I thought three things last night after the breaking of the most jaw-dropping SEC football story since … well, since Urban Meyer resigned, I guess. But this one’s going to stick. So, three things:
1. I thought about the story we’d heard, that Kiffin had put up photos and videos of USC players in the Vol administration building, which I woke up this morning to find Clay Travis had memorably recaptured for us. The reasoning supposedly went: Today’s top recruits don’t care about the school they’re playing for; all they care about is finding a program that can get them to the NFL.
Turning one of the most storied college football programs in the country into a glorified NFL minor-league team? Disgusting. But hey, I thought, I guess Kiffykins is entitled to do what he wants to to get ahead, and Lord knows not many of the Tennessee fans I read or spoke to seemed all that bothered.
Today, of course, the message those photos sent to recruits goes way beyond being a recruiting tool. It’s a lot clearer: You’re not playing for this school. You’re playing for us. It wasn’t an honor to be playing for Tennessee; it was an honor to be playing for Lane Kiffin. The Vol coaches, apparently, were a bigger deal than the school that employed them.
Kiffin’s leaving was a shock. But it shouldn’t have been as big a shock as it was.
And this is where I have to point out, as an aside, that while the above was going on so was this. We are very, very lucky, Auburn fans.
2. I thought about one of my favorite episodes of The Office, where Dunder Mifflin has tabbed hotshot branch manager Josh to oversee the merger of the Scranton and Stamford branches, at the expense of our bumbling hero, Michael Scott. But just as the merger is on the verge of going public, Josh has news for the company: he’s leveraged his new position at Dunder Mifflin into an even better offer from a rival business, and he’s taking that offer instead. Dunder Mifflin is scuh-rewed.
“Say what you will about Michael Scott,” Jim Halpert tells the camera, “but he would never do that.”
Say what you will about Charlie Strong’s lack of head coaching experience. Say what you will about Brian Kelly’s lack of Southern ties. Say what you will about Mike Leach’s pirate obsession, or Chris Petersen’s wacko offense, or the faults of any of a dozen different coaches Tennessee could have hired. Say what you will about Gene Chizik, his 5-19 record at Iowa St.
But none of them–not one–would ever do that.
3. I thought that I didn’t want it to be like this.
Yes, I wanted the Kiffin hire to backfire on the Vols, to backfire badly. I wanted that badly, actually. Some of that was the nagging air that surrounded Kiffin that he felt that he was just too good for his job: too good to have to worry about silly things like NCAA regulations, too good to have to accept a top-100 quarterback who didn’t perfectly fit his pocket-passer prototype, too good to have to wait and earn the right to talk smack to the likes of Meyer and Saban. But mostly it was just the way Kiffin was hailed from so many corners as a godsend for Tennessee, a visionary outside-the-box hire who would stand up to the bully Meyer and get the Vols’ swagger back. Meanwhile, Gene Chizik was, of course, the worst hire ever. Nevermind that both Kiffin and Chizik had virtually identical coaching resumes; Worst. Hire. Ever.
And though I didn’t exactly greet Chizik with open arms either, when he hired the staff he did and recruited the way he did last spring, I thought things would even out a bit. Nope. When Chizik started 5-0 by beating Tennessee in Knoxville while Kiffin lost at home to UCLA and quit in Gainesville, I figured we’d be due for some “Hey, who’s really the better coach here?” dissent. There were some ripples here and there, but not much. And then the Iron Bowl happened, which was a better performance against a better team than the Vols’ outing in the Swamp ever was … and for which the media gave Chizik a smattering of polite applause, a tenth of the standing ovation Kiffin received for his “moral victory.”
Obviously, I’m still a little peeved. And so I wanted Kiffin to lose 6 or 7 games a year for five years, a kind of poor man’s Spurrier-in-Carolina, always talking the big game but never winning it. That’s the kind of backfire I wanted.
But this? No. There’s less than three weeks ’til Signing Day. There’s the national embarrassment. There’s the agonizing process of finding a new coach. There’s–more than anything, I’m guessing–having to watch something you love and treasure swindled and exploited for a charlatan’s personal gain. If this had happened to Auburn, I’d be in the backyard right now taking apart various personal possessions with an ax.
So to all the Tennessee fans I know and even the ones I don’t, to Holly and Joel and Hooper and Ghost and Lawvol–man, I’m sorry. No college football fan should have to deal with something like this. Not even ‘Bama fans.
