Will the Vols Pull It Off?

Look at Knoxville right now and it's not hard to miss. Billboards are going up, the radio stations are blaring, and everyone is pumped because it's almost football time in Tennessee!

The Orange and White game was our first look at another new offense and our first new defense in 13 years.

The system is different, just like last year. The coaches are different, but most of the starting players are the same, specifically the QB position. Jonathan Crompton has had both very good and very bad moments. Unless a lot of things change, he will be our starting QB and Nick Stephens will hold onto a strong second string position.

Can Kiffin design an offense around his QB instead of a QB around his offense? If so, then we just might have a chance.

This is exactly why David Cutcliffe had success with Crompton and, quite frankly, any other QB he has coached. Coach Cut would redesign an offense around his starter, focusing on the strengths of his top QB and masking the weaknesses as much as possible. Why do you think Erik Ainge was so successful?

The defense will be solid. They were one of the best defenses in the country last season, and we have only added strength, another year of experience, and one of the best defensive coaches ever. Had we not landed Monte Kiffin as our defensive coordinator, I (as well as most of Vol nation) would have been very upset about losing John Chavis.

A big question is our offense. Others say that it is our special teams.

I believe the main question is if Lane Kiffin can coach.

Lane Kiffin has been surrounded by football all his life. His father played college ball then went into coaching at a young age and Lane Kiffin has been a coach's son ever since. As an adult, he has been graced by learning from some of the best coaches of our era.

In 2001, Lane Kiffin was hired at USC as a tight ends coach. In 2002, he became the wide receivers coach all under the immediate direction of the offensive mastermind Norm Chow. By 2005, Norm left USC to join the Tennessee Titans as their Offensive Coordinator and Kiffin took over as the Offensive Coordinator at USC. Lane Kiffin went 23-3 during his tenure at Southern Cal.

Lane had a stint with the Oakland Raiders. I had been a Raiders fan since the early 1980s and I cannot justify any opinions of Lane Kiffin's coaching abilities due to the lack of control that Raiders coaches have.

All of this leads me to this final thought: Lane Kiffin has been associated with greatness throughout his life. This being said, your past gives you a strong resume, and you have proven your skills. I just hope your mouth has not written checks that your ability cannot cash.

I am a Vol fan, through and through. Coach Kiffin, I have drank the Kool-Aid. I just hope you're as good at Head Coach as your father was at Defensive Coordinator.

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