Professional treatment: Vols staff brings NFL flair to Neyland sidelines

The NFL officially came to Tennessee when the Houston Oilers arrived in 1997 to become the Titans.

Now there's another prominent football program in the state being run like an NFL franchise.

When the University of Tennessee hired Lane Kiffin last December, the new head coach lured several SEC assistants who were outstanding recruiters.

Fresh from his short-lived term with the Oakland Raiders, he also brought an assortment of NFL brains to Knoxville.

Kiffin and four members of his coaching staff were working for NFL clubs this time a year ago and that is reflected in the way the new regime is conducting business at UT.

"Our whole staff treats us like pros,'' All-America safety Eric Berry said Sunday at UT's Media Day.

"I like the way that feels. They treat us with respect, everything is organized and, it's hard to explain, but it's just a different feeling.''

Kiffin's 20 games as head coach of the Raiders changed his perception of how to run a program. Or at least it reinforced what he had taken from working as an assistant at Southern Cal under Pete Carroll, a former NFL head coach.

His father and UT defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, had been in the NFL since 1983.

Jim Chaney, the offensive coordinator, comes from the St. Louis Rams.

Offensive line coach James Cregg followed Kiffin from the Raiders.

Ed Orgeron, the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, expanded his coaching horizons last year with the New Orleans Saints after a long career in college ball.

"I loved the NFL,'' said Orgeron. "I learned a lot of football.''

Perhaps Nick Saban would say the same. After leaving LSU for the Miami Dolphins, Saban returned to college and quickly restored Alabama to a championship contender.

The NFL resumes give UT's coaching staff instant credibility with collegians who want more than anything to reach the ultimate level.

"I think it's an easy sell to a young man,'' said Chaney, "because we've been there, we've done that, we've seen that.

"We know what is appropriate up there and what it takes to win up there at that level.''

But the NFL experience also taught the coaches how to maximize their efficiency at the college level.

"We hear it every day, multiple times every day,'' said senior center Josh McNeil.

"They tell us 'We're going to treat you like professionals, we're going to coach you like professionals and we expect you to play like professionals.'

"Professionals go out and practice good every day. They don't have off days. They go to work because it's their job, every day.''

Lane Kiffin spent the 2000 season on the Jacksonville Jaguars staff before he went to USC. He had also observed his father's life in the pros. He is a firm believer that the NFL enriches a coach's strategic experience.

"The NFL - I don't think anybody can argue - it's the highest level of Xs and Os,'' he said. "You do it all day long. You don't go on the road recruiting. You're not on the Big Orange Caravan.

"If you're a college coach your whole career, half the year you haven't done football. After 10 years, that's 60 months of ball.''

The Vols are conducting fall camp much like an NFL preseason. The scrimmages, like the one on Saturday, are treated like preseason games.

"In the NFL,'' said Orgeron, "you have those preseason games where you can fix those mistakes and in the fifth game, it's your real season.

"But over here it's not like that. So we've got to put 'em in a game-type atmosphere. I think it's going to be successful for us.''

Returning to college ball from the NFL hasn't been a dramatic adjustment for the coaches. As a group, they're impressed with the Vols' ability to absorb information.

"I think young men are apt to learn as much as you want to teach them,'' Chaney said.

"We're stretching the brains on a few of them. I see smoke coming out of their helmets once in a while, but for the most part they're keeping up.''

Monte Kiffin is trying to keep up with recruiting, which has changed considerably since his last college job in 1982.

But even in that area, he sees his son and Orgeron running a pro-style operation.

"He's got it set up like a pro draft board,'' Monte Kiffin said. "We call it the War Room, like the NFL getting ready for the draft.

"We have seniors up there, juniors up there, sophomores up there.''

Cregg coached in college 10 years before Kiffin hired him with the Raiders in 2007. He believes the pro atmosphere will spill over to class work and off-the-field behavior. UT hasn't had an arrest since Kiffin took over.

"It's just taking pride in the way you do things,'' Cregg said. "Appreciate what you're doing and act like a professional.

"Then you carry it over to the field on game day.''

Which, in UT's case, will be Saturdays instead of Sundays.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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