We thank them.

No, the pics are not of future top-10 pick Eric Berry, nor do they feature stud freshman Bryce Brown. Rather, they feature everyone’s favorite Volunteer fan: Lane Kiffin’s wife Layla Kiffin.

She is also the reason why Lane Kiffin was so willing to stir the pot and talk about singing Rocky Top “all night long” after the Vols beat Florida in Gainesville this weekend. Surely he knows, as does everyone else, that Tennessee will do well to keep the game within the 29.5 point spread. But at the end of the day, regardless of the score, he’ll have Layla there to pick up the pieces of his broken Saturday.

Why I thought I needed to come up with any kind of intro for this post, I’m not sure. Here is your link to 3SIB plus a preview of what awaits when you click through. (FYI…I did not put the best of the three pictures here.)

Holy shinkeys: Layla! — (3rd Saturday in Blogtober)

And now, some other less exciting but more informative afternoon links.

Sports:

• Patriots’ Bob Kraft rated NFL’s best owner — (MoonDog)
• Picking up the pieces: Milwaukee Bucks — (Give Me The Rock)
• Chocking Hazard: Jay or the Toy? — (Jay Cutler Superstar)
• More MJ (I don’t care if you’re sick of him edition) — (Not Qualified to Comment)
• Wrigley Field scoreboard to go electric? — (i94 Sports)
• 3 pieces and biscuit NFL Weekly Review — (Black Sports Online)
• Suzy Kolber literally chases down Tom Brady for an interview — (Busted Coverage)
• NFL Power Rankings: Week 2 — (My Sports Rumors)
• Indians’ 2010 schedule a little more fan-friendly — (Waiting For Next Year)
• Hall of Famer or not? — (Sparty and Friends)
• Kentucky to release report on basketball violation — (Straight Pinkie)
• How to get fired: by Dick Jauron — (Major League Jerk)
• MLB All-Decade Team and Statistical Category Leaders — (Tom Verducci, SI)

Non-Sports:

• Kanye West sorry, and still a douche — (Thunder Treats)
• Casino Capitalism: Administration gaming the system for Wall Street Titans — (Huffington Post)
• To all universities: stop bitching — (Spewf)
• Star Wars bloopers: a new hope — (Gunaxin)

——————–

As college football begins once again, fans can rejoice that ESPN will have more to cover than the Little League World Series. My apologies to Chula Vista, California.

For students at the University of Tennessee, such as myself, the start of the season means gratuitous amounts of orange and a sharp increase in whiskey sales.

Putting the Lane Kiffin offseason media circus behind us, it is now time to start playing football, and probably the start of the in-season Lane Kiffin media circus. The Vols kick off the season against Western Kentucky this Saturday and barring a repeat of last year’s debacle against Wyoming, UT will start off the season with a “W”.

[Editor's Note: Follow these links to StubHub for great deals on Tennessee football tickets, and all NCAA college football tickets. Plus, get ready for Saturday with the Week 1 college football TV schedule from MSF.]

The season will really start for UT in week two versus UCLA. The down-to-the-wire loss to the Bruins in Pasedena last year still lingers in the minds of the Vols. This year the Bruins travel to Knoxville and Kiffin will be under extreme pressure to win the rematch.

But will Kiffin be able to quickly turn this program around? That is the question everyone is asking about the Vols’ young new head coach.

Coming into this season Tennessee is unranked for the first time in 19 years. However, Kiffin seems poised to revive this program. Kiffin has brought in an elite coaching staff with NFL credentials and outstanding recruiting skills.

Lane’s father, Monte Kiffin, left the NFL and followed his son to Tennessee as the defensive coordinator. Coming to UT, Monte was effectively handed a top level defense and was told “Here you go, have fun.” Monte will help bring out the full potential of 3 time All-American safety Eric Berry. (A scary thought for all opponents.)

The offense is completely revamped with Kiffin’s pro style playbook and zone blocking system. This is a much needed change after the abysmal offensive performance last season. The Vols have the electric Gerald Jones returning at receiver, who will be a year older and should be a major offensive weapon. Jones is currently injured, but should be able to return in time for the rematch against UCLA.

The added youth to this team will have an immediate impact as Kiffin assembled a great recruiting class. Top-ranked running back Bryce Brown will play a major role in the offense, likely splitting carries with senior Montario Hardesty. His fellow freshman back David Oku will also see time, likely as a third down back.

Speedy freshman receivers Nu’Keese Richardson and Marsalis Teague will provide big play potential to the passing game. Also, freshman cornerback Janzen Jackson may battle his way into a starting role on the defense.

The most important factor in the ’09 Volunteers season, of course, will likely be the play of senior quarterback Jonathon Crompton. Last year Crompton threw for a meager 889 yards, with only five touchdowns and four interceptions. The Vols need Crompton to emerge as a solid starter in Kiffin’s offensive system.

