Countdown to Tennessee Football
A new ERA in Tennessee is coming and I cant wait! Lane Kiffin brings youth and excitement into BIG ORANGE COUNTRY!!! So how much longer do we have to wait to see what will happen? Well the spring Orange and White game may give us a little peek at the new Vols but the real test will be in September of 2009 when the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers come to K-town.
Lane Kiffin: A New Era In Tennessee Football
The wait is over and I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.
Lane Monte Kiffin (born May 9, 1975), was named the 21st head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers on December 1st. He was previously the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, and also the offensive coordinator of the University of Southern California Trojans.
Lane becomes the youngest active head coach in Division I FBS, surpassing Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald by about 6 months. Kiffin is a 1994 graduate of Bloomington Jefferson High School in Minnesota and a 1998 graduate of Fresno State University. He played backup quarterback for the Fresno State Bulldogs and gave up his senior season to become a Student Assistant Coach at Fresno State University, where his position coach was current University of California Head Coach Jeff Tedford. He earned his bachelor degree from Fresno State in 1998 where in addition to football, he played basketball and baseball.
Kiffin also worked as a Graduate Assistant for one year at Colorado State University. In 1999, working with the offensive line, the Rams played in the Liberty Bowl that season. Kiffin’s dad helped him secure a job with the Jacksonville Jaguars, as a quality control assistant for one year. Lane was then hired by one of his father’s former assistant coaches, Pete Carroll, as a tight ends coach.
Kiffin joined the University of Southern California staff in 2001 as a tight ends coach and became the wide receivers coach in 2002. In 2004, he added the duties of passing game coordinator and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2005. Kiffin also took the reins as recruiting coordinator that year, after offensive coordinator Norm Chow left USC for the same position with the Tennessee Titans. Along with these duties, Kiffin continued as the wide receivers coach.
During Kiffin’s tenure with USC, he was instrumental in the development of several wide receivers and tight ends in the program. While he was there, USC produced noted talents such as NFL draftees Mike Williams, Keary Colbert, Kareem Kelly, Alex Holmes and Dominique Byrd. In addition,Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett of the 2006 Trojans football team were both selected in the second round of the 2007 NFL draft by the New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers, respectively. Patrick Turner, Fred Davis and several other young new recruits such as Vidal Hazelton, Travon Patterson and Jamere Holland seem likely to continue the trend of excellence at this position. Notably, Lane Kiffin also helped amass the number-one recruiting class in the nation, the past several years.
In 2005, USC head coach Pete Carroll selected Kiffin to replace Norm Chow as offensive coordinator. Despite being new to the role, Lane Kiffin helped guide USC to a 23-3 win-loss record during his tenure in this capacity (an 88% win percentage). During the previous four years under Norm Chow’s play calling, the Trojans achieved 41 wins and 9 losses (82%). Under Kiffin in 2005 the USC offense produced school records in virtually every dimension, averaging 49.1 points and 579 yards per game. USC’s potent offense that season became the first in NCAA history to have a 3,000 yard passer (Matt Leinart), two 1,000 yard rushers (Reggie Bush & LenDale White), and a 1,000 yard receiver (Dwayne Jarrett). Steve Smith fell a few yards short of also surpassing 1,000 yards in receiving. With an all new offensive cast at the skill positions and in what was generally viewed as a rebuilding year for USC the offensive totals fell off to 30.5 point, and 391 yards per game, and 11 wins overall, he was promoted to offensive and recruiting coordinator while continuing as the wide receivers coach. In Kiffin’s three years as recruiting coordinator at USC, the Trojans had the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in college football every year. Under Kiffin leadership in 2006, the Trojans finished first in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency by averaging 142.8 yards per game, produced two, 1,000-yard receivers - Dwayne Jarrett (1,105) and Steve Smith (1,083) - and a 3,000-yard passer John David Booty, with 3,347 yards. Despite losses and key injuries the team produced top 20 statistics in most NCAA offensive categories and concluded with an impressive 32-18 win over the the University of Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Raiders’ owner Al Davis hired Kiffin on January 23, 2007, making him the youngest head coach in Raiders history, and the youngest head coach since the formation of the modern NFL. Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach John Madden was 32 when he was elevated to the head post by Davis in 1969. Davis has been known to select young, up-and-coming coaches in their thirties; those hires who fared well include Tom Flores, John Madden, Mike Shanahan and Jon Gruden. All have won Super Bowls, though Madden and Flores are the only ones to win a championship with the Raiders.
Kiffin signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Tennessee on November 30, 2008. The tentative deal will pay Kiffin $2 million in 2009, with additional performance bonuses, including a $300,000 bonus if UT competes for the national championship. His salary increases over the six-year-deal, reaching a high of $2.75 million in 2014. The average salary of the deal is $2.375 million. If Kiffin is fired in 2009 or 2010, the school will have to pay him a buyout clause of $7.5 million; after the 2012 season, the buyout clause decreases to $5 million. If Kiffin resigns his position, he will have to pay UT $1 million in 2009, with the sum decreasing by $200,000 each year of his contract. He is the son of veteran college and NFL coach Monte Kiffin, who currently serves as defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
His wife’s name is Layla (whose father is John Reaves, former assistant for the University of Florida football team). They have two daughters: Landry, 3 and Pressley, 1. His brother, Chris, was a defensive lineman at Colorado State (2001–04).
SOURCE: Wikipedi
New Coach for the Vols?
Hey everyone I know i have been absent for a while been getting a lot of other stuff done but now i have returned and will post every week. Will we have a new Head Coach for the Big Orange as early as next week? Multiple sources are saying that former head coach of the Oakland Raiders who was fired earlier this season has been offered the job.
The Guy is only 33 years old will this be a new ERA for the Big Orange? Lets hope so, also I hope he does a better job in the college ranks then he did in the NFL.
EMFC Super Bowls Set
The English Mountain Football Conference season comes to a close this Saturday November 8th 2008.
In Division One Grasscutters the Pigeon Forge Tigers will play the Sevierville Bears. In the Super Grasscutters Division the Parrottsville Parrots face the Granger County Jaguars, and the Pee-wee division has the Newport Roosters playing the Northview Cougars.
In Division Two Grasscutters the Parrottsville Parrots will play the Straw Plains Raiders. In the Super Grasscutters Division the Gatlinburg Highlanders face the Northview Cougars, and the Pee-wee division has the Gatlinburg Highlanders playing the Jefferson City Patriots.
The Division Two Super Bowls take place first starting around 10am at Jefferson County High School the games are hosted by Talbott.
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