Welcome to the Pac-10, Lane Kiffin

That's along the lines of what I was wondering. Unless they've got kids having signed into dorms, I don't see how you could possibly prove a kid was on campus at 12:01 a.m.

If it was some kind of power play, or even an honest mistake, by the AD, he should be out on his ass like yesterday.

 

MB, he should be out on his ass for having an 800K buyout in Kiffin's contract!

 

Loyalty? Are you kidding me?

The institutions that generate tens of millions of $$$ in revenue (not always profits because they spend it like water) and are committed to the "student-athletes" for at most one year (one way year to year renewable scholarship at University's option) are crying about Lane Kiffin's lack of loyalty? Hypocrisy in living color.

UT knew there would be no loyalty; you are presumed to enter a contract with full knowledge of its contents. UT signed a contract with a $800k buyout option, Kiffin is persumably going to honor that and at that point he has fulfilled all of his obligations under the contract.

 

As far as I'm concerned, the dirtiest two parts of this story are:

1. Tennessee's AD pulling some kind of power play and trying to force (or trick) the EEs to stay.
2. Orgeron calling the EEs and trying to keep them from going to class so they could recruit them to SoCal.

Kiffin bolting after a year is so far down the list, it's hardly worth mentioning.

 

If nothing else - I wish the NCAA would establish a signing period and a quiet period for coach movement. At the very least move the signing day back to better accommodate for NFL moves.
This is really getting ridiculous.
I don't mind coaches fleeing schools for more money.
I don't mind schools poaching other coaches.
I don't mind coaches lying about their interest in other jobs.
But the welfare of the student-athletes, which the NCAA says is the reason they won't extend the post-season and have a DI playoff, are being harmed when they are called and told not to go to a class or when a family travels hundreds of miles to get their kids settled only to find the coach no longer there.
It's a crock.
NBA/NFL free-agency has a calendar, obviously agents talk with teams, but at least there is a bit of structure to allow teams to know what they have/need at a specific time of year and an opportunity to do something about it.

 

Agreed. Though I would have been more shocked had Orgeron NOT contacted the athletes.

That's his job, no? Should have been completely expected.

 

Ryan, I wonder where the officials were at on 12:01 when Tyler Smith and Co. Were rolling down the street burning blunts?

The Knoxville PD knows.

 

So I'm listening to the press conference on Fox Sports Radio. Is Lane Kiffin 14? For a guy who has landed three top jobs he's not exactly a convincing orator. His voice sounds a little high when he says things he may not be able to back up, he's not very articulate and he sounds kinda stupid. Now maybe he's one of these guys that talks one way to people he isn't familiar with and has another tone of voice with family and friends.

 

Kiffin has a dip in during his presser. Very professional.

 

I thought he was leaving Tennessee.

(ducking)

 

You can take the coach out of Tennessee ...

 

Agreed.

The NCAA is hypocritical when they claim that athletes pick a school for the school and not the coach. If that were the actual case, then why do they allow coaches to recruit?

I'd like to see either a rule similar to the athletes, where if a coach under contract to a school wants to leave for another school, they have to sit out a year. Yeah, it would be awkward to have a coach-in-waiting, but the athletes deal with that year-by-year when coaches are out recruiting other athletes who may end up taking their jobs and scholarships. Either that, or allow the athletes to transfer at will as well (which would be as chaotic as anything).

And not that I expect it will happen, for obvious reasons, but I would love it if a USC player, at the first meeting with Kiffin, asks why they should believe anything he says.