My prediction for the 2009 Tennessee Volunteers season: 8-4 (4-4)

**********

* – Eric Berry photo credit: TNJN/Hall, Adrian via Tennessee Journalist

A few years ago, Kiffin was named as the youngest head coach in NFL history by the Oakland Raiders. It is a role he is used to, as this season he will be the youngest active head coach in Division 1-A.

He takes over for Phil Fulmer at Tennessee, a man who was a bit of a legend for winning the 1998 national title, but had allowed the program to sink pretty low by the end of his career. After getting a taste of success with that national title, Tennessee is not a team that is ready to fall back into the pack. This is especially true in the very tough SEC East, where Georgia and Florida annually battle for supremacy. 

It will take some time, but Kiffin has brought a new attitude to Rocky Top.

He has already angered Florida head coach Urban Meyer by accusing him of cheating. That drama has been played out on college football message boards and such around the country. He has also made insulting remarks about other teams within the Southeastern Conference.

Still, Kiffin knows how to recruit. He has already upgraded the talent level in Knoxville, especially with the signing of Bryce Brown. Brown was long thought to be the best high school player in the country for this incoming recruiting class. He had committed to Miami long ago, but Kiffin swooped in and stole him from the Hurricanes. This is an especially daring move in that Bryce’s brother, Arthur, is a linebacker at the U. 

Tennessee was an uncharacteristic 5-7 last year and did not go to a bowl game. They also very nearly lost at home to Northern Illinois, a team that was barely above .500 in the Mid-American Conference. SEC teams obviously very rarely lose non-conference games at home, especially against teams from the MAC.

Tennessee’s biggest liability heading into 2009 is at the quarterback position. The Volunteers were so desperate for quarterback help that they tried to raid Miami once again. When Miami starter Robert Marve decided to transfer, Tennessee tried very hard to bring him to campus. Even though he would not have been able to play in 2009 because of NCAA rules, it still would have been a nice addition to the program. Marve chose Purdue instead, leaving Tennessee to debate its quarterback situation both now and in the future. 

Saying the quarterbacks were awful is like saying the Tennessee orange uniforms are a bit loud and that Peyton Manning was an alright player when he was in Knoxville.  Three quarterbacks combined to complete fewer than half of their passes for 1,750 yards and eight touchdowns with nine interceptions. Those are the kinds of numbers that won’t have fans taking a sharpie to their media guides in order to write out Manning’s name. Indeed, those are the types of numbers Manning used to put up in about four games.

Simply put, Tennessee has to get better play from the quarterback position if it is going to improve this year.

**********

Brandon Chandler is a sports writer for www.sportsfantreasures.com. He would like to invite you to check out their Tennessee Volunteers Store and Tennessee Volunteers Apparel online today!

Unfortunately, the post I am writing this afternoon will prove those commenters right — and the subject is my favorite college football team: the Tennessee Volunteers.

As you surely know by now, former Volunteer WR Donte Stallworth was detained yesterday after the Bentley that he was driving hit a man who died soon thereafter. No charges have been field as of yet, but reports last night cited sources close to the situation that Stallworth had been drinking prior to the accident and would ultimately face charges, pending the official results of toxicology tests.

For fans of the Tennessee Volunteers and the NFL, this story feels like deja vu all over again.

Shockingly, and sadly, if the Tennessee football teams from the late 90s and early 00s held a reunion and gave out a Black Eye Award for Vol players in the NFL shining a negative light on their alma mater, Donte Stallworth’s incident yesterday would not even be among the top two nominees.

Leonard Little

The most infamous incident involving an ex-Vol is Leonard Little. Following a party in 1998, Leonard Little crashed into and killed Susan Gutweiler in St. Louis, MO. Little’s BAC measured .19 after the accident, more than double the legal limit of 0.08. Little pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter, received 98 days in jail, four years probation, and 1000 hours of community service. He was also suspended for 8 games of the 1999 season.

Since the 1998 accident, Little has signed contracts totaling 8 years and $37 million dollars.

Then, in a disturbing coda to the 1998 story, Little was arrested for drunk driving again, plus speeding, in 2004. Because of his prior arrest this was a felony case, but Little was acquitted of driving while intoxicated and convicted of only the misdemeanor speeding charge.

Dwayne Goodrich

You might think that other former Volunteers would have learned a lesson from the horrific story of Leonard Little. Unfortunately, the empirical evidence seems to suggest that they learned no lesson at all. Donte Stallworth’s accident yesterday is a perfect example, as is the story of former Volunteer and Dallas Cowboy Dwayne Goodrich.

Goodrich was an outstanding cornerback on the Volunteers’ 1998 National Championship team. He was tagged to cover superb Florida State WR Peter Warrick in the Fiesta Bowl that year, a game in which the Vols were huge underdogs. Goodrich stifled Warrick, had an interception return for a touchdown, and was named Defensive MVP of the game. Later that year he was drafted in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft by the Cowboys.

In 2003, however, Goodrich’s life, his NFL career, and the lives of three good samaritans came crashing down in a fog of alcohol, speed, and fiery cars.

