^Nah, they already got their staff it looks like. That was a rumor from today, but the final three have been finalized, I think (Gran, Frank Wilson and Garza).

As nice as it would be to have Blake, what could they possibly do with him? I don't think you can have TOO MANY recruiters, but really, they have PLENTY.

1/16/2009 3:39:22 PM

Quote :

"After asking for patience and after causing fans to bite their fingernails for the last six weeks, Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin put hiring a staff into high gear this week. And after becoming a father again on Tuesday, Kiffin hosts his first major recruiting weekend with a full staff in what has been a whirlwind week. While Kiffin was in California early this week for the birth of his first son, Monte Knox Kiffin, his father, Monte was in Nashville in a hotel room at the AFCA Coaches Convention with a dry erase board of coaches interviewing numerous candidates for the staff. Linebackers coach Lance Thompson was interviewed and on Thursday, Thompson left Tuscaloosa for Knoxville in what he called a "great opportunity." "I understand the tradition, the rivalry and the competitive spirit of the contest, but for me it's a business decision," Thompson told VolQuest.com in an exclusive interview. "How many guys in America who coach on the defensive side of the ball are going to be able to say 'I know coach Saban's system and I know coach Monte Kiffin's system?'" On Friday, as VolQuest first reported, barring any unforseen snags, Kiffin completed his staff with three hires in running backs coach Eddie Gran, wide receivers coach Frank Wilson and secondary coach Willie Mack Garza Jr.. Gran was by no means a new name and has been one everyone has been tracking since before Christmas when Gran was interviewed by Lane Kiffin in Knoxville. Earlier this week as we reported, while at the coaches convention, Gran interviewed or visited with offensive coordinator Jim Cheney and Ed Orgeron, who he was with at Miami as a graduate assistant, as well as defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. Gran will coach running backs and is expected to handle special teams, which he was in charge of at Auburn and developed a strong reputation for his units' special teams performances. Gran also has a strong recruiting reputation in the state of Florida, particularly in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-South Florida region. Garza has been in Knoxville this week visiting with the coaching staff and was actually spotted by a VolQuest.com member having dinner with Orgeron. Garza had just accepted a job at New Mexico after spending the year as the defensive coordinator at North Dakota State. Garza is well versed in the Tampa 2 defense created by Monte Kiffin. Garza used that system at North Dakota State, and his predecessor at NDSU actually left the Bisons' program to join Monte Kiffin in the NFL a couple of years ago. Frank Wilson's arrival in Knoxville will be a reunion of sorts as Wilson was on Orgeron's staff at Ole Miss as his running backs coach. Wilson spent this past season at Southern Mississippi, where he also was recruiting coordinator, and had just taken a job at Mississippi State on Dan Mullen's staff. Wilson drew plenty of praise during his stint at Ole Miss for his recruiting ability under Orgeron -- particularly in Louisiana and Mississippi. Today's news means that running backs coach Stan Drayton is for sure not going to retained and as we have noted this week, all signs point to Drayton joining Greg Adkins on Doug Marrone's staff at Syracuse."

1/16/2009 4:48:28 PM

its finished.... MUAAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

1/16/2009 6:40:54 PM

BOOM!

Quote :

"six running backs coached by Gran were in the NFL: Ronnie Brown, Heath Evans, Kenny Irons, Brandon Jacobs, Deuce McAlister and Carnell Williams."

staff is fucking retarded, greatest staff ever assembled?

1/16/2009 7:12:59 PM

Some fun facts about the new Tennessee coaching staff:

1. 5 coaches on this staff have been either offensive or defensive coordinators
2. 3 have been head coaches
3. 5 have coached in the NFL
4. 7 of them have been recruiting coordinators

Not too shabby

1/17/2009 12:48:48 PM

^ damn, I cant fucking wait until football now


They got Willie Mack Garza who had just been hired by New Mexico last week hahahaha, see ya Lobos

1/18/2009 3:28:29 PM

looks pretty solid for you guys

but isn't there a saying about too many cooks in the kitchen?

it'll be interesting to see how Lane handles them all.

