Coach Kiffin has done so much in so little time

#1
V

vtvol98

my $.02 as well...
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Apr 8, 2008
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#1
I was not a big Kiffin fan when he was hired. I felt better about him when I heard that Monte was on board. When he landed the strength and conditioning coach from South Carolina, I thought that our players were going to be the biggest, meanest, fastest mothers on the gridiron. He hired Cregg and Chaney and I thought that this staff was going to have a unique selling angle with its NFL flavor. He landed Yaw Yaw Orgeron and I felt like the Vols had a "closer" for the recruits. The fact that he had coached strong defenses at USC and Ole Miss helped, too. When he stole Lance Thompson from under Nicky Satan's nose, I thought, "damn, that's strong." The hire of Eddie Gran, Garza, and Wilson were solid hires who can not only recruit but also "coach up the talent."

Coach Kiffin has shown the ability to thumb his nose at competing coaches which was something his predecessor could or would not do. He questioned Steve Spurrier's knowledge of coaching ethics. He has head-hunted assistant coaches from the staffs of USCe, Bama, Miss St. (a couple of weeks after Garza had been hired by the Bulldogs), and raided NFL staffs as well. He has set the market on salaries for asst. coaches and even forced rival UGA to change its coaching payscale to keep its best recruiter in Rodney Garner.

CLK strikes me as an all-business and no bs type of coach. He has been candid with former Phil Fulmer recruits. He has told some 4 star rated recruits (like Tajh Boyd and Bryce Petty) that they don't fit into his system and told them that they should look elsewhere. He has already said that ALL positions are open for competition this spring. He checked in on current players to make sure that they attended the first day of class. Rumor has it that he has put some players "on notice" and is looking to clean house of the malaise and "me-first" attitude which had pervaded the Fulmer Vols of 2008. He has done this all the while chasing top-caliber talent nationwide and trying to prevent the talent of the state of Tennessee from leaving her borders. He has done this in a seemingly tireless effort since he was hired less than 2 months ago. It is still 8 and a half months until kickoff and our first opportunity to see if this gamble by Mike Hamilton has paid off. Coach Kiffin has done so much in so little time, including changing my mind.
 
#5
#5
We're going to lose some games, no doubt. But at least we'll be competitive again for God's sake.
 
#6
#6
I'll withhold my praise and accolades until after the season starts. As it is he is 0-0.
 
#8
#8
utfantilidie said:
I'll withhold my praise and accolades until after the season starts. As it is he is 0-0.
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gotta admit....the things he has done makes you feel better about replacing a coaching legend!! Monte Kiffin is very impressive with his fire!! I use to be Fulmer all the way but this guy has done all the right things so far!!
 
#10
#10
utfantilidie said:
I'll withhold my praise and accolades until after the season starts. As it is he is 0-0.
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I agree to an extent.

This offseason was a "game" in itself. And it appears to me Lane has schemed well, and put this staff and University in a position to be successful.

To me he's 1-0 this offseason.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#11
#11
Nice post. Kiffin wasn't my first choice either -- nor my second, nor my third. But if you're looking for positives, then there have been a lot of things since he was announced that you can hang your hat on. We won't know until we start playing the games, obviously -- and realistically, we won't really know until 2010 or 2011 -- but there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about the future of UTK football.

Which is why I don't understand why some of these losers like 5150 and "Posivol" [sic] seem so doggedly determined to bathe in their own urine about the whole thing. If you can't at least try to be optimistic now, with a completely fresh start and a whole new staff, then what's the point of even being a sports fan? They're like these morons who start bitching about how the game is over because you go three and out on the first series. There's no point watching football with them then, and no point talking football with them now.
 
#15
#15
GoodoleRockyTop3 said:
you have been a member on this board for 2 years....and you still don't get that word doesn't belong here?? :eek:lol:
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Johnny Majors was absolutely right when he talked about the "legion of the miserable." Some people are built that way, and will always be that way; we have a few of them on this message board that seem more interested in being right on the Internet than seeing good things happen for our football team.