After a night that Dwayne Goodrich, according to the Dallas Observer, has admitted included topless bars and alcohol (but not intoxication, according to Goodrich), he drove his BMW through the scene of a car accident in which pedestrians were attempting to free a man who was unconscious from a car that was on fire. Goodrich struck three of the pedestrians, killing two of them. Police reportedly believed that Goodrich was going 110 MPH at the time of the accident.

Dwyane Goodrich was arrested on charges of vehicular manslaughter and eventually convicted on two counts of criminally negligent homicide. In January of 2006, the families of the victims were successful in getting 5 years added to Goodrich’s original 7 1/2 year prison sentence. He remains in prison today.

That makes three separate traffic incidents, all involving alcohol in varying degrees, all involving former Tennessee stars and first-day NFL draft picks, and all tragically resulting in the deaths of innocent people.

…

I just sat here for five minutes trying to figure out what to say next, and came up with nothing. What can you say?

In the case of Donte Stallworth, he has seen a high profile alum (Little) and a former teammate (Goodrich) kill people because they were driving under the influence, or in Goodrich’s case, at a minimum driving out of control. He has also seen Little essentially get lucky making the same mistake again, being arrested for drunk driving but thankfully not injuring anyone.

I realize there there is a certain element of “bad luck” involved in tragedies such as these. But as Mike Florio said earlier today over at PFT regarding the three individual stories of former UT players killing people with their cars,”It’s most likely a coincidence. But the gravity of the consequences tells us that it would make plenty of sense for someone in Knoxville to explore the possible existence of a something other than randomness.”

Moreover, these three incidents are far from the only brushes with the law for former Tennessee stars from the late 90s and early 00s. A brief, and probably not comprehensive, rundown of the embarrassing litany of former UT player trouble:

Albert Haynesworth

Sticking with the theme of traffic trouble, new Washington Redskin Albert Haynesworth was recently indicted on two misdemeanor traffic charges stemming for a car accident in December 2008. This came on the heels of traffic charges in 2006 that were dismissed by a Putnam County, TN judge on the grounds that the offenses occurred outside of their jurisdiction.

Haynesworth also famously stepped on the face of Andre Gurode during a game in 2006. This is only the most highly publicized anger management issue involving Haynesworth.

He reportedly once kicked former teammate Justin Hartwig in the chest during training camp with the Tennessee Titans, and had a history of temper issues while at the University of Tennessee. One such story involved Haynesworth fighting with teammate Will Ofenheusle, leaving practice, and then returning with a long pole looking for Ofenheusle. Phil Fulmer stopped Haynesworth before he could use the pole and he was suspended for half a game.

Shaun Ellis

Shaun Ellis arrested in December 2008 for marijuana possession, driving without insurance and speeding. While at Tennessee, Ellis was charged with felony assault of a woman in April 1999 after allegedly striking a woman in the head with a glass after she threw a drink in his face at a party. Ellis agreed to pay the woman’s medical bills, undergo an assessment to see if he needs drug or alcohol treatment, and maintain a 2.5 GPA.

Travis Henry

A few months after being released by the Denver Broncos because “his commitment was lacking,” Travis Henry was arrested in October of 2008 on suspicion of knowingly and intentionally conspiring to distribute and posses with intent to distribute cocaine. He was eventually placed on house arrest.

Henry famously, and disturbingly, has also fathered nine children by nine different women and is currently embroiled in a series of lawsuits for back child support payments. On March 14th, Henry was jailed for falling $16,600 behind on support for one of his kids. He currently owes $170,000/year in child support payments.

Jamal Lewis

Jamal Lewis was charged with conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms of cocaine and using a cell phone in the commission of the first count. In February of 2005, Lewis began a 4-month prison term for trying to set up the drug deal. He was also suspended 4 games in the 2004 for a repeat violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He served the suspension while on IR, missing 4 game checks.

Others

Cedrick Wilson was arrested for punching his ex-girlfriend in the face while at a restaurant. He was subsequently cut by the Steelers. Travis Stephens was arrested, according to the page that contains his mugshot at the Montgomery Country Sheriffs Office website, for “drugs – simple possession/casual exchange.” Deon Grant, according to WRAL.com report from January 2004, got into enough trouble that owner Jerry Richardson reportedly told him he was either going to get his “stuff together” or the Panthers would have to let him go because they were trying to clean up the franchise in the wake of the Rae Carruth scandal.

Each of the players listed in this post helped contribute to one of the most successful eras in the storied history of Tennessee football. From 1995 through the 1998 championship season, Tennessee went 45-5. Leonard Little graduated with Peyton Manning after the 1997 season, with the rest of the players listed above either contributing to the 1998 title or to the success of the subsequent seasons. In total, from 1995 through 2001, Tennessee went 73-14 and won 4 bowl games. And each season, because of their ridiculous talent level, Tennessee entered the year with legitimate hopes of SEC and National Titles.

