Who Will Tennessee Hire to Replace Lane Kiffin? 10 Candidates to Ponder

Once again, I wish I could say that I did not see this coming. Unfortunately that would not be factually correct.

I thought Kiffin would be a longshot for the USC job, but I definitely knew it was a possibility.

Now comes the unenviable task of finding his replacement barely four weeks before National Signing Day.

Who will Tennessee's top choices be to replace the former mouth of the south?

Let the speculation begin...

Chris Petersen, Boise State Head Coach

Simply put, Petersen has no reason to leave Boise State. The Broncos are on the verge of breaking the BCS glass ceiling and he would be crazy to leave right now.

On the other hand, if he wants to make a bigger name for himself, what better place than the SEC?

I wouldn't count on this one.

Gary Patterson, TCU Head Coach

If I were a betting man, I'd say you'd hear Patterson's name a few times in connection with this job opening.

Patterson won the Coach of the Year award as head man at TCU this season while leading the Horned Frogs to their first BCS game.

There were murmurings of his "interest" before Kiffin took the Tennessee job last season.

The only potential stumbling block would be buyout money.

Patterson just signed a new deal when Notre Dame was said to be looking at him earlier this offseason.

Troy Calhoun, Air Force Head Coach

Before making the mistake of hiring Lane Kiffin last December, AD Mike Hamilton apparently had Calhoun high on his list.

Calhoun is a young, hot coaching commodity and his stock is rising.

He just finished his third season in Colorado Springs where he replaced legend Fisher DeBerry after the 2006 season.

Calhoun is 25-14 in his three seasons as head coach of the Falcons.

Kyle Whittingham, Utah Head Coach

The last head coach to leave Utah for the SEC has done pretty well for himself.

Kyle Whittingham has exceeded expectations as Urban Meyer's replacement in Salt Lake City since Meyer left at the end of the '04 season.

His name is thrown about every time a big job opening comes up. Whittingham's spread offense would be yet another offensive change for the Vols, but if he's as high on Tennessee's list as he is everyone else's, there has to be a reason.

Plus, Whittingham and Meyer are good friends. So at least that Kiffin trash will be put to bed.

David Cutcliffe, Duke Head Coach

Back to the future?

It's true that Cutcliffe was the brains of the operation during Fulmer's best years. It's also true that he has made Duke better. Just how much better is up for debate.

He did great at Ole Miss, but when that kid named Eli left for the NFL, Cutcliffe became an average coach.

He immediately took his name out of the running when Phil Fulmer was fired last season. He blamed it on loyalty to his friend.

Does he have to be loyal this time around?

Skip Holtz, East Carolina Head Coach

I know he's a Holtz, but he is also perhaps one of the top three young stud coaches in America right now.

Holtz has taken East Carolina to two straight Conference USA titles. In five seasons as head coach his record is 62-45.

Holtz would be no stranger to SEC football as he was his dad Lou's offensive coordinator at South Carolina. He also held the same position at Notre Dame under his father.

Kirby Smart, Alabama Defensive Coordinator

Well he just turned down a lateral move, in part, due to Nick Saban's urging that his next move should be up. This would be just that.

Smart has experienced great success in limited time as Alabama's defensive coordinator.

He was rumored to have been interviewing for the Texas Tech job before Tommy Tuberville took over in Lubbock.

Not only would this move be huge for Tennessee, it would take Smart away from the Vols chief rival, Alabama.

Will Muschamp, Texas Defensive Coordinator

Muschamp was my No. 2 choice last year after Fulmer was fired. (Editorial Comment: By the way, Lane "Poo Sniffer" Kiffin was my No. 4 pick.)

After the young, fiery coach's name kept coming up, he was given a sweetheart deal and the "coach in waiting" label at the other UT.

Why would he leave now? For starters, Mack Brown is going nowhere. At least not anytime soon. He said as much before the BCS title game.

Muschamp would bring fire and a genius defensive mind to the Hill.

Mike Leach

I pray hard that this doesn't happen, but it would be irresponsible of me to leave him off the list.

Leach is already unemployed, which means no buyout.

He's an offensive genius and a heckuva recruiter, which means this should be a no-brainer.

He's also been accused of locking a kid in a shed for hours on end and loves pirates. Enough said.

Jon Gruden

Finally, the guy a lot of us wanted last year before Kiffin was hired, Jon Gruden.

At the time Gruden was still employed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so he quickly turned the Vols' overtures down.

One month after the Vols hired Kiffin, Gruden was fired. Many of us groaned, myself included.

Chucky would bring a big spotlight with him to Tennessee. Presumably without the "diarrhea of the mouth" that Kiffin brought.

Gruden was a graduate assistant at UT in the 80's and his wife is a former Vols cheerleader. Maybe this time around, he and the Vols can get together.

Other Possibilities

Randy Edsall, UConn Head Coach: Guided the Huskies through an extremely trying season. Would be light years better than Kiffin in the "class" category.

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern Head Coach: Likely already at his dream job. Played for Northwestern against Tennessee in the '97 Citrus Bowl.

Randy Stockstill, Middle Tennessee State Head Coach: Just down the road in Murfreesboro, coach Stockstill has made quite a name for himself. Could he make the big jump though? Doubt it.

Kevin Sumlin, Houston Head Coach: His name comes up quite often as well. Would bring a tremendously high-powered offensive concept to Knoxville.