Tennessee Vols Coaching Search: Lane Kiffin Is The Answer
By Zach Ragan
The Tennessee Vols need to turn their attention to Lane Kiffin.
I’m getting tired of writing about Lane Kiffin nearly every day, but he’s the best option for the Tennessee Vols if they want to avoid falling further into football obscurity.
Look, I understand that some folks still have a bad taste in their mouth from Kiffin leaving Tennessee high n dry in early 2010. But that was seven years ago. And I still maintain that Kiffin didn’t really do anything wrong. He went home to USC. I don’t see the big deal in that.
Kiffin even tried to explain his decision the night he left, which is something that pretty much no coach ever does when they leave a program. Unfortunately, that turned into its own spectacle, but I digress.
After making a failed run at Mike Gundy on Tuesday, it appears that Tennessee is going to turn its attention to names like Jeff Brohm and Dave Doeren.
I guess they’d rather gamble on an up-and-comer instead of hiring a coach with a wealth of experience that also possesses one of the best offensive minds in the country.
Kiffin has an odd track record and he’s made a lot of mistakes. But those mistakes have made him a better coach, and he’s showing that at FAU this season. I’d rather take a guy like Kiffin who obviously has a great football acumen, than a coach that’s had a couple of decent seasons. Or a first time head coach.
I think Kiffin has the potential to be one of the elite coaches in college football. He’s still only 42 years old. He’s only going to get better as a head coach. And he’s worked under Pete Carroll and Nick Saban — there aren’t two better football coaches to learn from.
Tennessee will probably botch this hire and they’ll be right back in the same position in three years. And some other power-5 program will hire Kiffin and be thankful they did.
The Vols have a huge opportunity to change the trajectory of their program. All they have to do is pick up the phone and call Lane Kiffin.