Adams: Kiffin shooting straight

Ask a question, get an answer. How simple is that?

In the give and take between media and coaches, there’s nothing simple about it. Some football coaches would rather shred their playbook than give a straight answer.

That’s nothing new. Candor and directness have never been considered coaching virtues. In fact, there’s a long list of coaches who have won national championships without them. But giving a direct answer to a question or providing a candid assessment of a player doesn’t doom you to abject failure, either.

That’s why a press conference with Florida football coach Urban Meyer or Georgia’s Mark Richt can be time well spent. And that’s why Lane Kiffin’s approach has been so refreshing in his first year as Tennessee’s coach.

UT’s last coach was hesitant to speculate on where the next day’s sunrise might occur. Alabama coach Nick Saban might be more inclined to bite off a sportswriter’s ear than criticize a player in a public forum. Terrorists give up information more readily than LSU coach Les Miles, who once answered “somewhere in Ohio” when asked for the town of residence of one of his former high school coaches.

All three coaches have won national championships.

And Meyer has won two.

Florida defensive end Carlos Dunlap came up for discussion following a practice the week of the UT-Florida game last year. A reporter mentioned that he had expected Dunlap to be more dominant after reading how outstanding the player had been in the spring.

“So did we,” Meyer said, with a brief stare for emphasis.

Richt once volunteered at a press conference that Fred Gibson — his best wide receiver at the time — wouldn’t start against UT. Gibson hadn’t done anything wrong, Richt pointed out, he just wasn’t playing up to the coaches’ expectations.

Such appraisals benefit more than the media. They let fans know what’s going on with their teams. In a region of the country where fans invest so much money, time and emotion, is credible information too much to ask for in return?

Last week, Kiffin called out UT’s Brandon Warren, who is adjusting to his first season as a wide receiver. Following his coach’s criticism, Warren has played as though he is intent on winning a starting job. If he has dropped a pass at practice, I didn’t see it.

Maybe that’s a coincidence. Or maybe that’s an example of a player responding favorably to public criticism.

UT players say they appreciate how Kiffin and his staff treat them like professionals. The flip side of that: professionals are held accountable.

Accountability and discipline weren’t priorities of the last regime. They’re welcome now.

So is the candor.

That doesn’t mean Kiffin will spill his guts at the drop of every question. Or that he will always be truthful with the media. In a coach’s manual, lying to the media is no less ethical than a misdirection play.

But so far, Kiffin hasn’t repeatedly lapsed into coach-speak in the face of a pointed question. Nor has he assumed a defensive stance when a player’s performance is questioned by the media.

His critiques haven’t been vicious, just matter-of-fact. He’s more apt to praise a player than bury him.

He’s simply letting the player know where he stands. And he’s letting the fans know, too.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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