Clean break from past rare; Kiffin era stirs echoes of Dickey

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Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin, middle, and his father Monte, defensive coordinator and second from left, prowl the sideline at Neyland Stadium during a scrimmage on Aug. 22.

The Lane Kiffin Era is a clean break with the past. A storied past, to be sure, but one that in recent years hasn't been quite so glorious as everyone would like. The similarities to 1964 are striking.

Tennessee surprised the national college football community when it hired a coach in his early 30s. Such a young man to be charged with such vast responsibility.

A coach whose opener at Tennessee would be his first game as a college head coach.

An outsider to the UT family.

Whose challenge is to not just compete but thrive in a conference of iconic coaches with national-championship resumes.

But Doug Dickey turned out all right.

That was 1964. Flip the calendar forward 45 years and 538 football games.

Now Tennessee is trying to strike gold with another fresh start.

The Lane Kiffin Era is a clean break with the past. A storied past, to be sure, but one that in recent years hasn't been quite so glorious as everyone would like.

The similarities to 1964 are striking.

Dickey was 32, an assistant at Arkansas with only faint ties to Tennessee. As a Florida quarterback he had played under a former UT player, Bob Woodruff, who would be his AD at Tennessee. At Arkansas he coached under Frank Broyles, who had been coached by UT great Bobby Dodd.

Dickey inherited a 5-5 team and faced a schedule that included three SEC coaches who had won national titles: Bear Bryant at Alabama, Shug Jordan at Auburn and Johnny Vaught at Ole Miss.

Kiffin was 33 when Tennessee hired him and turned 34 after his first spring practice.

A table showing Tennessee's 2008 leaders

His 2009 schedule includes three SEC coaches who wear national championship rings: Steve Spurrier, Urban Meyer and Nick Saban.

His head-coaching resume is 20 games with the Oakland Raiders, an opportunity he earned after a successful run as Southern Cal's offensive coordinator.

And following 16 years of former Vol Phillip Fulmer, which followed 16 years of former Vol Johnny Majors, Kiffin has no UT connections whatsoever.

"I was kind of like a cousin coming in,'' Dickey said. "This fellow is a little farther out than I was.''

Dickey went 8-1-2 in his second year and won an SEC title in his fourth. He left after a second SEC title in his sixth season, amassing a 46-15-4 record.

Kiffin inherits a program that rose to great heights under Majors and even greater heights under Fulmer. But the Vols have not won an SEC title since 1998 and athletic director Mike Hamilton fired Fulmer after a second losing season in the past four.

It was a turn of events that rocked Rocky Top.

"The decision was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to go through and I hope I never go through anything like that again,'' Hamilton said in a recent interview.

Hamilton's pick to replace Fulmer was clearly an indication that he sensed the program needed fresh blood, a new direction.

Kiffin appears to emit a golden a California glow. He's young, handsome, casual, frequently referencing his days with the high-flying USC Trojans.

He is, however, a Minnesotan, born and raised. His upbringing in Minneapolis traces to his dad Monte Kiffin's days as an NFL defensive coach with the Vikings, among other teams.

The NFL background, in fact, is one of Kiffin's main selling points. Monte Kiffin left a 26-year NFL career to join his son in Knoxville. Three other Kiffin assistants were on NFL staffs last year.

It's a good pitch to recruits, but first it was a good pitch to the current team to get them on board and heal the trauma of losing their previous coaches.

"Me and coach Fulmer had a very special relationship,'' said senior center Josh McNeil. "And just making that transition, I'm not gonna lie, it was very hard for me.''

Senior tailback Montario Hardesty said Kiffin first asked for the team's trust that he would put a good staff together.

"For me, a senior, this is my last time around,'' Hardesty said. "I want to win. I was ready to go.''

So was perhaps the most important guy in the locker room: Eric Berry. He recalled the advice of his former defensive coordinator, John Chavis.

"Chief used to tell us to focus on the things we could control,'' Berry said, "and that (the coaching change) was one of the things we couldn't control.

"The thing we could control was buying into coach Kiffin's system, learning his scheme, rallying behind him and getting ready for this season.

"And that's what we did.''

That season is almost here. What will it look like, Tennessee's fresh start, its new direction?

Hamilton points to striking a balance between the past and the future.

"There are some sacred things that should be cherished and honored and there are things this staff needs to do their way,'' he said.

Perhaps the program never changed more than it did when Dickey arrived. He was hired to bring the Vols from the outdated single-wing days into the modern T-formation offense.

"It was a time that signified change,'' Dickey said, "so we decided on some other things to go along with it to brighten up the scene.''

The team ran through "The T" to take the field. The end zones were painted into checkerboards. A "T" went on the helmets.

Eventually, "Rocky Top" became the unofficial fight song.

But Dickey also honored the past, as will Kiffin 45 years later.

"The road you went to work on was Neyland Drive and you played in Neyland Stadium,'' Dickey said. "Some things you weren't going to change.''

Change, however, is good. It's even necessary in the what-have-you-done-lately world of big-time athletics.

Earl and Judy Brown have followed UT football religiously since 1972, when their honeymoon was arranged to include the Kentucky and Vanderbilt games.

They cheered for Bill Battle's teams, for Majors' and for Fulmer's. And they welcome Kiffin with open arms.

"If anything,'' Earl Brown said, "it was time for a complete change. We didn't need status quo.

"I'm excited about Lane Kiffin. Bruce Pearl didn't have any ties to Tennessee and I think Kiffin is going to do the same thing with the football team.''

Not all fans are on board yet. Some Fulmer loyalists are still hurting.

"Phillip did a tremendous job here,'' Hamilton said. "His time here should be reflected on positively.

"But I sense a good feeling. That's what I hear, in restaurants, at gas stations. It's a daily occurrence. People come up and say, 'I'm genuinely excited about the season,' or, 'I know it was a tough decision, but I'm looking forward to 2009.'''

Ready or not, 2009 starts Saturday afternoon at 12:21 p.m. It leads quickly to Florida, Alabama and the rest.

"We're coming to the end of the honeymoon phase,'' Hamilton said. "Now is when the rubber meets the road as far as fans forming opinions about this coaching staff.

"I think we'll be successful. Our fans need to be a little patient. We're in a transition period, trying to get it back to where Tennessee football should be. That will come.''

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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