Just look at the draft history of that era for Tennessee football:

• 1996: 8 players drafted (2 first day picks)
• 1997: 3 players drafted (2 first day picks)
• 1998: 7 players drafted (3 first day picks, including Peyton Manning #1 overall and Little in 3rd round.)
• 1999: 6 players drafted (3 first day picks)
• 2000: 9 players drafted (8 first day picks, including Lewis and Ellis in 1st round, Goodrich and Grant in 2nd round)
• 2001: 5 players drafted (2 first day picks, including Henry in 2nd round)
• 2002: 10 players drafted (4 first day picks, including Stallworth and Haynesworth in 1st round)

While it is perhaps not on the same level of the University of Miami over the same time span, it is still an impressive display of talent compiled on a yearly basis by the Volunteers. Unfortunately, once these players went into the NFL, many succeeded on the football field but proved unable to stay clean off of it.

For me personally, the story of Donte Stallworth yesterday really hit home more than any of the others. Part of the reason is because he currently plays for the Cleveland Browns and the other part is that Donte has always been one of my favorite Volunteer players ever. He was so electric as a freshman in 1998 and throughout his career in Knoxville, and he brought the same excitement to the NFL when he was healthy.

But the incident that occurred yesterday was another crushing reminder that many of the Volunteer players I grew up watching and admiring were not worth much admiration in the first place. I am not one who looks to athletes for guidance in any way, or to be role models, but I also don’t want to see lists like the one above come from the team I root for. I was an Indiana basketball fan long before I was a Tennessee football fan, so character and off-court/off-field conduct has always meant something to me.

With so much ridiculousness swirling around the Tennessee program recently because of Lane Kiffin and his clownishness, the most recent off-field tragedy involving a former Volunteer may shift the focus to the story that is even more embarrassing: the continued run-ins with the law of former Volunteer football players. And unfortunately, these run-ins have been much more egregiously severe than the usual run-of-the-mill type stuff for NFL players like marijuana possession, getting into fights, or even gun possession.

The response to my aforementioned article about Ohio State WRs getting into trouble was that a similar list could be made for any program in the country. And I will grant that point as probably correct. But can you find any other school that can claim three alums who have killed innocent people?

It has not been easy to be a Tennessee fan over the last few years, almost exclusively because of the team’s putrid on-field performance. But after hearing about Donte Stallworth yesterday, then researching this post and reflecting on the program’s seeming inability to prepare players for life after college, my Volunteer pride has a reached an all-time low.

I know that you can’t blame Tennessee or Phil Fulmer exclusively for all of the problems that have been caused by Vols in the NFL. And I know that luck and tragic circumstances have a lot to do with the frightening volume of catastrophic accidents and other legal problems involving Vol alums. Still, the fact that I could research this post for a half hour and come up with the list above is a frightening and disturbing fact.

For all of those who remember the 1998 season, Tennessee very easily could have lost three games that year. The opener against Syracuse was saved for the Vols by a phantom pass interference call that kept the game-winning drive alive. If Fred Taylor hadn’t fumbled on the 1-yard line, or if Collins Cooper wasn’t a complete choke artist, Florida probably wins that epic battle. And Clint Stoerner’s gift fumble lives on in infamy. The result of all of these gifts of fate was Tennessee’s first national championship since 1967.

In the year’s since 1998, Tennessee is just 85-41 with 3 bowl victories, and that record plummets to 38-21 over the last four years. Terrible? No. But far, far below the standards that Tennessee fans had become accustomed too. Add in the four deaths caused by former Vol players, and the litany of other issues detailed in this post that have happened since 1998, and it makes me pause to seriously wonder if a deal with the devil had to be made to bring that 1998 title home.

It is as reasonable an explanation as any for why the University of Tennessee football program has officially become Outlaw U. There is, at worst, a terrible and systemic problem on good ‘ol Rocky Top; and at best, a harrowing series of tragic coincidences has taken place that has brought disgrace to a once proud football program.

After a day in which a wife lost a husband and a daughter lost a father, considering the implications of the Donte Stallowrth accident within the context of college football probably seems insensitive and unnecessary. But at what point should an “institution of higher learning” be held accountable when so many of its highly publicized and pampered football player student-athletes continue to prove that they don’t really seem to learn anything? (Or, to be more specific, don’t seem to learn anything that prevents them from being the preventable and proximate cause of the loss of innocent human life.)

It might seem ridiculous to ask, “what former Tennessee player will kill someone next?” But it might have also seemed ridiculous to ask that after the Dwayne Goodrich tragedy. Then Donte Stallworth’s accident happened, and another man lost his life.

And it probably seemed even more ridiculous to ask that after Leonard Little’s first accident. But the Goodrich tragedy, Stallworth’s accident, and a second DUI arrest for Little have all occurred since.

So maybe asking the question, and doing something proactive as an answer, might have saved lives — making the question itself not so ridiculous at all.