(Well … maybe.)
Photo via Auburntron.
jerry, this post is way too emo to be about someone else’s team. that being said i feel bad for the Vols (not too bad…just kinda sorta bad), but it’ll probably end out working better for them in the long run.
Is it? Maybe it is. I don’t know–Kiffin and Chizik were kind of the yin and yang amongst the SEC coaching class of ’09 for me. Taking a few more shots at Kiffykins as he heads out the door seems justified.
Here’s a story that nauseated me a little bit: Orgeron’s telling recruits who’d planned to enroll in the spring not to go to class so that they can come to USC instead without having to transfer. I know, I know, this is just how it works, but, still. Ugh. So blatantly mercenary.
http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2010/01/13/report-ed-orgeron-tells-players-not-to-go-to-class/
That Clay Travis story you linked to is a pretty brutal indictment.
“Say what you will about Gene Chizik, his 5-19 record at Iowa St.
But none of them–not one–would ever do that.”
Chizik kinda did THAT, to ISU. Bolted after 2 seasons.
J.D., I can vouch that Iowa State fans certainly feel that way. My Cyclone-fan friends go into convulsions when I mention Chizik or Auburn around them.
oh i wasn’t saying it wasn’t justified. he’s a big douche and i hope he fails hardcore.
Have to agree with J.D. Chizik did it to ISU; Meyer did it to Utah and Bowling Green; Kelly did it to Cincinnati. The difference is it’s usually leaving a smaller school for a bigger school, not a big school for another big (bigger?) school. All coaches are capable of doing it because there are no repercussions for them like there are for the players who transfer. Just a Brinks truck full of cash waiting outside the door. This seems sleazier than most though.
Having said that I still am very glad to have Chizik over Kiffin. What a disaster for Tennessee.
Funny you mention that particular episode of The Office. I was at the gym last night watching THAT VERY EPISODE while on the treadmill. Two tv’s down, the Florida-UK basketball game was on. That’s where I saw the Kiffin announcement. Weird.
You’re much more forgiving than I am. All the UT fans who lit my phone up 14 months ago to boast and brag about Kiffikins and belittle Chizik are well, silent.
Any insights on recruits Auburn targeted but that committed to UT and where they may be today in the decision cycle?
I wondered about the future of the Kiffykins experiment when Eddie Gran jumped ship to FSU. Gran, unlike Coach O and some of the other strap-hangers, is a class act who is one of the best in the business. For him to leave a program means that he wasn’t comfortable there.
Coach O just signed his last SEC paycheck. I don’t know any program who would ever want him back.
Sullivan013
Damn you and your sound logic, J.D. You’re mostly right. I will defend Chiz by saying a few things, though:
— Going from ISU to Auburn is a much, much bigger step up (and much more justifiable, in my mind) than going from UT to USC.
— I think there’s a big difference between 2 years and bailing after just 1.
— Hiring an unproven loudmouth that didn’t fit the UT culture like Kiffin required a bunch of people (Hamilton, mainly) to stick their necks out for him, and he repaid them with this. Chizik wasn’t nearly that kind of risk at ISU. (He was/is for Auburn and Jacobs, though.)
— Chizik didn’t poop on ISU or its recruiting class on his way out the door the way Kiffin is w/ UT.
I dunno. I just get the feeling that Chizik felt genuinely bad about deserting ISU, whereas UT’s nothing more to Kiffin than the place he had to use to get to USC. Maybe that just makes me a giant homer, but I can’t help it.
In any case: you’re right that I should probably redact that particular section of the post.
Sully, that’s an excellent point. It’s awful hard to see Gran and Coach O co-existing in retrospect, isn’t it?
Joe A., I honestly don’t think it’s going to have much effect on Auburn’s recruiting; Chizik and Co. know who they want for those last 6 (maybe 7) slots (hell ,so do we) and I don’t know if anyone who just became available would be worth dropping one of the other guys. Brandon Willis was the one guy I thought they’d pursue, but he’s already at UNC. Maybe JuWuan James if a) he can get out of UT b) we don’t feel optimistic about Mack?
I think the bigger impact is just that it makes recruiting other guys easier–the Vols are out of it for Lemonier, won’t be in a position to make a play for Coleman, etc.
