Basillo: Lane Kiffin wants to come home

Would Kiffin accept the job if offered?

  • Yes

    Votes: 124 76.5%
  • No

    Votes: 38 23.5%

  • Total voters
    162
The problem is the present state of the program. It is a disaster area. Fulmer left a weak program. He didn't leave anything like this.

You can't afford to hire a guy with a wanderlust like Lane Kiffin in this situation.

Is he more mature? Yes.

Is he more careful in his operation of a program? Yes.

Is he a better coach now than he was in 2009? Yes.

Will he leave you after a year or two? Yes.

You can't take that risk after what Squidbilly has left behind.
 
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Per Swain, Kiffin would come if offered, he wants to come back

I heard him say this too, said Kiffin wanted to make things right with Tennessee. Swain sounded like he has a relationship with Kiffin. I’m undecided on if him returning would be a good thing or not but it would definitely make a splash.
 
I heard him say this too, said Kiffin wanted to make things right with Tennessee. Swain sounded like he has a relationship with Kiffin. I’m undecided on if him returning would be a good thing or not but it would definitely make a splash.
Swain and Basillio have both had Kiffin on their shows before. Kiffin hasn't shy'd away from talking TN
 
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Yes, he has tweeted a lot about Tennessee over the years. I don’t know if he is trolling or genuinely regrets leaving.
maybe a little both... but I think he likes his name in the TN convo

part of me thinks he'd honestly like to come back and right a wrong
 
I like the guy. He was a great tactician for us and he squeezed every last bit of talent off that team he could possibly find. He's even better now with the added bonus of maturity on his side. The added bonus for me is he hasn't lost the Spurrier-like ability to piss off the programs I hate in this conference.

If you could lock him in Matt Campbell-style for a long-term contract that would take a hellacious buyout to break, then I think you would have everything you need to move forward.
 
I wonder why the Starting Lineup guys are so shocked that Tennessee fans want Lane Kiffin?:rolleyes:
 
Taking a better job is not failing at the maturity test. Which USC was for sure at the time.

Eh that’s debatable. His daddy argued against it. But it’s more the way he left in the middle of the night that proves my point
 
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I would never sacrifice dignity to win a game.

Self-respect and dignity are supremely more valuable than winning a game. It's a game!

The University's dignity, respect, and industry standing is far more important. Sacrificing any of that to win a game is not negligible.
You mean like hiring a guy to be AD who was previously fired for performance reasons as head coach? Give me a break
 
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No that's failing your preference. He was offered the job he wanted. How is this hard to understand? All of us would do the same. And if you say otherwise you are a liar. He took the job he always wanted.

Leaving in the middle of the night PROVES the immaturity of LK’s decision. Mature people who make rational mature decisions don’t do that. They stand their ground explain their actions and do what it takes to leave an orderly transition. How is this hard to understand?

All I want to do is find out whether LK himself understands that, whether he’s matured enough to come back make amends and take us to the promised land. If so, given the right contract boundaries, I’m 100% for welcoming LK back with open arms.
 
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I can see him doing the same thing to Ole Miss as he did to us.

If he is advocating himself for the job at UT, he hasn't changed. He's done it before (to us), apparently would be willing to do it again (to Ole Miss). Why wouldn't he do it a 3rd time (us again), if we hired him away from Mississippi?

That's not even mentioning the shady crap he and his staff pulled on us as they were heading out the door.

It's like an ex who who left for one of your buddies, then did it again to another guy later on. Would you give her another chance when she realizes you were better than them in the first place? Have a little dignity. . .

So much this!!!
What happens when Saban retires? Will he stiff us again when Alabama comes calling?
 
You mean like hiring a guy to be AD who was previously fired for performance reasons as head coach? Give me a break

Wasn’t Phil kinda the fan favorite after Currie sabotaged the head FB coach hiring process? We were a fan base in panic mode as a result. The administration either felt the same way or wanted to appease the fans by trotting Fulmer back out to save the day. Obviously it didn’t work out, either way. I don’t follow it enough to know who was chancellor at what time/etc unless they give reason to remember them (ie little jimmy boogers), but hopefully the current administrators are actually going to let an AD and a coach build a healthy culture this time.
 