The NFL deserves as much, if not more, culpability than the University of Tennessee. These incidents did not occur on Tennessee’s watch, but rather when these players were in the NFL. I know that players get educated about off-field conduct, and driving after drinking specifically, but maybe just educating them is not enough. Aggressive and often reckless behavior on the field is what got these guys D1 scholarships and then to the NFL in the first place. Since the NFL and college football programs profit off of this on-field aggression, perhaps they should be more responsible for helping to curb its negative consequences off the field.

So I will ask the question: What former Tennessee player (or NFL player in general) will kill someone next? 100% success in prevention is obviously an unreasonable goal, but I sure hope the University of Tennessee and the NFL do something proactive to increase the odds as much as possible of the answer to that question being “no one.”

Last week I wondered aloud whether Lane Kiffin, while obviously in possession of a very attractive wife, is completely without a clue. Since taking over as Tennessee’s coach, he has famously accused Urban Meyer of recruiting violations that were not actually recruiting violations, and he has also disparaged his current crop of incoming recruits by saying, “Understand this class is far below the standards we have here and what will be here in the future.”

Yes, he actually said that. I’m sure the 2009 recruits and their families were just thrilled to hear it.

Now though, Kiffin’s idiocy is just becoming laughable.

You might think I was making this up, were it not for the link I will provide, because it almost seems too perfectly ironic to be true. But it is true. Yesterday, as first reported by the Knoxville News-Sentinel, the University of Tennessee self-reported two recruiting violations involving head cheat coach Lane Kiffin and director of ethics recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron. One of the violations involved a mock press conference set up for recruits during campus visits, the other involved the use of a fog machine when recruits walked into Neyland Stadium. Both of these are offenses because the simulate a game experience for recruits during an official visit.

Here is the best excerpt from the SI story, explaining Tennessee’s poor reasoning for following through with these pretty clearly illegal recruiting acts:

Tennessee’s coaching staff believed the mock press conference was allowed because it was not done in public. They thought the use of the fog machine was allowed after seeing it used at other universities.

So Lane, if all of the other coaches in college football jumped off a bridge, would — never mind.

Honestly, there really are not any punch lines or clever statements that do this justice. The facts themselves are the punchline. A week after calling out two-time national champion Urban Meyer for recruiting violations that weren’t recruiting violations, Lane Kiffin and the highest paid group of assistant coaches in college football history were found to have committed actual recruiting violations.

I’m speechless

I laughed when I first heard that Kiffin called out Meyer, but I also assumed that if Kiffin would say it publicly that there must have actually been a violation. The worst thing I’ve ever heard anyone say about Urban Meyer is that he is a bit of an egomaniac. At this point, that might be the best thing you could say about Lane Kiffin.

I do not consider myself a die-hard Tennessee football fan, but I do follow them more than any other college football team. Right now, the football situation at Tennessee is a complete mockery. I absolutely do consider myself a die-hard IU basketball fan, and after going through the last year and a half with the jackass-who-shall-not-be-named, I have a quick word of advice to Tennessee: fire Lane Kiffin right now.

I realize this has no chance of happening and is not feasible. But given truth serum, is there any doubt that Tennessee officials and boosters would like to have a mulligan on the Kiffin hire? Maybe he will eventually grow into the job, but he is in way over his head right now, and it becomes more obvious with each passing day.

Discretion, especially with respect to public speaking, can be hard to learn if you do not already have it (just ask Joe Biden…or better yet, ask President Obama). Lane Kiffin obviously has none, as he has consistently put his foot in his mouth during his short tenure.

And you most certainly cannot teach ethics and integrity. Look no further than IU basketball. They hired a cheater and he cheated again, despite promises that he would change. Yeah right. I don’t want to get into casting specific aspersions onto USC (Kiffin’s former employer, where he was known as a great recruiter) when no one has solid proof that they have committed recruiting violations and they have faced no recruiting penalties. But any college football fan with half a clue knows there are plenty of whispers about recruiting impropriety at USC.

Guess what Tennessee? You made a little deal with the devil in your haste to boot Phil Fulmer out of town as quickly as possible and bring in the best recruiters you could find, and know the University is getting what it deserves. When you value recruiting “ability” over experience and integrity, that’s what happens. Seriously — in the big, dirty business of college football does anyone think that part of recruiting “ability” includes one’s willingness and success at bending/breaking the rules? Just saying.

If Lane Kiffin allowed recruiting violations to occur in his first year on the job, he is either a completely clueless moron who did not respect college football and the University of Tennessee enough to know the rules; or, more likely, he is an inexperienced coach feeling the pressure of a big contract at an SEC school who does have the integrity to keep himself from breaking the rules in an effort to win.

Either way, he’s proven enough in a short time to tell me that he was the wrong hire. And I was openly trying to give him a chance.

If Tennessee has any integrity and foresight they will take the short-term hit and fire Lane Kiffin right now. Of course, they are a major college football school, so you can throw integrity out the window. Soon enough though, they’ll fire Lane Kiffin. And then we’ll all be able to look back at his first few months on the job and remember that it was only a matter of time.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

However, what Lane Kiffin does not have, apparently, is a clue.

