Adams: No promises, just wins for Chizik

Until Tennessee and Auburn changed coaches after last season, this week's get-together at Neyland Stadium could have passed for a family reunion.

The Vols and Tigers had become virtual twins. They had so much in common, it's a wonder, SEC commissioner Mike Slive didn't investigate them for collusion.

They began stumbling in lockstep before the 2008 season when they hired new offensive coordinators, who immediately overhauled their respective offenses. Both offenses got worse with time. Both teams finished 5-7. Both programs fired their longtime successful head coaches and replaced them with coaches with losing records.

When new UT coach Lane Kiffin and new Auburn coach Gene Chizik hired high-profile, high-paid coaching staffs, the merger appeared intact.

Then Kiffin opened his mouth. And Chizik didn't.

Programs that mirrored one another for almost a year couldn't have hired more different personalities. You just couldn't tell it by their deadpan expressions.

The expressions rarely change. But if you look closely, you might detect a smirk lurking behind Kiffin's facade.

If you look past Chizik's stoicism, you see more stoicism.

Since signing on with UT, Kiffin has become ESPN's go-to sound bite. Chizik has become the coach in waiting for the witness protection program.

Kiffin is on ESPN so much, he might as well have his own reality show. Chizik is a prop for his celebrity assistants.

Curtis Luper is the assistant coach in charge of recruiting via Hummer. Trooper Taylor is the assistant coach in charge of sideline theatrics. Gus Malzahn is the assistant coach in charge of a madcap offense that is basically a two-minute drill extended over four quarters.

TV cameras show Malzahn and Taylor so much on the sideline, a casual observer might mistake them for co-head coaches. Between plays, you see Malzahn fidgeting like a third-base coach. When the plays work, you see Taylor chest-bumping everybody but the mascot.

While observing the Malzahn-Taylor show, I concluded Chizik and Kiffin actually might have something in common. If either one is struggling with insecurity, he's masking it brilliantly.

Some head coaches would be too insecure to hire a staff with as many high-powered assistants. Chizik has not only hired them. He has turned them loose.

Kiffin's chutzpah was evident from his first press conference when he fired his initial potshot at the defending national champion Florida Gators. Since then, he has been reprimanded by the SEC, derided by opposing fans, and beaten by The Gators.

But he hasn't stopped firing - or smirking beneath the surface.

Kiffin is assembling a top-five recruiting class and getting so much publicity from a 2-2 start, you would think the Vols were 4-0. The Tigers are 4-0, and just two victories shy of being bowl eligible.

So the two programs have achieved a parcel of common ground as they prepare for Saturday's meeting. They're both making progress.

One is just making more noise in the process.

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