1/18/2009 3:30:52 PM

it does look solid, but also, look for the NCAA to keep a constant watch on UT for violations with all those big name coaches on the staff

1/18/2009 3:35:26 PM

^^ yeah, the main problem I could see is with pretty much everyone being a recruiting "guru" they might disagree on a player's evaluation and each think they know better than the next guy... Kiffin is definitely going to have to keep shit in check

1/18/2009 3:40:09 PM

After taking a look at our schedule...

only 2 of the first 9 games are road games (granted they are Florida and Alabama)

the ONLY other 2 road games are Ole Miss and Kentucky. I think this is a pretty favorable schedule for a new cast to show off their stuff.

1/20/2009 11:45:13 AM

HAHHAHAHHAAHHA, this is retarded hahahaha

Quote :

"Vols staff not full after all? Word is that former Syracuse and Minnesota offensive coordinator Mitch Browning is weighing an offer to join Tennessee's staff. The kicker: Browning would have to come on board as a graduate assistant because there are no full-time spots left. Browning would be paid by Syracuse, which signed him to a multiyear deal when he came aboard before this past season. For now, Tennessee offensive coordinator Jim Chaney doubles as the line coach. If the Vols can lure Browning, it would be a huge coup. He is a veteran line coach who built some powerful offenses at Minnesota under Glen Mason. "

1/20/2009 1:27:27 PM

LOL. they can't be serious.

1/20/2009 1:30:37 PM

haha it would be so awesome haha, thanks Syracuse haha

1/20/2009 1:38:03 PM

Quote :

"oh shit, the Pride of the Southland is going to play in the parade... they asked a guy what they were going to play and he said "Rocky Top of course""

1/20/2009 4:47:11 PM

^^^ sounds like they got him, for free hahaha

1/21/2009 3:51:19 AM

They are really catching the eye of a ton of recruits. Exciting time.

1/22/2009 11:01:15 AM

yeah, I'm not expecting much for this class, just came in too late, but I cant wait for the 2010 class

1/22/2009 11:10:30 AM

just to show that I am an equal opportunity asshole... I have been all over the dumb shit who made this for helping perpetuate the dumb redneck stereotype

2/2/2009 4:05:01 PM

have patients

2/2/2009 4:11:17 PM

haha, misspelled it twice

2/2/2009 4:15:20 PM

fucker said the same thing, I was like "no, you spelled it fine, you just used the wrong fucking word dumbass"

2/2/2009 4:23:19 PM

Quote :

"helping perpetuate the dumb redneck stereotype"

this is a gripe i am familiar w/.

2/2/2009 4:43:40 PM

haha, he fixed it

2/2/2009 5:12:37 PM

oh snap, got Janzen Jackson from LSU

Quote :

" Lake Charles, La., five-star defensive back Janzen Jackson has known in his heart for weeks that he wanted to be a Vol. Tuesday, Jackson gave the Vol coaches the final word that he was heading to Tennessee and he made it official with his mother present Thursday morning. Monte Kiffin was the difference in Jackson picking the Vols over the Tigers. "Coach (Lane) Kiffin and coach (Ed) Orgeron were pumped," Jackson said. "I actually told them that Tennessee was where I wanted to be when I visited up there, but it's hard to leave home with all your family and friends." The 6-foot, 174-pound cornerback who is ranked second in the country said that plenty stood out when he was in Knoxville seeing things for the first time. "I love the town, the players and the coaching staff," Jackson said. "They really blew me away on the visit up there, especially when I saw the stadium. When you are inside the stadium there is really nothing to say but yes. How can you turn that down?" While the stadium was a huge attraction, at the end of the day the biggest reason the long-time LSU commitment signed with Tennessee was 68-year-old defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. "Monte Kiffin was the difference," Jackson said. "I love Tennessee. I have known coach Orgeron for a while and I love him, but to realize that if you play defense at Tennessee then you are going to know what Monte Kiffin knows is special. He invented his own defense and has been so good for so long and now he is going to teach me what he knows. That was just too much to pass up." Jackson's career goal is to be a football coach and his father, Lance Guidry, who is an assistant coach at Miami of Ohio said learning from the best made the most sense. "Janzen is a coach's son. He wants to be a coach and when you put everything down on paper Tennessee was clearly the choice," Guidry said. "How could you turn down learning from the best and learning from a man who has helped so many guys get started in coaching, like a Mike Tomlin who just won a super bowl? Because Janzen wants to coach, his best choice was Tennessee." And for Jackson, it was a decision that he didn't want to have any regrets in making. "I just felt in my heart that Tennessee was where I wanted to be and I didn't think I would happy if I didn't follow my heart," said the prep All-American. Rivals.com ranks Jackson as the 17th-best player in the country overall. "