Kiffin recently accused Florida coach Urban Meyer of cheating in his attempt to land recruit Nu’Keese Richardson, who ultimately signed with the Vols. Here is the video, if you haven’t seen it:

Kiffin claimed that Urban Meyer’s call to Richardson during the player’s campus visit to Knoxville violated NCAA rules. However, the SEC clarified that Meyer’s call did not violate any rules and Florida demanded an apology. And Kiffin did, in fact, apologize:

“I’ve been made aware by the Southeastern Conference that my comments this morning at a breakfast with our donors violated a conference policy. In my enthusiasm for our recruiting class, I made some statements that were meant solely to excite those at the breakfast.

“I apologize to Commissioner Mike Slive and the SEC, including Florida AD Jeremy Foley and coach Urban Meyer. My comments were not intended to offend anyone at the University of Florida.”

The next question is whether Kiffin will be apologizing to Tennessee fans (a group of which I consider myself a member) next season when Urban Meyer and the Gators roll up 70 points. I have to say that I think this was a pretty dumb move by Lane Kiffin. He has not won anything significant as a head coach and is the most inexperienced member of the SEC’s vaunted class of head coaches. Yet, somehow he has the temerity to call out Urban Meyer, who has won two national titles while at Florida. I appreciate Kiffin’s willingness to try and instill confidence and swagger back in Vol Nation, but this was a terrible way to do it. Maybe try beating Urban Meyer first before you run your mouth coach.

Anyway, in honor of Lane Kiffin’s douchebaggery this week, I offer you a link from The Sporting Blog that echoes my thoughts on this matter. And the reason this post won out over the many others that have been written on this topic is that I just love the headline:

LOTD: Giddy Teenage Boy Resembling Tennessee Coach Lane Kiffin Calls Urban Meyer a Cheater — (The Sporting Blog)

And some others for your viewing enjoyment:

Five theories about Lane Kiffin’s jab at Urban Meyer — (Rocky Top Talk)

Dan Gilbert Sounds Off on Mo’s All-Star Snub — (Waiting For Next Year)

Is Ohio State Recruiting Too Many White Athletes Guys? — (Cursed Cleveland)

Why Doesn’t the Pro Bowl Matter? — (Sparty & Friends)

Tony the Tiger Hates Pot Heads — (Josh Q. Public)

Fast Willie: Who’s the Boss? — (Hugging Harold Reynolds)

Deron Williams treats Jason Terry like…well…something low — (Sharapova’s Thigh)

This agreement should come from the University just a couple days after Tennessee’s last game and their Phillip Fulmer appreciation day, Saturday versus Kentucky. I can only assume appreciation day means Coach Fulmer will be receiving a lifetime supply of Krispy Kreme’s from Peyton Manning before the game. In which I can only assume again that Peyton will get the endorsement for Krispy Kreme commercials after the game.

Lane Kiffin’s baffling head coaching career is a 5-15 record with the Raiders, after being hired at age 32. Before that Lane was recruiting coordinator and co-offensive coordinator with USC and obviously got early NFL recognition with his dad being Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Tennessee fans should be excited about that last fact because Monte (considered a defensive guru) could end up being apart of the Tennessee program as early as next year. With many people (including those who fired Fulmer) having the opinion that Tennessee has talent but they are underachieving, a Lane and Monte Kiffin combination could produce results early on.

Phillip Fulmer had 35 great years with Tennessee as a player, assistant and head coach but have no fears Volunteers. You may not have to endure a rediculous transition period like a Michigan, Arkansas, or Texas A&M has.

Of course those are programs who had a winning record in their predecessor’s last season.

According to the reports, an official announcement is being planned for later in the day on Monday. Fulmer reportedly met with Tennessee officials on Monday morning, two days after the Volunteers feel to 3-6 with a loss to South Carolina, and decided that it would be best for everyone involved if he stepped down.

The reports do not indicate anything as far as Phil Fulmer retiring from coaching, and he will coach the remainder of the season for Tennessee.

What do you think of the move?
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Phil Fulmer led Tennessee to a national championship in 1998 and the Volunteers battled with the Florida on a year-in, year-out basis at the end of that decade and the beginning of this decade for SEC East supremacy. Over the last few years, however, the Volunteers have been inconsistent and seem to have taken a huge step back in terms of talent. Those 1998 Volunteers included future NFL studs Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Peerless Price, Jason Witten, Albert Haynesworth, Al Wilson, Leonard Little, and many more. The current edition of Tennessee’s football team has a stud in DB Eric Berry…and not much else.

I have always been a staunch supporter of Phil Fulmer over the years, even giving him the benefit of the doubt through the lean success experienced over the past few years. But a few weeks ago, even I began to see the writing on the wall and the need for a new direction in Knoxville.

