Tennessee Vol Fans Bid Farewell to a Legend, and Welcome The Phenom

Conflicted. That's the word I have been searching for since that early November day when the only head coach I've ever known stepped down from the job at the only school I have ever loved.

Conflicted because for years I have pointed to the downward spiral that Tennessee football has become in 2000's, yet thankful for the success of '90s.

Conflicted because Philip Fulmer is a Tennessee guy to the core!

Conflicted because I was ready for a change. Change from a guy who has won 100 more games that he has lost.

Now change is here, and it still leaves me conflicted!

Philip Fulmer is Tennessee football.

Now here we are at the doorstep of tomorrow. A true Tennessee man is gone and a young phenom, Lane Kiffin, takes the helm.

Kiffin is only 33 years old. He had tremendous success on the recruiting trail at USC. He was turning the Oakland Raiders around until Al Davis had one of his patented 'changes of mind.'

Kiffin called most of the plays for the most powerful offense in a generation, with Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush as the playmakers.

In addition to calling most of the plays for that prolific offense Kiffin was the Wide Recievers Coach. Why is that a big deal?

Only because he coached and developed the likes of Dwayne Jarrett, Mike Williams, Steve Smith, Keary Colbert, and most recently, Tennessee native Patrick Turner.

Sure the Vols do not have that kind of talent at WR right now. But a lot of those names I just mentioned were not only developed by Kiffin as WR Coach but were recruited by him as he was the Recruiting Coordinator during that time as well.

Until recently Tennessee has had the unmatched reputation as Wide Receiver U. Maybe with a guy like Kiffin the Vols can reclaim that title.

By all accounts, Kiffin is a great recruiter. Some would say being a great recruiter at a place like USC is easy. To those folks I would say, I agree, but at least the history of being a great recruiter is there. Unlike some Vol fan favorites, such as: Mike Leach (never had a class in the top 30), Jon Gruden, and Bill Cowher (never had a recruiting class).

What Lane Kiffin brings to Tennessee is youth, next-level recruiting, offensive prowess, and player-development ability. In recent years Tennessee has recruited great talent but seemlingly could not get over the hump in player development.

Rumor has it that the new coach is bringing his father and defensive mastermind, Monte Kiffin, along with him. That only strengthens my view of this hire. If you are going to replace long-time Defensive Coordinator John Chavis you almost have to do it with a proven, successful genius like Monte Kiffin.

This is not a tremendously popular decision among the college football pundits. I have seen some supposedly non-biased writers going as far as laughing at this decision.

They point to the fact that Washington, and Syracuse never contacted Kiffin about their job openings despite having 'inside' connections at both schools. They also point to Kiffin not having the final play-calling authority at USC, or to his lack of success at the NFL level.

The last time I checked Washington and Syracuse have never had the knack of hiring good coaches.

The last time I checked no other NFL team in the league's history had ever hired a 31 year old to turn it's franchise around after success as a part-time play caller in college.

The last time I checked Pete Carroll, Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Butch Davis, and many more never had success at the NFL level.

No matter whom Tennessee was going to hire it was never going to be an easy, or popular decision.

There was no Nick Saban or Urban Meyer to choose from this year. There was no "can't miss" candidate.

Add to that a popular, long-time coach being forced to step down in mid-season, and let the war of emotions begin.

While it's true I am still conflicted about this decision I look forward to the future.

It's time to bid farewell to a legend and welcome the phenom.