Jet set: Kiffin, father 'stepped it up' for Orgeron after adding Chaney

Ed Orgeron, 2004 file photograph.

Scott Linehan, former head coah of the St. Louis Rams' coach talks with Jim Chaney, then an assistant with the NFL team. Chaney was named offensive coordinator for the University of Tennessee on Dec. 31, 2008.

Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin made good on his resolution to assemble an all-star staff during his introductory press conference on Dec 1.

He hired two NFL assistant coaches on New Year's Eve: Ed Orgeron and Jim Chaney.

Orgeron, who was defensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints, accepted the position of recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach along with the title of associate head coach after a face-to-face meeting with Kiffin despite being close to accepting a similar deal with LSU to stay in his home state the day before.

The Vols secured Chaney, who coached tight ends for the St. Louis Rams, as their offensive coordinator just hours before Orgeron signed on.

UT also officially announced that vaunted NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin would join his son's staff as UT's defensive coordinator on Wednesday.

"I'm so excited," Orgeron, 47, told ESPN. "I get to coach with Monte (Kiffin) and I'm getting to recruit again. It's pedal to the metal, and I can't wait to get up there."

Orgeron's decision came after consulting with his family during a vacation in Destin, Fla., where he was visited Wednesday by Lane and Monte Kiffin.

"Lane and Monte took a jet to Destin," Bobby Hebert, a former Saints quarterback and lifelong friend of Orgeron, told Gannett Louisiana. "They were all freaking out at Tennessee after they thought he was going to LSU, and they just stepped it up. I'm not sure what Ed will be making at Tennessee, but it will be more than he would've made at LSU."

Orgeron, who coached with Lane Kiffin at Southern California from 2001-04, is expected to make $650,000 annually, making him one of the highest paid assistants in the country, according to ESPN. Orgeron was making approximately $500,000 with the Saints and LSU was offering around $600,000.

"Ed also favored working with Monte Kiffin over John Chavis," Hebert told Gannett Louisiana.

Chavis, who was UT's defensive coordinator before Phillip Fulmer was let go this past season, is expected to be named LSU's defensive coordinator in the coming days.

Orgeron last coached in college as head coach at Ole Miss from 2005-07. He was fired after compiling a 10-25 record.

He was widely credited with upgrading the Rebels' talent level. Following Orgeron's departure, Ole Miss went 8-4 and 5-3 in the SEC under Houston Nutt.

Before going to the NFL last season, Orgeron garnered national acclaim as one of the top recruiters in the nation and a solid defensive line coach at Southern California and Miami.

He joined USC's staff as defensive line coach in 1998. He was named recruiting coordinator in 2001 and promoted to assistant head coach in 2003.

Orgeron's stop in Miami from 1988-92 also produced great results. He coached eight All-Americans, including NFL first-round picks Cortez Kennedy, Russell Maryland and Warren Sapp.

Chaney, 46, is a native of Warrensburg, Mo., who played college football at Central Missouri State. He was part of head coach Scott Linehan's initial Rams staff in 2006, serving as assistant offensive line coach in 2006 and 2007 before moving to tight ends in 2008.

Before coming to St. Louis, all of Chaney's coaching experience had come in the college ranks. He was offensive coordinator at Purdue from 1998 through 2005 and co-offensive coordinator in 1997.

Over that span, the Boilermakers led the Big Ten in passing offense five times and were ranked in the top 10 in the nation in total offense six times.

With Orgeron and Chaney, UT has five coaches hired of its NCAA-allotted nine positions.

As for other possibilities, it's unclear if UT will be able to hire Jeremy Bates, who was a reserve quarterback for UT in 1995 before transferring to Rice. The former Sevier County High School star was part of Mike Shanahan's staff with the Denver Broncos before Shanahan was suddenly fired Tuesday.

Bates, who coached quarterbacks and receivers for the Broncos, could follow Shanahan to another coaching stop or be retained by Denver, which is thought to have been extremely impressed with Bates' three seasons there.

Monte Kiffin is expected to coach UT's defensive backs meaning the Vols would need to hire a linebacker coach.

It is unclear what Stan Drayton's future holds. The UT running backs coach is one of two holdovers from Fulmer's regime, along with tight ends coach Jason Michael, who is thought to be leaning toward a return to the NFL where he coached from 2005-07.

Two offensive coaches have left UT recently: offensive line coach Greg Adkins to Syracuse and receivers coach Latrell Scott to Virginia.

UT has hired former South Carolina quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator David Reaves and former Oakland Raiders assistant offensive line coach James Cregg.

Florida recruiting coordinator/receivers coach Billy Gonzales is also thought to be a candidate for UT's staff.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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