Another former Tennessee coach is headed to Syracuse.
Former UT running backs coach Stan Drayton is the third former member of Tennessees football staff to land on Doug Marrones staff.
Drayton spent one season with the Vols after leaving Florida’s staff last January.
If his salary at Syracuse is less than the $170,000 Drayton earned last year, UT is responsible for the difference.
Former UT offensive line coach Greg Adkins is also an assistant with the Orange. Former UT director of high school relations Kevin VanDerzee left to become director of football operations at Syracuse.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
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Comments » 39
Rockford writes:
Hopefully Syracuse won't be such a joke in a few years.
GerryOP writes:
228 - Fear The Kiffin...
Ironcity writes:
Good luck coach. Rich all he did was tell the kid the truth which was he didn't know if he was going to be around. I would rather he be honest then to lie and have the kid going nuts and destroying our recruiting now.
orngbluded writes:
did he really tell giles that?the thing i hate is that we let him stay as long as we did kiffin should of made a dicision earlier and not lead him on as long as he did.
shoalcreekvol writes:
I lost respect for him too. However, good for him landing at Syracuse. From what I saw of his coaching and recruiting, the Big East is definitely the conference for him and Syracuse sounds just about right.
Also thanks to Coach Marrone for detailing all the reasons ("played high school football in Ohio and was a great college player at Allegheny. Stan has very strong ties in the Northeast") Coach Kiff decided he didn't need him at UT.
GR82BAVOL writes:
Bless his heart...I just flew back in from Syracuse yesterday...I hope they are paying him well. I wouldn't live up there for any amount of money.
Anyway, he stayed much longer than I thought he would.
Orangeblood13 writes:
didn't get the chance? Our backs where weak all year, sure scheme and offensive line was not up to par, but that's when coaching has to play a part. Truth would be the truth, but telling them to look elsewhere, that is just bad advise.
truth is, he wasn't a SEC coach i think, no matter who's "world"
allvol9 writes:
Don't know what happened in the Giles situation but if he said he did not know for sure if he was going to be retained...then that was just telling the truth. Kiffin did the right thing I believe in not retaining any of the staff. Bring in your own people and I believe Drayton probably knew he would be gone. But I want to wish Coach Drayton the best of luck at Syracuse.
SignalMtnVol writes:
The problem is, Gatorzz, that it wasn't a case of telling the truth or lying. He flat out undermined UT by telling a prospect to look elsewhere.
As far as people saying that Kiffin led him on, the man was under contract, and he was filling a space that needed to be filled for the time being. I'm sure that he was well compensated for his time. There was no "leading him on", he was doing a job that he was being PAID to do, and doing it poorly at that.
orangebloodgmc writes:
Spurrier has a job. He just has no assistants, except Jay Graham.
blitzshoot writes:
Syracuse is a good place for him. Next stop, North Dakota.
baldfan writes:
Didn't know that about the Giles kid. I am surprised.
General Watermelon - I was wondering what Don Shula was doing, too.
baldfan writes:
Clawson went to Bowling Green. Didn't you hear the news?
rich182x writes:
Wish we had Trooper Taylor, that man has got it goin on! In my complete... heterosexual opinion.
sameolvolalum writes:
This was the last of the dead wood. I'm sure Arian Foster wishes Drayton never had come to Knoxville. 'No good coaching seen. Good luck to him, anyways.
orangeinbama writes:
Ahhhh yes....Ruth Chris.... Juicy Filet.... anyone requesting it be cooked any more than rare or maybe med rare should be refused service...... My sandwich for lunch just lost it's appeal....
TommyJack writes:
Interloping should be a felony.
easymoney writes:
the Bear died several years ago....
givehim6 writes:
Syracuse building the UT of the northeast.
cjraney writes:
That comment has been grossly misrepresented by many posters on this board. The guy was being honest with recruits which is absolutely the best policy for both him and UT.
Should he have said "Oh yeah, I know exactly how things are going to happen here at UT. I will still be here. The new coaches will love you. You'll love them. Hooray."