2/5/2009 4:01:42 PM

you better hope this douche bag wins...and I have a feeling in Gainesville this year, he wont

Quote :

"Lane Kiffin hopes that the 2009 Tennessee football team is better than in 2008, and that Volunteer recruiting for 2010 is better than the group he signed this year in recruiting. Improving from the dismal 5-7 performance of last season is an obvious goal, but his statement on Wednesday, "Understand this class is far below the standards we have here and what will be here in the future," on Wednesday probably does not sit well with the prospects and parents of 19 players who faxed in their national letters of intent. . That statement should not come as a surprise, and, as shocking as it was, he belted out another one Thursday morning when he publicly accused Florida head coach Urban Meyer of recruiting violations. Late Thursday, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive issued a reprimand to Kiffin.But even this latest bizarre episode should not come as a surprise as he has had no problem speaking candidly since arriving in Knoxville. "Marlon [Brown] called last night, said that he loved it here, but that his grandmother would not let him come," Kiffin said Wednesday. Why he chose to "throw the grandmother under the bus" as fans on Internet message boards characterize the event is unclear. However, it seems to illustrate a departure from the hypersensitivity in most college coaches' approach to recruiting. For instance, in past years, Georgia head coach Mark Richt has refrained from commenting in his signing day press conferences on any players that UGA did not sign, and, while NCAA rules clearly state that coaches cannot comment on prospects until they have signed their letter of intent with their school, the rule does not mention comments that coaches from one school might make about a prospect after he signs with another school. The NCAA rules are full of gray areas and just knowing them is not always enough as so many are subject to interpretation by the individual institutions. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier first raised a red flag about Kiffin just days after the new coach was hired by questioning if Kiffin had contacted prospects before passing the NCAA certification test. Tennessee officials later discounted the claim by saying that all the necessary paperwork had been finished prior to that contact. Still, Kiffin's ability to ruffle feathers outside of Columbia quickly became evident when he first predicted a Tennessee win in the Swamp next season: "It's going to be fun hearing Rocky Top after we beat Florida next year." He later turned his attention to the Georgia coaches when he suggested that the UGA coaches had gone to sleep on recruiting in the Peach State by assuming all the top talent would come to Athens. "He said [that] Georgia went to sleep?" Richt replied when questioned about it in a teleconference. "I would say this: I'll just make comments about our program and everybody else should probably do the same." Clearly, that is not the case. For the record, the only Georgia prospect Tennessee signed was safety Darren Myles who had not been in the Bulldog mix for quite some time. On the flipside, Richt signed the top two players from Tennessee, both of whom had scholarship offers from the Vols -- Marlon Brown and offensive lineman Austin Long. Perhaps the frustration with those two facts fueled Kiffin's most explosive comments to date came today: "I love the fact that Urban had to cheat and still didn't get him. Great job man," he said referring to alleged calls made by Meyer to prospect Nu'Keese Richardson while the latter was on an official visit to Tennessee. It is because of moments like that that Kiffin has attracted the interest of at least a few Southeastern Conference coaches, but it is not just the cavalier comments. According to a recent story by the Associated Press, the total base payout to the Tennessee coaches in Kiffin's first year will be nearly $5.3 million. The amount of money itself is not really the issue, but how the staff gels with such vast differences in their individual compensation is something other coaches are anxiously waiting to see. Kiffin's father, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin tops the charts at $1.2 million a year. Meanwhile, Ed Orgeron, who has three