Tennessee Football Coaching Search, Lane Kiffin Provide Holiday Laughs

Today, certain media stations proclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, the next coach of the Tennessee Volunteers is Lane Kiffin."  Hours later Tennessee officials put out an official statement that said, in typical Lee Corso style, "Not so fast my friend".

"We have not offered the job to anybody," Hamilton said on WVLT-TV. "If anybody has said that, that would be incorrect information."  But everyone following this saga knows that Kiffin was of course being pursued by the school.  But they are also talking to the agents of Gary Patterson at TCU and Brian Kelly of Cincinnati.

These are the people that have not already flatly told them thanks but no thanks!  Many think Kiffin does in fact have the inside spot.  Patterson knows he'll get a raise and contract extension just for talking to them, and Kelly is not really thrilled with the prospect of coaching in Tennessee.

That leaves Kiffin, who certainly is willing to take the job—to take ANY job.  After all, he is unemployed and left with major failure staining his only head coaching job.  The fact that Kiffin is a "Hot" prospect defies belief for many.

Let's look at his last job, how it went, and how it was handled.  It's not a pretty story.

In January 2008, it was reported by Chris Mortensen of ESPN that owner Al Davis drafted a letter of resignation for Kiffin to sign after his first season with a record of 4–12 as head coach of the NFL's Raiders.

A source allegedly close to Kiffin told Mortensen that Kiffin would not resign and would not sign the letter of resignation, which would cause him to forfeit his $2 million salary for the remaining guaranteed year of his contract.  Kiffin's stance was, I may suck, but I have a contract.  The Raiders denied the story, and Kiffin has refused to comment.

Fast forward to September 2008, when NBC Sports reported Davis was unhappy with coach Lane Kiffin and might fire him as soon the following Monday or Tuesday. He was not fired until Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008, when Davis fired Kiffin over the telephone. He left after five games with a 1-4 record.

At the televised news conference announcing the firing, Davis called Kiffin "a flat-out liar" and said he was guilty of "bringing disgrace to the organization." The Raiders said the move was made for cause, meaning they will likely try to not pay Kiffin for the remainder of his contract. He signed a two-year deal worth about $4 million with a team option for 2009 when he took over in 2007.

Kiffin later added in an interview that he wasn't proud to be faced with Davis's accusations and was actually more embarrassed for Davis than himself.  Kiffin's post-firing press conference was cancelled, and a spokesperson said he plans to appeal his dismissal without pay to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Neither side will speak now under the advisement of counsel.

This is the man that Tennessee is after to "calm" the program?  My goodness.  This is better than a soap opera.

Clearly Hamilton is trying to get a hire lined up, and he wants a "hot" coach, someone young and energetic enough to lead for a while.  Behind the scenes, many of the coaches Hamilton would love to have want no part of Tennessee. 

In his rush to apparently hire Kiffin, he may be overlooking other coaches who could better come in and provide proven leadership.  Tennessee is in such a hurry to sign someone before the other schools looking lock up the "good" ones.

Except for a very few years at USC, where he was merely a supporting coach in a very well-oiled machine, what has Kiffin accomplished that makes him a good hire?  Maybe some of the bigger boosters have gotten to Hamilton and pointed this out, prompting the statement that was released by from his office.

Stay tuned, sports fans. Knoxville is going to be the source of stories for some time to come, with or without a new coach being quickly hired.