What a load of BS. Get off the guy, he's simply showing the same honesty that Kiffin showed toward Tajh Boyd and Petty the QB from TX.
Good luck to Drayton in his new job.
BSweet writes:
It was Drayton's choice to leave. Kiffin chased a few others but when they turned him down, he offered Drayton the chance to stay. Drayton decided it was best for him to move on. I have no idea what Drayton said to Giles, but I'm not inclined to take what Jarvis has said he was told as gospel. This was a young man upset that the coaching staff he had committed to was let go. Emotions may well have made him hear something other than what was actually said. Unless you were actually in on the phone conversation or have heard from Drayton himself confirming Giles' story, then I don't see how you could state with fact that Drayton indeed told him to look elsewhere. Now, if he did, I'm disappointed, but only Drayton and Giles know for sure what was said. As for his coaching ability, it's hard to judge a coach when he is forced to play certain players above others. I do recall a press conference where Drayton stated he believed the younger backs should be seeing more time. He was overruled by Fulmer. When your boss cuts you off at the knees, you can only do so much. Only time will tell how good a coach he is. Hopefully he'll get more of a chance to show his coaching ability at Syracuse than he did at FL or UT. Personally, I thank him for his service to UT and wish him the best. Good luck at your new job Coach.
Down_The_Field writes:
If Fulmer is an idiot for hiring Drayton, what does that make Meyer? Both coaches made a bad hire with Drayton. Z...have you ever made a bad hire? I have.
Quit being and antagonist. This has nothing to do with scheme. Is it in the Flar-duh or Tennessee scheme to fumble???!!!
One, Drayton had a chance and did more damage in one year than most in a career; two, if you don't believe in the organization you work for to NOT sell it, then he should have left on his own. He's SU's problem now.
One more thing, with Drayton and Clawson. Explain this; how do you take a QB (Crompton) who played good and with promise a year prior against the LSU Tigers and then this past year the QB and RBs can't even perform a QB-RB exchange? BAD O-COACHING!!
dc_4_ut writes:
gatorzz, I actually have to agree with you here on some level. SD was, what, recognized by rivals.com 2-3 times as a top recruiter. And, although he and Urb didn't see eye to eye, he did have a good run @ Florida. You really couldn't say the Florida RBs were bad in his time there, could you???
So I guess the argument here is about last season and can you judge a coach solely on the production of last year?? I say no. SD didn't make Arian fumble the ball this year; that's all on Arian. I think this had more to do with CLK wanting to clean house completely (see: getting rid of GAs) than his personal assessment of Drayton. All in all, I respect Drayton a lot for how he has handled this so far and I hope than Gran steps in and does well. But again you can't measure a coach by ONE SEASON....
Sorry if this was too long..
WeLoveTennesseeVols writes:
Did he really say that, and if so why?
dc_4_ut writes:
When are you guys going to get over your mancrushes for Jarvis Giles? He's going to South Carolina for crissakes. Besides, if you are going to a school because of 1 coach you shouldn't be going there anyway. Have you guys learned ANYTHING in the last year???
Volunatic writes:
Well said. I wish him well in his future endeavors (at least somewhat), but I'm glad he's gone because he told the recruits to look elsewhere.
GerryOP writes:
Watermelon dude, he's got a gig! Starting next Fall on ESPN, look for The Living Legends Show.
Lou Holtz will play the role of Lil' Ol' Living Legend and our very own Phillip will play the role of Big Ol' Living Legend. It will be a 1 hour college football comedy/parody show and will premiere the 1st Saturday in September @ 11:30 PM opposite SNL.
The highlight of the show will be when The Legends critique the days "big losses" and tell the losing coaches what they should have done differently. The Bowden Boys Band will provide the music!
Don't miss it! {;>)
CedarHillVol writes:
Seems like I remember the gator fans saying he wasn't that big of a loss for the gators...Guess you guys knew what you were talking about.I think he was a pretty good recruiter though.