Honestly, I was kind of disappointed when the news broke last night. I guess I was looking forward to seeing where that crazy train over there was headed, and I enjoyed sitting back from our nice West chairs watching and giggling at his antics. (After the halftime interview against Bama, he said “Alright, thanks Tracy, see you after the game.” — Funny, because they only interview the winning coach after games.) By no means did I like the guy, but I liked watching his mouth run. It was funny.
But I just read that Clay Travis story for the first time. All I can say is “wow”. The SEC is definitely better off without this guy, Coach O, and all of them. All that stuff in that article was just… Wow.
As for the Chizik/Kiffin comparison… I’d say that two years is a whole lot more than one year. But at the same time, you can’t blame Kiffin: his dream job opened up, so he took it. The same happened for Chizik (at least I’d like to think Auburn was Chizik’s dream job… maybe Florida, maybe Texas… okay, top 3 at least), it just happened to open up two years into his stay at Iowa State.
You make some good points, WBE, but one thing I’d disagree with — I definitely doubt Kiffin was just using Tennessee as a stepping stone. Because how would Kiffin know that Pete Carrol was going to dip out this year? Everybody in the world could’ve sworn that Carrol was going to retire at USC. But everything else I’d agree with, and I’m pretty sure I’m on that side of the fence here.
I guess the main thing is, Kiffin better have got a heck of a pay raise. Because if not, I don’t think USC is that much of an upgrade than Tennessee. Maybe it is, in reality, but it SHOULDN’T be.
But Kiffin is out of there and in L.A. right now (I think?), so now I think we should start to wonder about his replacement. ESPN has tossed around Muschamp’s name. They also made a note that UT gave Jon Gruden a call and he declined.
I think it’s gonna be Muschamp honestly. Sure he’s the “Coach In Waiting” at Texas, but that and an uncensored microphone on live ESPN will get him a Youtube video. I mean, when’s Mack Brown gonna retire? Five or six years from now? That’s five or six years of head coach’s salary that he’ll be missing out on. As far as how I feel about Muschamp? I think he’s an idiot, and I thought that when he was here. Not that good of a schemer, really; just a glorified cheerleader. So I guess if UT gets him then that’ll be good for us, seeing as he’ll run them into the ground and all.
P.S. The funniest thing I saw all day: Pat Forde was on PTI, talking about how this was a mistake on USC’s part. He was talking about how they’re under investigation and all this chaos is going on and they hire Kiffin, who’s a “walking secondary violation”. That was great.
P.P.S. I remember that Office. It was either the first or last episode of a season, I think. Had to be, because that’s when they have the serious moments like that. But no yeah The Office is awesome.
Chizik at ISU isn’t in the same ballpark as Kiffin at TN… it isn’t even the same MutherF*&%IN’ sport!
Chizik stayed for two years.. my math’s a little fuzzy, but that’s something like TWICE what a single year is. Chizik left ISU the 2nd week of December – when coaching changes are commonplace… not the 2nd week of January, 3 days before signing day. And anyone who thinks ISU is the sort of “dream job” that can regularly fend off head-hunters, is smokin’ the ganja. Whereas TN is a top-flight program in the premiere conference.
TN got kicked in the nuggets with a hob-nail boot. My only hope is they’ll get out the checkbook and offer Saban $10 mil/ year to dump Bama. That way, this story has a happy ending.
Another point:
When ISU hired Chizik I doubt anyone looked at their AD and said “Wow, You’re really taking a risk on this guy huh?” I have a feeling that most Cyclone fans would consider a Broyles winning,National Championship winning, Texas recruiting, defensive cooridinator a pretty safe hire. It’s not like the-Vandy-of-the-Big12 did Chizik a huge favor by “taking a chance on him”. So why should he be loyal? All ISU did is hire the biggest and best name they could afford.
Tennessee’s hiring of Kiffin was a totatly different animal. Sure, alot of media heralded Mike Hamilton as a visionary for bringing Kiffikins on board. But a visionary has to see something that isn’t there YET. The bottom line is that Tennessee hired an unemployed coach that was fired from his previous job and had a 5-15 career record. So, Yeah… Mike Hamilton stuck his neck waaay out for this guy. Kiffin should have returned the favor by sticking by UT instead of sticking it to UT.
Derek Dooley.
Are we in trouble of losing any coaches?
Less so than with Cutcliffe, but who knows.
Also, it’s not a done deal just yet. Low’s a hack, but he’s probably the single most connected Vol reporter out there. It’s not official for me until he says it is.