As for me, I've spent six consecutive years now being pessimistic about our football team. I gave up on the tenure of Phil Fulmer for good on New Year's Eve 2002, when we got arsepounded by Maryland, and it feels like I've spent a long, long time waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm ready to clutch at any excuse to be optimistic about UT football like a dying man in a doctors' convention. After two losing seasons in four years, I can't imagine why other so-called "fans" aren't eager to do the same.
 
#17
#17
Vercingetorix said:
Nice post. Kiffin wasn't my first choice either -- nor my second, nor my third. But if you're looking for positives, then there have been a lot of things since he was announced that you can hang your hat on. We won't know until we start playing the games, obviously -- and realistically, we won't really know until 2010 or 2011 -- but there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about the future of UTK football.

Which is why I don't understand why some of these losers like 5150 and "Posivol" [sic] seem so doggedly determined to bathe in their own urine about the whole thing. If you can't at least try to be optimistic now, with a completely fresh start and a whole new staff, then what's the point of even being a sports fan? They're like these morons who start bitching about how the game is over because you go three and out on the first series. There's no point watching football with them then, and no point talking football with them now.
Click to expand...

They're Jimmy Hyams' listeners.
 
#18
#18
vtvol98 said:
I was not a big Kiffin fan when he was hired. I felt better about him when I heard that Monte was on board. When he landed the strength and conditioning coach from South Carolina, I thought that our players were going to be the biggest, meanest, fastest mothers on the gridiron. He hired Cregg and Chaney and I thought that this staff was going to have a unique selling angle with its NFL flavor. He landed Yaw Yaw Orgeron and I felt like the Vols had a "closer" for the recruits. The fact that he had coached strong defenses at USC and Ole Miss helped, too. When he stole Lance Thompson from under Nicky Satan's nose, I thought, "damn, that's strong." The hire of Eddie Gran, Garza, and Wilson were solid hires who can not only recruit but also "coach up the talent."

Coach Kiffin has shown the ability to thumb his nose at competing coaches which was something his predecessor could or would not do. He questioned Steve Spurrier's knowledge of coaching ethics. He has head-hunted assistant coaches from the staffs of USCe, Bama, Miss St. (a couple of weeks after Garza had been hired by the Bulldogs), and raided NFL staffs as well. He has set the market on salaries for asst. coaches and even forced rival UGA to change its coaching payscale to keep its best recruiter in Rodney Garner.

CLK strikes me as an all-business and no bs type of coach. He has been candid with former Phil Fulmer recruits. He has told some 4 star rated recruits (like Tajh Boyd and Bryce Petty) that they don't fit into his system and told them that they should look elsewhere. He has already said that ALL positions are open for competition this spring. He checked in on current players to make sure that they attended the first day of class. Rumor has it that he has put some players "on notice" and is looking to clean house of the malaise and "me-first" attitude which had pervaded the Fulmer Vols of 2008. He has done this all the while chasing top-caliber talent nationwide and trying to prevent the talent of the state of Tennessee from leaving her borders. He has done this in a seemingly tireless effort since he was hired less than 2 months ago. It is still 8 and a half months until kickoff and our first opportunity to see if this gamble by Mike Hamilton has paid off. Coach Kiffin has done so much in so little time, including changing my mind.
Click to expand...

Great thread. Very well said. I agree with you completely. You forgot to mention the guy's wife just had a baby in the middle of all of this. He has proven he is dedicated to winning here. I hope his attitude rubs off on the team. I think we will be pleasantly surprised come NSD.
 
#19
#19
Great thread! What I like about CLK is that he didn't come in passive. He went right to work and bumped heads with the so-called big dog coaches in the SEC. He has ruffled some feathers within his peers,showing us that he is on a mission and that is to return Tennessee back to one of the elite programs in college football!
























tennessee
 
#20
#20
I was skeptical about the Kiffin hire too at first. Mainly because I didn't know the guy. But man, the fire that this guy has put back into the program. I notice i'm checking vols xtra about 6 times a day, as well as this site, because it seems like a new headline with Kiffin's name in it is always coming out, or a new staff member hired, or a new recruit visiting, or a new recruit interested, or something new and exciting, and I think that's what this program needed....something new and excited. And I'm glad we've cleaned house. I mean, with Fulmer...when a recruit tossed us out, we gave up. With Kiffin....we're speculating possibilities of a 5 star qb or rb who has been committed to a school solidly to possibly sign with us! I mean, seriously?! Is it really possible?

