My Final Lane Kiffin Article: Why Vol Nation Owes Al Davis an Apology

When I look back upon my time spent writing for this grand Web site, I see a trend. Unfortunately for me, it's a disturbing trend at that.

Out of my 239 articles written on this site, a whopping 60 percent have been wasted on Lane Kiffin.

In roughly half of those, I sang his praises. The other half I worried, wondered aloud, and called for his immediate firing.

I knew something was wrong when this classless individual bragged about firing people for being late picking him up at an airport.

I stood up for him when the Bammers and Gators would write negative articles.

I wrote that he was one of the best things that ever happened to Tennessee, and I wrote that he was childish, classless, and a reproach on all that Tennessee stood for.

I wrote that it was an up-and-down first season for Lane Kiffin. And it was. Stupid losses to UCLA and Auburn. Heartbreakers at Alabama and Florida. Blowouts at Ole Miss and versus Virginia Tech. All mixed in with big wins over Georgia and South Carolina. The thrillers versus Vanderbilt and Kentucky. And the gimmes over Western Kentucky, Ohio, and Memphis.

And in part, I feel that's where my wishy-washiness on Kiffin came through the most.

One week, I loved him; the next week, I hated him. One week, he deserved an extension; the next, he didn't deserve to finish the season out.

It was just that way with ole' Kiffy-poo.

Then there were the times that I made fun of Al Davis. Called him an old codger. "That guy shouldn't even be allowed to own a team," I said.

Well, Mr. Davis, even though I know you won't read this, I owe you a big, fat apology. I was dead wrong about this menace to campus.

You called him a liar; I called you an idiot. You outlined the things he messed up on; I outlined the reasons you should never be allowed to own a team.

Finally, however, the snake reached up and bit us Vols in the posterior.

"If you want the bull, you'll usually get the horns," someone used to say to me.

We got the bull all right. And the horns hurt like heck.

So I send to you, Al Davis, an apology and this outline that might just remind you of one you authored a year ago.

Lane Kiffin is a liar, first and foremost. He lied about Urban Meyer's "cheating." He lied about not having an incident. He's now lying about not contacting Tennessee recruits once he took the USC job.

Secondly, Lane Kiffin is classless. Do I really have to explain this? I mean, the guy urinated on every respected coach in the SEC and literally expected no one to call him on it.

Third, Lane Kiffin is arrogant. Pat Forde of ESPN said, "Kiffin was born on third base and acts as if he got a triple."

Never has a truer word been spoken. He was born with a silver spoon in that big mouth, and he wants everyone to know all about it.

Fourth, Kiffin would be nothing if not for his father. Sure, he had some success as a playcaller at USC. Sure, he was a pretty good recruiter.

But how did this former backup quarterback at Fresno State become such a "hot" coaching commodity? Why, big daddy Kif, of course.

How else do you explain a coach with zero head coaching experience and two seasons as an offensive coordinator (one of those as a co-OC) getting an NFL job at a high-profile destination? Some would say Al Davis. Others would say proud papa.

Lane Kiffin has accomplished nothing, yet he is now on the throne of the premier coaching job in all of college football. Pretty good for a guy whose career win/loss record, as a head coach, is 12-21.

My fifth and final point brings me to Kiffin's lack of character. All of the previous points paint this picture.

Throw all the lies, classlessness, arrogance, and opportunity together, and what comes out is a tangled mess of a man.

A man who lacks enough character to speak for more than a minute at his outgoing press conference. A man who lacks the decency to own up to his unethical recruiting practices. A man who won't even shake the hand of a legend after getting his butt handed to him on a silver platter.

In my final words about Lane Kiffin on this site (that is, until the NCAA comes down on the boys of Troy in about a month), I must say that at one point, I enjoyed defending him.

At another point, I loathed his sorry self.

When I met him, he was likable.

When I watched him hose the team that I love, he was instantly dead to me.

And finally, I shall speak of him no more.