areas of responsibility as assistant head coach, defensive line coach, and recruiting coordinator, brings in just over half that at $650,000. Continuing the nearly 50 percent reduction trend, offensive coordinator and line coach Jim Chaney will get $380,000, followed by linebackers coach Lance Thompson at $350,000, and then it is back to the almost 50 percent drop. Running backs and special teams coach Eddie Gran leads the lesser paid at $185,000, while quarterbacks coach David Reaves, tight end and tackles coach James Cregg, and wide receivers coach Frank Wilson both get $150,000, while defensive backs coach Willie Garza, who other than the coordinators and special teams coaches, is in charge of more players on the field at any one time than any other assistant coach, gets a paltry $110,000. By contrast, the difference between Florida's top paid coach not named Urban Meyer and the least paid coach is just $150,000 a year. When Georgia defensive tackle and recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner interviewed for a position on Kiffin's staff in January, he was reportedly offered as much as $400,000. According to the State of Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts' Salaries and Travel Reimbursement report for fiscal year 2008, Garner's base salary for the year was $202,467.94. However, with the addition of incentives, that actual number was just over $253,000. Garner turned Tennessee down saying that money was not the issue. Regardless of the reasons why Garner passed, money is probably not much of a topic in the back of Georgia coaches' minds as the gap between the highest base salaries and the lowest is about $81,000.00. Again, all numbers mentioned are base salary, and the total payouts could be much larger. For instance, UGA defensive coordinator Willie Martinez, who's base in 2008 was $226,416.66, could make as much as $546,000.00 with bonuses, incentives, and benefits. This lock-step professional approach, his comments that he will outwork everyone else, and the blatant disregard for whatever informal head coach fraternity might exist are not entirely all new to the SEC. When Spurrier was at Florida in the 1990s, he famously took shots at Georgia by calling then head coach Ray Goff "Ray Goof", said that you could not spell Citrus (the second most prestigious bowl for the league at the time) without UT, and called arch-rival Florida State "Free Shoes University" following a controversy in Tallahassee. However, though despised by fans from those three schools, the comments were generally light-hearted. There are examples of coaches accusing other schools of cheating, but in the most famous cases, those coaches had a proven record of accomplishment in the conference and came up on the losing end of the deal. Likewise, there have also been big pay differences among assistants, but nothing close to the setup now in Knoxville. Perhaps Kiffin's approach is due to his youth. At 33 years old, he was in college when Internet message boards began to boom in the late 1990s. Coaches have occasionally cringed with the way fans speak to one another and make no qualms about "throwing their own team under the bus". It could be just a sign of the times, and that we should expect more and more college coaches to act like the Internet message board posters about whom their forbearers warned us about. Who knows, but like the proverbial bull in the china shop that UGASports.com was when it hit the scene in 1997 with blatant disregard for the established norms, perhaps Lane Kiffin is one of the early birds in a new breed of college coaches. Other college coaches are certainly eager to see. "

2/5/2009 11:29:29 PM

Yeah...Kiffin not looking too good right.

Little immature you might say.

[Edited on February 5, 2009 at 11:38 PM. Reason : .]

2/5/2009 11:38:23 PM

kiffin will have his growing pains

but good for him for playing the game

he looks like a little boy though

2/5/2009 11:46:55 PM

^^^ and ^^ yeah, yeah, bunch of Florida bitches whining about nothing...


they didnt demand an apology when Spurrier did it for a decade, hell, Spurrier already did it this year even

[Edited on February 5, 2009 at 11:53 PM. Reason : d]

2/5/2009 11:52:46 PM

The first thing that I thought of when I heard his comments were how glad I was that we have TOB and not a guy like Kiffin.

