Kiffin leaves Tennessee

Let us now sing the doxology :applause:

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/ncf/news/story?id=4820737

I'll miss Monte. But lil' Lanie will not be missed.

 

Exactly. My USC friends are saying the same thing. And remember, some of what the NCAA is sniffing around at USC about is from the time Lane and Orgeron were there.

Meyer isn't going anywhere right now. Remember, he wants to spend more time with the most important people in the world - his meal tickets wearing blue and orange :tongue3:

I sent that article to quite a few this morning and forgot to post it here. More than one source says Hamilton didn't fight for him for that reason - glad to be rid of an albatross that could've cost Hamilton his job.

Muschamp's already turned us down. Gruden isn't interested (he's waiting for an NFL job). CCrob, one name that frightens me is former Vol asst Lovie Smith. Last time around, Troy Calhoun of Air Force was the #2 guy. Of those still out there, here are the ones listed as candidates: Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech (no contract signed, and rumor is he's very interested); David Cutcliffe, Duke (former Vol AC); Gary Patterson of TCU.

I will do my best :thumbsup: Hamilton's pretty tight lipped, and my best sources are too busy praying for an earthquake to swallow SC right now and blackberrying "I told you so" messages to Mike right now :tongue3:

I do know this: for some time, people have been clamoring for Fulmer back if Kiffin's misdeeds got him fired - kind of a look to the wise elder, thing - but now he's being courted also to replace Hamilton by some trustees and boosters. Fulmer has been working with a managment group in Knoxville helping companies with leadership, and there are some who believe this mix of business and sports would give him an edge over the bean-counter we have now in Mike Hamilton. Should be very interesting.

 

Okay, the latest:
Fulmer has denied interest in the head coaching job (Notice, he didn't rule out the AD job yet)

Troy Calhoun appears to be the guy. I heard this about an hour ago and am just now getting to type it up. As I type, I notice that the Knoxville News-Sentinel site is reporting that Calhoun has called a meeting for later this evening with his team. Troy was Hamilton's #2 choice, so this is not much of a surprise if it turns out. However, MH has a penchant for intrigue and likes to blur his steps. He's been in Denver a couple of times so this may be a screen (did so last time with Butch Davis). Stay tuned.

 

Just got home. Calhoun told the team he wasn't taking the job. Former UT OC David Cutcliffe - known most for his work with such noted QBs as Peyton & Eli Manning, Erik Ainge, Tee Martin, and Heath Shuler - is close to being offered the job. However, one snag is the assistants he wants to bring in. Cutcliffe is extremely loyal to his assistant coaches and wants to bring some with him from Duke (that he took from Tennesse and from his former job at Ole Miss). Given that several on staff already at UT who have recruited prized recruits, a rub is ensuing. Cutcliffe was the OC twice at UT, once from 1983-1998 under Majors and Fulmer, and from '06-07 under Fulmer. His sons had been equipment mgrs at UT until Kiffin's arrival. Great story of how he adopted an African American child whose dying parent asked the family to make sure he got an education (Fulmer made him a student mgr as well). Anyway, in addition to his stints at UT, he led Ole Miss to a successful run but was fired after refusing to change his staff. Then, Charlie Weis hired Cutcliffe to be OC at Notre Dame but a heart attack sidelined him until he rejoined Fulmer and UT after the terrible 2005 season after OC Randy Sanders was fired.

It's iffy on the fan base. Some big supporters love a return to someone with ties to UT, but some are still clamoring for a clean break (that's what they got with Kiffin and look where it got us, say the $$$ boosters). If this can get ironed out, we may hear something tomorrow. If it doesn't, look out. Hamilton's job, already in jeopardy, may well be done.

And remember this. MH has a "flair" for the dramatic. His story of ordering a pizza and sending it to the wrong hotel to fake out Knoxville reporters during the basketball search for Bruce Pearl is legend, and the Butch Davis rumors last year. Tonight, a so-called "mystery" candidate has appeared on the list and was supposedly being interviewed, though no other details are known (as far as I know). Could be Patterson again; Could be Temple's Al Golden. Could be another smoke screen or fall back if the Cutcliffe hire doesn't pan out. Stay tuned.

 

Very quick update:

Cutcliffe balked. He wanted to bring most of his entire staff to Knoxville, and Hamilton balked at that, preferring to keep on some of the staffers presently recruiting UT athletes, and objecting to some of the lighter weights on Cut's staff.

Lovie Smith has been interviewed, I've been told. Kippy Brown is going be interviewed now, as I understand it. There is a small chance a dark horse could emerge, but we'll see. Golden of Temple, Whittingham of Utah, and LA Tech's Dooley are being kicked around. A couple of other names have been floated that won't die down, it seems, but the amazing thing is this was Cutcliffe's job as we went to bed last night and negotiations over staff just broke down.

Hamilton is toast. More on that later.

 

I just got a text saying they think it's going to be Dooley. I have no time to confirm that right now. Have to run.

 

Haven't had time to get back on, so obviously this is set. In 15 mins he'll be introduced at a press conference here. He has an interesting background. A former lawyer, he was with Saban at LSU, then had stops in the NFL.