Lane Kiffin: The SEC's Stimulus Package

Lane Kiffin has ruffled more than a few feathers in his first few months on the job as Tennessee’s new head football coach.  Taking over after Phil Fulmer’s dismal 5-7 2008 campaign, Kiffin inherits a squad with no clear leader at quarterback and few explosive offensive players. 

Who even plays for the Vols these days?

It wasn’t too long ago when UT players were household names.  Peyton Manning, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Al Wilson, and Jason Witten were held in high regard. 

Now, a once-proud program that won a national title ten years ago has almost bottomed out.

Enter Kiffin, fresh from an NFL gig with the Oakland Raiders where things didn’t work out as planned.  He finished with a 5-15 record during his one-and-a-quarter seasons with a talent-depleted Raiders squad.

His hiring by the University of Tennessee may have been the best hiring in all of college football during the offseason.  If you subscribe to the philosophy that any press is good press, UT found a gold mine.

His latest incident, the alleged comments to Gamecocks signee Alshon Jeffrey about "pumping gas for the rest of his life if he goes to South Carolina" are almost comical.  Who thinks up this stuff?

Florida lineman Maurkice Pouncey’s remarks about "Tennessee having something coming, Florida doing their talking on the field" and that Kiffin’s words were "bulletin board material" only added fuel to the fire. 

Kiffin responded to the quote, telling ESPN, “I think it's a neat thing that Tennessee's logo is all over Florida's locker room.”  So do we, Lane.

Kiffin’s tactics may have the Vol Nation a bit queasy and uneasy, but Kiffin's recent ramblings just made SEC football that much more interesting.  No doubt about it, Florida is still by far the best team in the conference and Tim Tebow may be the greatest college player in the history of the game, but Tennessee’s games are now worth watching. 

Who doesn’t want to see them match up against South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama?

He’s brash.  You can count on the television cameras tracking his face for every second of every major game this year. 

He’s somewhere in between Jon Gruden and Bill Parcells.  He’s a young Steve Spurrier.  There are plenty of comparisons, but Kiffin is intent on blazing his own path and doing things his way. 

And that’s what makes this upcoming SEC football season worth watching.  Will Kiffin's first recruiting class pan out? 

Will highly touted running back Bryce Brown be the next UT household name or will quarterbacks Jonathan Crompton/B.J. Coleman/Nick Stephens tank this year's effort?  The line between the Rocky Top and Rocky Flop in the SEC East is thin. 

University officials don’t exactly know what to think yet and the media can’t decide between crucifying him or immortalizing him.  All of this and Kiffin hasn’t even donned the Orange and White on Neyland Stadium’s sidelines yet.  But sometimes, risky moves can be the best moves when it comes to exposure.

Just when you stopped caring about Tennessee football, Lane Kiffin makes it worth watching again.  I have no allegiance to the Knoxville school, but this guy will make their games worth watching. 

Characters such as Kiffin are few and far between.  Fresh starts for these types are equally enticing.

He may watch his words for the next few months and may be on his best behavior, but just wait until his next allegations against Georgia and LSU come out. 

Tennessee’s opener Sep. 5 against Western Kentucky can’t get here soon enough.