2/6/2009 11:02:15 AM

I figured you'd want the opposite.

2/6/2009 11:07:10 AM

It's funny because I think everyone is always happy with what they have...until they get tired of a particular coach.

Everyone in Knoxville loves what Kiffin did, even if it was a lie or incorrect. And while outsiders might see it as a dumb thing to do, I think it's kinda what you have to do in the SEC. That's the way Spurrier did it for years. Meyer has the same personality. As does Saban. Sure, Kiffin, as a person, could be a huge dick. But to win in the SEC, you have to have this approach IMO.

I love O'Brien's approach at N.C. State. I think he will do great things for the Pack. But I don't think it would work at Tennessee with recruiting, dealing with the fans or dealing with the other coaches. Each style works for the respective program. O'Brien is a great fit for Raleigh and while the jury is still out on Kiffin, I think he's off to a great start...despite how he is coming off to others.

[Edited on February 6, 2009 at 11:14 AM. Reason : .]

2/6/2009 11:12:28 AM

1) Guaranteed a win at the Swamp. Why give the best team in the country bulletin board material?
2) Accusing Meyer of cheating which resulted in a public reprimand from the SEC.
3) Poo poos his incoming class. This is just baffling. Not only are you pissing off your incoming freshmen and their hs coaches, but it will be used against him by other coaches in recruiting battles

I understand you have to ignore things like academic standards and ethics to be successful in the SEC. But he sounds like a little brat. Maybe its a knoxville thing. Didn't Fulmer always accuse the other teams of cheating when it came to recruiting?

2/6/2009 2:02:49 PM

he didn't really "poopoo" the incoming class. he said the class as a whole wasn't up to their standards. i mean, it's clearly not a top 10 class. i sincerely doubt he's going to piss off any incomming freshmen. he let all of fulmer's recruits know if they weren't a good fit in his system and gave them a chance to look elsewhere. one of those recruits was one of the top quarterback prospects in the country (a position that UT is very, very weak at)

[Edited on February 6, 2009 at 2:38 PM. Reason : .]

2/6/2009 2:37:30 PM

Quote :

"1) Guaranteed a win at the Swamp. Why give the best team in the country bulletin board material?"

Jesus Christ! It was a fucking JOKE! He said right after that that Mike Hamilton (AD) told him to say that and then started laughing.

Quote :

"2) Accusing Meyer of cheating which resulted in a public reprimand from the SEC."

I agree this wasn't the smartest or most tactful of moves but Lane is trying to prove something here. He is trying to show that UT is not going to take a back seat to Florida or Alabama anymore. Fulmer was a Fat Orange Punching Bag in the press for years for coaches like Spurrier. Lane is attempting to strike the first blow. I like the idea although he could've done a little better job of it.

Quote :

"3) Poo poos his incoming class. This is just baffling. Not only are you pissing off your incoming freshmen and their hs coaches, but it will be used against him by other coaches in recruiting battles"

Kiffin has said over and over that he was only taking guys that he wants and fits his system. This should let every guy that got a scholarship know that he is wanted and important to the program. Kiffin was just trying to state that recruiting classes in the future will be even better.

[Edited on February 6, 2009 at 3:33 PM. Reason : r]

2/6/2009 3:31:25 PM

2/6/2009 4:13:42 PM

Florida is gonna hang 60+ on the vols next season

2/6/2009 5:21:29 PM

BOOM

PTI got it exactly right.

2/6/2009 5:28:22 PM

I hate Florida's Jeremy Foley (AD) SO MUCH.

He is a whiny bitch and is the most self-righteous dick in the universe.

Lane Kiffin is allowed to throw as much dirt as he wants to. Even if what Urban Meyer did is not a "violation." He is calling out Urban Meyer, who is notorious for clinging onto recruits. Urban is notorious for "dirty" recruiting.

