University of Tennessee defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin was the guest speaker Friday at the Knoxville Orthopedic Clinic High School Kickoff Classic Luncheon at Thompson-Boling Arena, and he stole the show.
The exuberant Kiffin, 69, defies his age with his energy and enthusiasm. He kept the crowd captivated with one-liners, quick wit, and funny storytelling.
His opening comment: “When they asked me if I’d come talk today, I said, ‘No problem at all because high school coaches are what it’s all about, and I’m not just saying that.’ ”
Kiffin, who spent 26 seasons as a defensive coordinator in the NFL, the last 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, got onto the subject of coaching at UT. Kiffin’s son, Lane, was hired as head coach at UT when Phillip Fulmer was fired after the 2008 season.
“Am I fired up about coaching at UT? Yes, I’m fired up!” he said.
Kiffin said his son “did a good job recruiting me.”
“He said, ‘Dad, you won’t believe this place. You’ll love it if you come here,’ ” Monte said. “Since I’ve been here, he was right. It’s unbelievable.”
Kiffin told of a conversation he had with Lane after UT women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt won her 1,000th game.
“I went to work the next day, and I told Lane, ‘You realize Pat Summitt has won 1,000 games, and you haven’t won one?’ ”
His closing comment was one of his best. Kiffin said he was recently asked what it’s like working for his son, and does he have a problem referring to his son as “coach?”
“I’ll call him ‘coach’ as long as he calls me ‘dad,’ ” Kiffin said, raising his arm with clenched fist before leaving the podium.
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Comments » 20
NTNSTY writes:
LOL, gotta love "The Monte"
TXVol14 writes:
"Tampa 2 teams are known as gang tacklers and practice to always run to the ball. It also requires a hard hitting secondary to cause turnovers."
Doesn't CMK's Tampa 2 scheme seem to be a perfect fit for our defense? I don't think Eric Berry should have a hard time transitioning since he already lights people up and creates turnovers
E. BEAR 4 HEISMAN!!!
kiffownsfla writes:
Mk is tha man!
rockytopatl writes:
This is the quote of the year. I'd love to gig my son like this:
“I went to work the next day, and I told Lane, ‘You realize Pat Summitt has won 1,000 games, and you haven’t won one?’ ”
OldSmokey writes:
Good read.
OldSmokey writes:
And for those that are not following CLK on Twitter. Here is his last post.
I will be busy for the next month. No more tweets till Sept 1. I will be GIVING MY ALL FOR TENNESSEE! Be ready, because we will be! GO VOLS!
http://twitter.com/LaneKiffinUT
hilltopper writes:
wish dad could control what his son says
oldsmokey67 writes:
I respect fulmer and what he accomplished.but it's time for the fulmer lovers to start backing lane kiffin.I really think once we build our depth on O-LINE&D-LINE we will be a force.GO VOLS.
KennyPowers_UTfan writes:
Monte Kiffin and the Vols have the edge aginst Florida on defense. Have you seen picturs of Tim Tebow this year. HE LOOKS FAT!!! TO Many trips to ESPY Awards shows! UT and Monte will rain supreme! Look how chubby Tebow is, LOL:
http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20...
y9since80 writes:
I dont think Fulmer was or is the coach Johnny Majors was. As far as coach Kiffen time will tell. As for myself I think were seeing the beginning of something really special.
flashbone writes:
if that doesnt fire u up u got one foot in the grave!!!!! cant wait for tebow to get the full monte.
txvolsfan writes:
What wouldn't you give to play D for this man???
WOW!!!WOW!!!WOW!!!
TommyJack writes:
Monte is an inspiration to geezers everywhere.
FranklinCo_VOL writes:
Here is a very good story out of Chattanooga about Monte and his work ethic. Enjoy and Go Vols.
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2009/j...
FlaVol2 writes:
I cannot wait until September 09 rolls around. Go Vols!!!
VolFanInTheBoro writes:
Gator troll
Whiskey_Wizard writes:
Been a Vol fan since my uncle lettered 4 yrs in a row. Let me tell ya boy, We gotta get some depth on the D and O line. One man gets hurt, it could get ugly. Monte is a genious but if Big D Williams, or any of the starters on D go down, we are in for big time trouble. Coach O --- Get us some big D linemen and O lineman. Without them, Next yr could be ROUGH!
OrangeMagic writes:
i thought that was Tebow and Spikes changing the tire on their tractor til I read the caption.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Geezers rule.
I bet he owns a skateboard.
commonsense32 writes:
There is no doubt we need depth on both sides of the ball where linemen are concerned, but it isn't as big of a concern as you think..
This isn't highschool where if your center goes down you are in trouble, if you lose a guy in college you have someone behind him who is probably equally as talented, only didn't get the breaks and with playing time,i.e. couple of games will be just as solid
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