He checks a lot of boxes, including an offensive genius. I think that is the route we need to take in our next hire. Easier to find a solid DC than an innovative OC. And he can obviously coach, and win, in the SEC. That’s a huge plus.

The big drawbacks are the way he left us before, and his propensity to stir the pot. I suspect that will always be part of his character. That being said, if Lane Kiffin is the UT version of the prodigal son, and we can get the contract details in our favor, I would welcome him back.

Lord knows I’ve done things that I wish I could do over again. So in this case, I can’t throw the first stone.
 
The problem is the present state of the program. It is a disaster area. Fulmer left a weak program. He didn't leave anything like this.

You can't afford to hire a guy with a wanderlust like Lane Kiffin in this situation.

Is he more mature? Yes.

Is he more careful in his operation of a program? Yes.

Is he a better coach now than he was in 2009? Yes.

Will he leave you after a year or two? Yes.

You can't take that risk after what Squidbilly has left behind.

Disagree. With the right contract protections Kiffin isn’t going anywhere imo. Because in the SEC Tennessee is EXACTLY the job I’d want to take over anyplace else including Bama if I’m a builder like Kiffin.

Meyer took FL to the next level, same with Saban at Bama and even Kirby at GA. That’s already been done. Their successors have to live with the high expectations their predecessors built. That’s 100% not Kiffin’s style.

Tennessee is Kiffin’s turn to do the same. And IF he’s matured then he’ll bust his as$ to make amends and make it happen. That’s legendary stuff not some yawn HC transition. And Tennessee needs this rn in the worst way
 
I think Kiffin would come if offered. I also think he would drop us like a hot potato mid season if an NFL team called.
 
Honestly the only reason we got so mad is because we liked him and saw potential. Guarantee if Pruitt left us after year one we would have been fine with it. Kiffin had us showing a ton of potential and had everyone excited about football. That's why we got so upset at him leaving. It's because we liked where he was taking us, along with his confidence and his fun. We liked the black jerseys, the way Crompton played, him jabbing other coaches, and that he kept us competitive with the Big 3.

I'd take him back in a heartbeat, but he needs to have a huge buyout this time where he cant just up and leave.

This is exactly right.
 
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The problem is the present state of the program. It is a disaster area. Fulmer left a weak program. He didn't leave anything like this.

You can't afford to hire a guy with a wanderlust like Lane Kiffin in this situation.

Is he more mature? Yes.

Is he more careful in his operation of a program? Yes.

Is he a better coach now than he was in 2009? Yes.

Will he leave you after a year or two? Yes.

You can't take that risk after what Squidbilly has left behind.
I think this might be a response that is more akin to relieving yourself of the hope of hiring Kiffin, by dismissing it as a mistake. I truly believe he learned from his mistake leaving the way he did. Taking a brief look at his coaching stops since USC, Alabama was good for him Saban was able to mature him and impart some wisdom, FAU, he was was never going to stay at FAU forever or really any longer than he had to be there. FAU was a proof is in the pudding stop. As for now, Ole Miss, I don't believe that he would leave were it not for this job. I think he would be quite content to spend quite a few years in Oxford, but given the opportunity to redeem himself and fix the mess that essentially started with him has to bean irresistible draw. So I say bring him back, what is the worst case scenario here we couldn't possibly be worse off than we are now.
 
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Why would he? Bama was a means to an end for him not a destination.

He would go there if he sees it as a better opportunity because that’s what he does. That’s the only reason he has managed to maintain this weird relationship with some of our fan base. We are the desperate ex who knows better than to take him back, but he knows that we are just dumb enough to possibly do it. We are the only program with big time resources that he would have a slight chance at, because literally nobody else wants him at the moment. But he would be gone the minute he repaired his reputation here, and somebody hotter hits on him.
 

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