Kentucky during the days of the Air Raid offense.

Here's a question im wondering about with Dooley. Mark Richt has been on the hot seat at Georgia for some time now. If Son of Vince does well and gets Tennessee on the right track and Georgia decides to dispose of Richt, would they steal Dooley away so he could follow in his father's footsteps in Athens?

Could be another stepping stone situation in Knoxville.

[Red Heeler]

I do think Leach would be familiar with coaching in the SEC. He was the OC at Kentucky during the days of the Air Raid offense.

Here's a question im wondering about with Dooley. Mark Richt has been on the hot seat at Georgia for some time now. If Son of Vince does well and gets Tennessee on the right track and Georgia decides to dispose of Richt, would they steal Dooley away so he could follow in his father's footsteps in Athens?

Could be another stepping stone situation in Knoxville.

That is a concern among us Vols fans. At least if Dooley leaves for Georgia, it means that a) he has the program on the rise making it easier to attract another coach, and b) he's leaving at a time when a coaching search can be done properly with a full plate of candidates.

[Joseph]

That is a concern among us Vols fans. At least if Dooley leaves for Georgia, it means that a) he has the program on the rise making it easier to attract another coach, and b) he's leaving at a time when a coaching search can be done properly with a full plate of candidates.

Not to mention on first glance Dooley seems an infinitely nicer person than Kiffin which won't soothe all wounds but it will certainly raise far less ire I'd wager.

[MWM]

I loved the question in the press conference where a reporter asked him if he also was going to ask players not to go to class.

[Red Heeler]

Not to mention on first glance Dooley seems an infinitely nicer person than Kiffin which won't soothe all wounds but it will certainly raise far less ire I'd wager.

I think that being from the south, with deep roots in SEC football played a large part in Dooley's selection. Kiffen ignored a lot of the Tennessee football traditions, and was generally an abrasive jerk. He was trying to play the Spurier part without having the Spurier success first. That rankled a whole lot of the traditionalist fan base.

[WVRed]

Not to mention on first glance Dooley seems an infinitely nicer person than Kiffin which won't soothe all wounds but it will certainly raise far less ire I'd wager.

I thought in the press conference that he looked like a young Randy Travis.

I think that being from the south, with deep roots in SEC football played a large part in Dooley's selection. Kiffen ignored a lot of the Tennessee football traditions, and was generally an abrasive jerk. He was trying to play the Spurier part without having the Spurier success first. That rankled a whole lot of the traditionalist fan base.

I honestly think this is an underwhelming hire when you consider who all turned down the job.

Joseph made a comparison to UK hiring Billy Clyde and while I somewhat agree, I think there are some key differences:

1. BCG had a more polished resume coming in. Coach of the Year in the Big XII, and if anything a strong disciplinarian which Kentucky fans craved after Tubby Smith wouldn't reign in Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley on the court. Derek Dooley is coming into the SEC with a below .500 record in a midmajor conference and being the Son of Vince. He can recruit, but if he can't coach, he won't be able to attract those recruits.

2. Who would you rather follow, Tubby or Fulmer? Both have one thing in common in that they divided the fanbases toward the end. Tubby had his followers at Kentucky but when he left for Minnesota, the fans united behind Mitch Barnhardt to name the next coach.

Fulmer on the other hand played at Tennessee and was an assistant under Johnny Majors. The older fans won't forget that and were willing to give him a free pass. Mike Hamilton replaced a coaching legend with an abrasive jerk who immediately made enemies in the SEC, recruited trouble players, and bolted after one year for the Pac-10. That is why he has a tiki torch under his seat and the next in line could be the man he fired.

3. For those who may not remember, Mitch Barnhardt was probably the most hated man in Lexington the weekend that Gillispie was terminated. I thank God that Cal decided to come to Kentucky because if Travis Ford would have been named head coach, we would likely be in the same situation that Tennessee is in right now.

That being said, I think the situation is different. Tennessee got punk'd by Kiffin and needed somebody to try and salvage the recruiting class and overall unite the fanbase.

If I were in charge in Knoxville, my choice would have been to fire Mike Hamilton. Two incidents with the football and basketball teams that could best be described as embarrassments in addition to hiring Lane Kiffin. Then appoint Fulmer to AD/Interim head coach and let him find his own replacement.

[IslandRed]

If I were in charge in Knoxville, my choice would have been to fire Mike Hamilton. Two incidents with the football and basketball teams that could best be described as embarrassments in addition to hiring Lane Kiffin. Then appoint Fulmer to AD/Interim head coach and let him find his own replacement.

Fire Hamilton? Maybe. It'll probably happen eventually if Dooley doesn't win big and soon. But no way would I have brought Fulmer back if I were UT, especially not as athletic director. We're decades past the point where AD was a ceremonial post for old coaches. (And if it was, he'd be in line behind Pat Summitt.) Furthermore, lest we forget, it wasn't his choice to stop coaching. Put him in the AD chair, and his choice to replace himself as football coach? Himself. Then you have the power struggle all over again, except he's in an even stronger position because it would take a university president/trustees level decision to root him out.