Phil Fulmer has had an outstanding tenure overall during his time in Knoxville. And while the time is probably right for a change at this moment, his contributions and success should not be overlooked. Coach Fulmer always conducted himself with class and absolutely gave his heart and soul to the University of Tennessee. And when the dust settles and all is said and done, Phil Fulmer will likely go down as one of the ten or fifteen most successful coaches in the history of the SEC. In a conference that has produced icons like Bear Bryant and Steve Spurrier (the Florida edition), that is no small accomplishment.

As a Tennessee football fan, I applaud the move of Fulmer and the University to recognize the need for a new direction in the rough and tumble and ultra-competitive SEC. But I also figuratively stand up in appreciation for all that Phil Fulmer brought to Tennessee. Hopefully the 2008 Vols can string together a few victories to end the season and allow Phil Fulmer to leave on as high a note as possible.

In other news, I guess when this hillbilly said, “F*ck it, fire Phil Fulmer,” he was being a little more prophetic than anyone realized…

[tags]tennessee volunteers, phil fulmer, college football[/tags]

(Photo art by Midwest Sports Fans)

It was not a good weekend for fans of Tennessee, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. All four teams lost huge games that will have negative ripple effects for the rest of their seasons.

Tennessee feel to 0-3 in the SEC, and 2-4 overall, with a 24-16 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. Phil Fulmer is now squarely on the hot seat and the Volunteers are showing no signs of being able to turn their terrible season around.

Michigan lost for the first time ever to a MAC team as they fell 13-10 to Toledo in the Big House. Rich Rodriguez is stubbornly trying to run the spread offense without the personnel to do so, and proving that he has the biggest ego in college football north of Gainesville, FL. Looks like the bad karma of his unceremonious exit from West Virginia has followed him to Ann Arbor.

Bob Stoops lost for the third time in four years to Texas coach Mack Brown as the Oklahoma Sooners let an early lead disappear in a 45-35 loss to Texas. Bob Stoops proves yet again that he simply can’t win the big one, and is now being sarcastically referred to as “Big Game Bob.” At least the Sooners are still a top 10 team and a couple of Texas stumbles from being right back in the Big 12 race.

And Wisconsin…oh Wisconsin…they were trounced 48-7 by a Penn State team that is playing incredibly well. Brett Bielema has now seen his Badger team fall to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten. Luckily for him, there are no other good teams in the Big Ten, so the Bielema and the Badgers have a good shot of finishing 8-3.

All in all, each of these four coaches was a huge loser this weekend. Phil Fulmer and Rich Rodriguez were bigger losers, as their team’s seasons are pretty much in the tank. However, Phil Fulmer takes the award for Biggest Loser as the latest misstep by the Tennessee Volunteers may in fact be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and forces Fulmer to find a new job.

[tags]college football, michigan wolverines, rich rodriguez, tennessee volunteers, phil fulmer, wisconsin badgers, brett bielema, oklahoma sooners, bob stoops[/tags]

Volunteer fans, take a moment to catch your breath and step back from the ledge. Look on the bright side:

(…looking for the bright side…)

(…still looking for bright side…)

(…desperately trying to find anything that even closely resembles a bright side…)

Umm…we have Eric Berry?

The play of Tennessee’s sophomore defensive back Eric Berry has been about the only bright side thus far in a 2008 season of horrors for the Tennessee Volunteers and the Rocky Top faithful. In fact, the defense has played relatively well this season, somewhat keeping the Volunteers within shouting distance of some pretty stiff competition (Florida, Auburn, Georgia) that they have encountered thus far in the season. However, with the complete ineptitude of Tennessee’s offense, a 7-point deficit feels like a 28-point gap.

This is quite possibly the lowest point I have experienced since signing up to be a Tennessee fan when I fell in love with the play of a young Peyton Manning back in 1995. Overall, the last 13 years have been pretty solid. The Vols won a national title in 1998, they have won a few SEC titles, won the SEC East five times, and always provided fans with hope at the beginning of the year that they could compete for the SEC crown, and usually carried that hope through at least late November.

Not this year. Currently sitting square in the cellar of the SEC East, below even Kentucky, the Volunteers have officially hit rock bottom. And it begs the question: is it time for head coach Philip Fulmer to go?

I have always been a supporter of Philip Fulmer, even during some of the Vols’ struggles over the past few years. At the end of the day, the man has led Tennessee to a national title, has won Coach of the Year, has won better than 75% of his games (coming into this season…not sure if that’s still true), and he has been loyal to Rocky Top his entire life, both playing and coaching for the Volunteers. It would certainly be strange to see someone else strolling the sidelines at Neyland Stadium, and unfortunate considering the lifetime commitment that Philip Fulmer has given to the University of Tennessee.

But for the good of the program I have finally flipped my opinion: it is time for Philip Fulmer to go.