Volunatic writes:
He didn't deserve extra "thanks" for his recruiting efforts after Kiffin arrived. What recruits did he land in that time span? Besides, he was drawing a paycheck-- that's "thanks" enough for doing one's job. In fact, if he wasn't able to get the job at Sorryexcuse, he would STILL be drawing a paycheck from UT, all the way through next season.
Louisvol8859 writes:
As said earlier Drayton decided to leave. He let Kiffin know before Gran was hired. The rivals article on the Giles thing was more clear. Drayton said, according to Giles, "If it were himself he would not plan on coming to UT, and look for a strong plan B." I can not post that article right now because Rivals is blocked at work.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
3*** post.
Can't wait till that airs.
rockytoptilidie writes:
I just don't understand the love affair with Drayton other than maybe some of my fellow Vols fans have become obsessed with underachieving and mediocrity.
Good riddance, using cost-benfit analysis, Drayton was worthless...
And for those who pretend that he was lied to, give me a break. The guy was getting compensated for a job that the entire world knew was about to come to an end.
volfan1967 writes:
Nobody led him along. He had a choice to leave.
Eric_Freaking_Berry writes:
I doubt that anyone knows the exact context of what was said between Drayton and Giles beyond those two. I would say that for as hard as Drayton did *try* to keep recruiting even after Giles moved on to SC, I don't think he was undermining UT or doing anything beyond stating his opinion on his future with the school. I think if Giles was going to be that petty about his decisions that it depended entirely on a coach, that was his choice. (And now he'll have a former Vol in Jay Graham coaching him, ironically)
Obviously, Drayton didn't gel with CLK and the world will keep turning for everyone. They picked up an experienced RB coach with good recruiting ties, so I don't really see how this is all that bad for anyone. Drayton is probably not going to be able to convince (or even try to convince) our recruits to go to Syracuse.....and Gran is a good fit for the Vols. While Syracuse is in the pits right now, they are making some subtle but smart moves to get back on track and I'm sure he got some decent $$$. No big deal for either side, IMO.
dc_4_ut writes:
James Green. That was all Drayton from what I heard...
dc_4_ut writes:
z, I AGREE with you about the fact that we should have let Drayton go easy. Again, the best excuse that i can give you is that CLK was interviewing other candidates all the while he never intended to keep anybody from the previous staff. On the lighter side, we did pay Drayton ~$180,000 to stay on and recruit for us. Not too shabby but that can only take you so far I guess. Can't really say whether or not he'll start any negative recruiting on us because of that or not. But, as I'm sure you can already tell, we have already started pushing people's buttons in the SEC
CLAWSON was a different story. After Cut left, Fulmer reportedly took 2 months to "handpick" CLAWSON and then the 2008 season happened. I think that MH was hearing a lot from boosters and the powers that and their discontent with FCPF and so Hammy pulled the trigger. Clawson was a packaged deal and he received a lot of the blame.... And some of it deservedly so imo....
Again I apologize to those of you on the length just trying to write as much as possible without starting a thesis...
gnm53108 writes:
Good luck Stan.
shoalcreekvol writes:
You have no idea what you are talking about. It was clearly reported from day one that Kiff told the leftover assistants they could stay while he made a decision, and they could show that they needed to be retained. Both sides went into this with eyes wide open, knowing what the expectations were and knowing the risks. Assistants like Drayton and Michaels decided to keep drawing a hefty paycheck while they looked for other work, and in return for that security they were to sell UT to the recruits.
You'll also note that Drayton never refuted the Giles kid's story, so all signs point to the "Plan B" conversation happening as told.
You can not assume that Drayton misrepresented his position - if he lied to a recruit then that's his problem but you don't know if he did or not. All he was asked to do is recruit. Lying is not necessary to do that if you are selling the school and not the assistant.
Vol4life77 writes:
if we are "dolts" then your a dumba**!! He kept him around to help with recruiting since we did not have a staff and he is young. So I guess you and Kif are best friends and you know for a fact he did not have a prob with anything said. I just love when people act like these coaches and players like family. How about keep your mouth shut and talk about something you know about like smurfs or something!!!
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