The fact that the media is jumping up SO QUICK to defend Florida makes me even more furious. If a coach unwarrantedly bashed Miami, Florida State, or even Tennessee without grounds- ESPN writers would be reluctant to defend those programs.

ESPN blindly defends and lauds Florida. Nevermind Urban Meyer's reputation in the coaching fraternity. Nevermind Urban Meyer's players shooting up night clubs, apartments, stealing credit cards from a dead girl, and working on a rap sheet that would make a late-80's Miami team blush.

2/7/2009 11:28:51 AM

UT has Bryce Brown (#1 RB/prospect in the country via rivals) in for an official visit this weekend. Damn, this kid can run.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW2EUbSFYyk

2/10/2009 11:49:32 PM

some of those are just retarded, I dont know how he wasnt tackled.


But I think its WAY too late to go after him... if Kiffin gets him he is the man

2/11/2009 12:05:55 AM

it's not that late or he wouldn't still be visiting schools after signing day

2/11/2009 8:36:58 AM

I love fact that the mock pressers and smoke machines are recruiting violations. who gives a flying fuck about a smoke machine?

Bryce Brown is being handled by someone with a shitty set of ethics. He's even talked about going to the CFL for a few yrs, then going to the NFL.

2/11/2009 11:34:18 AM

^^ late as in Kiffin didnt even start talking to the guy until the last month or so (obviously) whereas the other teams have been working on him for over a year.


^ yeah, its weird. And I've noticed that tons of schools have been "caught" doing this lately... guess the NCAA doesnt really care that much about it as I havent heard of any program actually being punished for it.

[Edited on February 11, 2009 at 3:01 PM. Reason : d]

2/11/2009 3:00:38 PM

It's interesting that the two coaches getting caught doing that this year both came from USC

2/11/2009 3:10:02 PM

yup, makes you wonder what ol' Pete is up to...

Quote :

"Kiffin speaks as everyone listens Tennessee head football coach Lane Kiffin was on his best behavior Wednesday afternoon as he spoke at the Big Orange Tip-Off Club, his first public speech since last week's firestorm from the recruiting celebrations. And Kiffin wanted everyone to know it. "We'll make sure that we don't offend anyone in the conference or any other school," Kiffin said as he took the podium. "We'll be very nice." But the 33-year-old head coach was not in a shell and wasn't exactly backing off from anything. "I like to have fun with some things," Kiffin said. "The example I can give you is that Steve Spurrier came out the first day I was here and accused me of recruiting without having passed the test (as required by the NCAA). "I didn't call the (SEC) commissioner whining about it. I just shot back at him, joking around with him. We'll make sure we're aware of how sensitive people are around here." The event, which drew a packed house, was full of laughs over last week's events. Tennessee head basketball coach Bruce Pearl joked he was in attendance because he was curious to see what Kiffin had to say. Pearl noted that Kiffin had gotten done in one week what it took him a year to do -- namely become the least popular coach in the SEC. Kiffin, who smiled and laughed at every comment, even got in the act when one of the event organizers planted a call on his cell phone and turned to Kiffin telling him it was Urban Meyer on the phone. Kiffin stood, grabbed the phone and left the room acting as if he was talking to Meyer. Wednesday the message was clear, Kiffin's confidence has not wavered. He is not backing down, and he feels the message his actions have sent to his football team has created a positive. "Here's the point of it: This is about our players. We're not going to win any games without them ... If it took that stuff to get that done, it's working. And if it took that stuff to get our players motivated at 5:30 in the morning, it's working. I like the way it's going." New hire Kiffin has made another hire and it's a familiar face. Former Vol defensive back and captain, Inky Johnson has been added as a staff member on the defensive side of the ball. "I was able to spend a lot of time with Inky over the last month and a half. I have him around me to feel out who he is and what he is about. He has impressed me and my dad so much by who he is and the way players respond to him. We had an opening for a defensive assistant coach and I kept thinking about it and told my dad the best guy was right here. He is unbelievable and he gives us a great connection to some past teams and players. We are real excited to have him. He is great. We talk about as a team that we are always competing and always fighting. And what a great example he is. Not one day does he come around complaining about his arm or I can't do this or that. He is always about what he can do." Don't question toughness Kiffin was asked on Wednesday about his teams conditioning and ability to finish games. Kiffin, who hired Mark Smith in December as his head strength coach told fans they were welcome to come see his team work. "Tomorrow you are invited at 5:30 in the morning. I am serious," Kiffin said. "Come at 5:30 in the morning to our indoor facility. I will be there and our whole team will be there. You will never have another question about our team's conditioning by the time it's 6:30.""