I don’t even think this is necessarily a negative reflection on Fulmer. I just think that with the way college football and all big-time sports are these days, coaches only have a certain amount of shelf life at one university or organization. Coaches can fall into ruts, they fail to adjust, they get too comfortable. On the same token, fans get overzealous in their expectations and become frustratingly impatient. I believe that all of these symptoms plague the Tennessee Volunteer football program right now, and that both Philip Fulmer and Tennessee could benefit from an unfortunate but necessary parting of the ways.

The current state of Tennessee football reminds me of Ohio State in the 1990s under John Cooper. Always solid, usually competitive in its conference, and for the most part pretty talented. John Cooper even had his signature moment winning the Rose Bowl with Joe Germaine at QB (how ’bout a guy from Scottsdale, Arizona!) and was typically just good enough not to get fired. Once Ohio State did pull the plug, and hired a then-unknown Division 1-AA coach named Jim Tressel, they immediately became an almost annual National Title contender. Will the Volunteers encounter same good fortune if they go in a different direction? No, not necessarily; but it is hard to dispute that a new direction is not imperative at this point. There really are not any signs to point to that things will turn around any time soon.

Tennessee needs fresh blood. They need a young, excited (and exciting) coach to blaze a new recruiting trail and improve the diminishing talent level that defines the Tennessee roster. Remember 1998? Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Donte Stallworth, Peerless Price, Marcus Nash, Albert Haynesworth, John Henderson, Leonard Little, Al Wilson, Deon Grant…I mean, the talent was unbelievable. And the year before, Peyton Manning was the QB! In hindsight, it’s almost inconceivable that Tennessee didn’t win back-to-back titles, and that they had to be the darlings of fortune just to stay undefeated in 1998 (Clint Stoerner’s fumble anyone?).

The talent level has dropped off significantly over the past few years, while occurrences of players getting into trouble has increased. This lack of discipline off the field has also seeped into the on-field play, as Tennessee consistently commits untimely and just plain dumb penalties. I realize that recruiting is an inexact science, but program discipline is not. Tennessee is not a disciplined a program, and they have not been a talented one in many years; and with respect to talent, it’s all relative. If Tennessee were in the Big Ten, they might have played in a few championship games since 1998 and won more conference titles.

But Tennessee plays in the SEC and has fallen significantly behind the curve. It used to be that only Steve Spurrier could be considered a better coach than Philip Fulmer in America’s best conference. Now, all of the following can lay claim to superseding Phil Fulmer on the list of the SEC’s best coaches: Nick Saban, Les Miles, Urban Ego-maniac-crybaby Meyer (left), Mark Richt, and Fulmer’s old nemesis Steve Spurrier. Heck, Vanderbilt’s Bobby Johnson, Tommy Tuberville, and Houston Nutt have all had more success recently. And though Arkansas is struggling this year, their snake-in-the-grass-liar-ass-clown coach Bobby Petrino succeeded at Louisville and probably will win at Arkansas before screwing Hog nation over at some point.

There are plenty of young, up-and-coming coaches who would probably jump at the chance to coach for a school with the potential for success and fan base that Tennessee enjoys. And there are plenty of solid programs who would probably jump at the chance to have a coach like Philip Fulmer and offer him a chance at redemption. I realize Philip Fulmer has been an SEC guy his entire life, but he seems to coach more like a Big Ten guy to me. Perhaps a team in the ACC or Big East would want a very competent and accomplished coach like Phil Fulmer. I don’t see why not. Philip Fulmer is a very good coach, but he has allowed the Tennessee program to grow stale.

In the SEC, there is not time and not patience for periods of stale years. Alabama went through it, but then sold their soul to bring in that devil of a college coaching genius Nick Saban. A year and a half later, Alabama is the #1 team in the country. Sure, they had to sell their soul; but winning in the SEC requires it. Sadly, that’s why you have to consider Arkansas a threat in the coming years.

Getting rid of a good man and a good coach like Philip Fulmer could very reasonably be considered removing the man who has been heart and soul of a very solid era of Tennessee football for more than two decades. Sadly, the next two decades could be decidedly more mediocre, and Philip Fulmer’s life unquestionably less pleasant, if a change is not made.

I grew up in a college football coaching family. My dad was both an assistant and a coordinator in the Big Ten, so I appreciate the pressure, the ups and downs, and the sometimes frustrating reality of your success or failure being dependent on the whims of college kids. (I was also recently a college kid myself, so I certainly understand how mentally and emotionally inconsistent people of that age can be.) I think that part of my unyielding support for Phil Fulmer has been partly based on being predisposed to always support coaches, having grown up in that environment.

Coach Fulmer, you’ve been a great asset to the University of Tennessee coach Fulmer, and it really is not fair that fans and the media focus only on the immediate results and not on your lifetime of service to Tennessee. It’s not fair, it’s just the reality of life as a head coach in the SEC. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly clear that for your own sake, and for the sake of the Volunteer football program, the time is nigh for a new leader on Rocky Top.

[tags]college football, tennessee volunteers, rocky top, philip fulmer, Southeastern Conference[/tags]