12-01-08

The meltdown started sometime around midseason. It became a bit surreal the weekend of the South Carolina game. And a year ago today, as I write this, the deed was done.

I'm talking, of course, about the abrupt transition of power in the Tennessee football program.

When things go bad in revenue producing college athletics, it's more like a mob hit than a presidential election. There's nothing democratic about it. Coaches lose, and they get whacked. It's always messy. Sometimes you know it's going to happen (Charlie Weis), sometimes it's a blindside (Johnny Majors, Phillip Fulmer).

On November 30, 2008 Lane Kiffin agreed to an offer to become Tennessee's next football coach. On December 1, 2008, UT made it official with a press conference.

Kiffin has worked at warp-speed to put his mark on the program. Intense recruiting and inflamatory comments led to unexpected player signings and unusual reprimands from the SEC office. Oh, and he put together a coaching staff that brings a professional attitude to Vols football. Watch Kiffin at practice. Watch him on the sidelines. Watch him at press conferences. You can't miss it.

Kiffin has been more comfortable lately, even joking during press conferences. But there's no back-slapping, no hand-shaking, and no wide-smiling politicin' going on. It's all business.

I've often told friends who don't live in SEC Country that covering Tennessee is like covering an NFL team. And that was BEFORE Kiffin arrived. Now, it's even more true.

There have been bumps in the road, and someone still needs to make it clear why a recently arrested football player had serious criminal charges dropped, while two former teammates are still facing trail. Not enough evidence to pursue charges sounds good-- but what does that REALLY mean? 

No one has explained it fully.

The Vols have finished their first regular season under Kiffin with a 7-4 record. Wins over Vanderbilt and Kentucky produced lifetime highlights for two of Tennessee's most resilient players. 

Wes Brown's interception return for a touchdown in the closing seconds against the Commodores, and Montario Hardesty's 20-dash to the endzone in overtime against Kentucky will go down as signature moments for those two players-- and for this year's team.

It's Kiffin's first-- and it's not a bad way to start.