2/11/2009 10:44:55 PM

Keep hearing more and more that I like... dude is seriously hardcore:

Quote :

"Lane flew back to Tennessee less than 48 hours after his son was born. He'd arranged to have someone fetch him at the airport, but the driver was 25 minutes late. "I came back and within five minutes I'd fired the guy who was in charge of the guy who'd been sent to pick me up," says Kiffin. "Here's the point: We need to win. That's 25 minutes that Nick Saban and Urban Meyer had that I lost because somebody was late picking me up at the airport." Kiffin has shown no more sympathy for the rest of the support staff he inherited from Fulmer. "You can't count the number of people we've run off because they couldn't keep up, and I'm including secretaries," he says. "They had to go because they weren't going to make it, and they knew it." Layla and the kids won't move to Knoxville until sometime in the next few months, so Lane has been sharing a house near campus with several of his assistants, among them his brother-in-law, quarterbacks coach David Reaves, and tight ends and tackles coach James Cregg, another assistant he boasts of having stolen, from the Raiders. Kiffin tolerates this living situation because, as he puts it, he "can coach the coaches not only on a daily basis but on a nightly basis." During recruiting season he listened to their calls and critiqued them when they were done. "I don't have to be their buddy," Kiffin says of his housemates. "I don't have time to watch some TV show with them. We have way too much to do. We're too far behind. I'm not worrying about three or four years from now. I want to win now. Wednesdays and Sundays are the same day of the week as far as I'm concerned. We're at work at 5:30 in the morning, and we don't finish until 10:30 at night. Any other way and we'd be average, and we're not here to be average." When classes resumed in January, Kiffin gave his players three days to adjust to their new schedules before he launched an off-season training program led by Mark Smith, the strength coach he hired away from Steve Spurrier at South Carolina. Three days a week the players meet in the athletic center and run sprints in the early-morning hours before classes begin. Players lift weights on days when they don't have to run. "It's different from before," says junior tailback Montario Hardesty. "Last year we didn't start running until February. And there's more discipline now. We can't wear earrings or jewelry or headbands. One thing I've noticed is how hard the guys are pushing, trying to make a positive first impression. It's tougher than it was, but no one's complaining." Kiffin's efforts at discipline aren't confined to workouts. One of his rules requires that players sit in the first or second row at every class. If a player sits in even the third row, he's marked as absent and faces time on the StairMaster as punishment. "I was in my 8 a.m. math class the second day we came back," says All-America safety Eric Berry. "I'm the only player in there. Afterward my classmates start coming up to me. 'Dude, did you see Kiffin?' He'd come to the rear door and poked his head in to make sure I was there. Before, the coaches would send the weight-room guys or graduate assistants to check. But this was the head coach."

2/12/2009 11:01:13 AM

Arian Foster opens a Philosophy store, wow.

http://www.philosophy.com

2/12/2009 1:38:47 PM

do what? that's his website?

2/12/2009 1:55:32 PM

^From the UCLA/UT game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnEr34dOR2Q

2/12/2009 2:03:35 PM

Maybe he should have focused on a philosophy that would have helped him not fumble the ball so goddamn much!

2/12/2009 2:57:39 PM