First year Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin is in the news again for justifying negative off-season remarks he’s made about fellow conference coaches since being hired. Kiffin is a former Southern California offensive coordinator and Oakland Raiders head coach. He was hired by Tennessee after going just 5-15 with the Raiders. During SEC media days this Friday, Kiffin told reporters that he is not going to apologize for his previous comments even if it means that other conference coaches and fans don’t like him. He explained that at the time, he felt the need to do whatever necessary to get Tennessee football back in the media spotlight.
Kiffin has ruffled feathers among fellow SEC coaches for making negative comments about other programs and their recruiting practices. Earlier this year, Kiffin sparred verbally with Florida head coach Urban Meyer and Alabama head coach Nick Saban which garnered national media attention. During a Tennessee event in February, Kiffin publicly accused Meyer of practicing dirty recruiting tactics with Gator turned Vol commit Nu’Keese Richardson. Kiffin claims that Meyer called Richardson while Richardson was visiting Tennessee. Kiffin also took shots at Nick Saban and Alabama after former Tide assistant Lance Thompson defected to the Vols. Thompson played an instrumental role in securing the Tide’s great recruiting class. Kiffin wanted Vol fans to know that ‘Bama was no longer going to be able to take Tennessee recruits now that Thompson was a part of the coaching staff.
Kiffin has a lot to live up to this season in Knoxville and it doesn’t help that his team has been hit very hard by the injury bug. He’s definitely putting UT back into the spotlight with his words but all of that will mean nothing if he cannot produce on the field. The Vols travel to Gainesville to play Meyer and his Gators September 19th this season and it will be Kiffin’s first SEC game. They also travel to Tuscaloosa to play the Tide on October 24th. Meyer and Saban both have taken the high road when reacting to Kiffin’s comments but it’s safe to say that they’ll have a little extra motivation to beat UT this season.
