If it's Lane Kiffin, how do we feel?
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Look, I'm going to rally the troops and support Kiffin. But are we really handing the reins to a guy that's sexy because Al Davis hired him as a head coach? We all know Al Davis is batshit crazy. If he doesn't name Kiffin as his coach (after a bunch of other people passed on the job) is there any way he ends up being a serious candidate at UT? I really don't think so.
But, to be fair to Mike Hamilton, this is a swing for the fences hire. If Hamilton's timetable on hiring (mid-December at the latest) is accurate, Gruden is out. (Contrary to what I heard earlier.) That would leave Brian Kelly, Mike Leach, and Kiffin as viable choices. Of the three Kelly seems like a solid double; reliable and proven yet unlikely to strike anyone as a major gamble. Leach is a homerun hire in my opinion. I've written about this quite a bit. But Kiffin, given his lack of head coaching experience and recruiting expertise in the South, is a swing for the fences as well. This will either end really well or really badly. I see no middle ground. Lane Kiffin becomes Pete Carroll or he becomes Bill Callahan at Nebraska.
If Kiffin were brought in at UT, his boy wonder status would officially be up for grabs. He got a pass at Oakland (despite his 5-15 record in 1.25 seasons), but he won't get one at Tennessee. (Indeed by hiring him we're saying that we don't think he got a fair shake there.) Also, if Kiffin has early success at UT are we going to be worrying about him leaping at the next opportunity that arises in the NFL?
Having said all this, let's go back over my five-part criteria for what I'd be looking for in a new coach.
1. He has to be in his 40's at a maximum.
Kiffin is just 33. The same age as Jesus when he was crucified. Hopefully that will be a coincidence if he's hired at UT. Clearly Kiffin could be at UT for a long time. Plus, and this could be a bonus, after the Raiders experience he may really value the job security that a place like UT can bring.
2. He has to have been a head coach at some level.
Again, Al Davis is the proxy we're using here. And it seems to me that we're playing both sides of the coin here. First, we're considering Kiffin because Al Davis made him a head coach and second, we're saying that Al Davis ran him out of town too early and that he's still a good coach. So on the one hand we're accepting Davis's opinion based on the initial hire, but on the other hand we're rejecting his determination about Kiffin as a coach. Isn't this really arbitrary? We're self-selecting the opinion we like best.
3. Money can't be an option.
It doesn't appear that money is a huge issue this time around. Especially since Kiffin doesn't have any buyout from his contract. We'll see on the details.
4. He has to a great recruiter (or convince you he can bring in a staff of great recruiters).
We know that Kiffin is a great recruiter. But he has Pete Carroll at USC to work with. Has the USC program really fallen off the planet at any point since Kiffin left? The answer is no. But, and this could be key, Kiffin is reported to be willing to bring in a staff of great recruiters to supplement his own hard work. So, at least in this respect, he should be capable.
5. He has to be demonstrably intelligent.
You don't become a head coach in the NFL at 31 unless you're smart. I'm willing to accept this as a given.
6. He has to strike fear into the heart of our opponents.
Is Kiffin a game-changer? Will Alabama or Florida fans be quaking in their boots over his hire? That remains to be seen. I don't think anyone knows enough about Kiffin to be truly frightened by his results. Frightened by his potential...perhaps.
I guess my primary thought about this hire is that we're picking a really unproven guy as our head coach. We're replacing a coach with 151 wins with a guy who has won 5 games in his career. And lost 15. That's a seismic change and a seismic risk. We're swinging for the fences, but why do I get the feeling we're being seduced by the perception of Lane Kiffin more so than by the reality of what he's actually accomplished?
You know who Lane Kiffin looks the most like to me right now? Mike Shula. The scion of a prominent NFL connected headcoach who has a hot wife and takes over a major program more on potential and connections than tangible results. And that scares the hell out of me.
Read more about Lane Kiffin here. Labels: lane kiffin analysis tennessee head coach
Posted by Clay Travis at 1:18 PM
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