I mean, you have coaches who tell you that with motivation and passion, you can do anything...and I think Kiffin is playing it out. I mean....I think if I was a high school recruit....and I said no to Kiffin...i would be afraid he would eat me. He's just got that look that's like "are you seriously about to say no to me? Sure you don't wanna think about that one more time?" I'm super excited. I mean...everyone talks about "are these coaches good coaches? Will they be able to coach up talent?" And it's a valid point....but I think that in honesty, it misses a fact: It doesn't matter how good coaches are, if the talent isn't there in the first place, it doesn't matter! You can't teach how to make that last second clutch catch. You can't teach Eric Berry like skills. You can help your players to be able to handle those situations, but the God-given talent has got to be there. That's what these coaches are going for. Talent. Pure, raw, football talent. And then, they'll stick them in an NFL system, and let them play. And they'll be successful, because they're recruiting players that fit their system. They're not making the system fit their players. That's important. Put players in a system that matches their strengths....you're gonna be alright.

Kiffin is the man. He's got passion. Even if this season sucks, and we lose every game...I can't say that this offseason has not already been AMAZING.

I think everyone on this board realizes that it will take an act of God to keep us away from a tv set or Neyland on September 5, 2009. Would love to fast forward just a little bit. First to February 4th, then Orange-White game, and then September 5th. Good job CLK.
 
#21
#21
i have talked to a couple of people now that has stated that the air on the hill is more energetic now then it has been in many years that says alot about a coach that hasnt been under the lights at neyland. cant wait to get back hopefully i can take leave to see the orange and white game. (leave quest already turned in). just too see how the air really is back on the hill
 
#22
#22
overseasvolfan said:
i have talked to a couple of people now that has stated that the air on the hill is more energetic now then it has been in many years that says alot about a coach that hasnt been under the lights at neyland. cant wait to get back hopefully i can take leave to see the orange and white game. (leave quest already turned in). just too see how the air really is back on the hill
Click to expand...

Where did you come up with that name? :eek:hmy:Just kidding. :)Welcome aboard.
 
#23
#23
I to was a 100% Fulmer fan. However, seeing the staff and the fire CLK has brought to the hill has won me over. I do not believe we will win the SEC and BCS this next year like some, but I do believe we will be competitive in every game and win the majority. 8-4 is the water mark for 2009. With a chance to go 10-2. What he does with the QB position will tell the tell. We are talented, but under coached the past season.
 
#24
#24
Great post. I have to agree that CLK has impressed so far. I see this team looking more vicious and aggressive on both sides of the ball for the next few seasons, and hopefully longer. My only concern is that one could look at the coaching staff that CLK is bringing in and could interpret it as trying to build a coaching staff to get him back to the NFL. I certainly hope that's not the case, but the man still may be hungry to prove himself in the NFL for a franchise that isn't as poorly run (i.e. Al Davis) as Oakland.
As I said, I certainly hope CLK is 100% committed to the Vols for several years and not just a few, but I am pumped to see how this team comes together for the near future.
 
#25
#25
orangetanker11 said:
Great post. I have to agree that CLK has impressed so far. I see this team looking more vicious and aggressive on both sides of the ball for the next few seasons, and hopefully longer. My only concern is that one could look at the coaching staff that CLK is bringing in and could interpret it as trying to build a coaching staff to get him back to the NFL. I certainly hope that's not the case, but the man still may be hungry to prove himself in the NFL for a franchise that isn't as poorly run (i.e. Al Davis) as Oakland.
As I said, I certainly hope CLK is 100% committed to the Vols for several years and not just a few, but I am pumped to see how this team comes together for the near future.
Click to expand...

I have reservations about this staff leaving for the NFL as well. It seems that not one of these coaches that Kiffin has hired had shown any loyalty to their current employers. I'd hate for them to leave Tennessee high and dry on a moment's notice.
 
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