Based on the information he had, Mike Hamilton believed he got the right guy.
If the Tennessee athletic director had a mulligan and the knowledge he does now, Lane Kiffin probably never would have spent last season as coach of the football team.
During interviews both on-camera and off with ESPN's Outside the Lines on Thursday, Hamilton again admitted the experience with Kiffin last week influenced his decision to replace him with Derek Dooley. But he also reiterated that not everything about Kiffin's brief stop was negative.
"Unless people get amnesia, that was the coach everyone wanted," Hamilton said during a panel discussion of issues this month for UT. "He did some really good things recruiting nationally, with academics and our off-field discipline was better.
"It ended up not being a good cultural fit."
The way of life at Southern California was always the one Kiffin clearly valued most, and though the timing was a surprise, his desire to leave the Vols for a job there was not.
Essentially that added one more criteria for Hamilton's search, and he got what he wanted in landing a coach with ties to the SEC and an appreciation for the rich tradition at UT.
"(Kiffin) never felt comfortable here, he never felt at home here," Hamilton said. "I think he appreciated (Tennessee) more when he left than when he got here ... but it was going to take a little longer for him to understand this community.
"This job isn't about just coaching and recruiting - there's also an administrative/CEO type of function, all the extra stuff you have to do, (being) willing to sign the autographs, and do speaking engagements. Having also been an athletic director, Derek has a much broader understanding of those things (than Kiffin)."
That information perhaps would have been valuable 14 months ago, but that wasn't necessarily what the Vols were looking for then. With a do-over, Hamilton clearly made fitting in at UT a higher priority this time.
Mike Griffith contributed to this report.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 109
roloyo writes:
NO S***
Volumnus writes:
Duh, you think??? And that little Alice Davis incident in Raiderland did not give anyone a hint???
wvvolfan#270034 writes:
BRILLIANT!
firemanbill1#559085 writes:
well Forrest Gump could have figured that one out...
volzcrushm writes:
Kiffen obviously never went over to the Clampetts to swim in the cement pond!!!
NoSirRee writes:
I guess we'll just see how we'll do under this glorified interim head coach
GreatToBeAVol writes:
Why are we still talking about "him"? Let it go KNS. Close the chapter. It's over.
VolFanNC writes:
Please quit writing about him....let it go....he's gone, I'm glad he's gone...I don't care anymore....
AtLeastMyTeamHasPerfectSeasons writes:
Does it really say he felt LK did a better job with off-the-field discipline??
roloyo writes:
Good post. But 14 months ago....who really paid alot of attention to what Alice had to say? The guy "was" smarter than I thought. Man, this kool-aid taste like S*** now!!!!
FEARinSEC writes:
KNS, PLEASE STOP WITH ALL THE DAMM ARTICLES ABOUT KIFFIN!!!!
WE ARE READY TO MOVE ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AtLeastMyTeamHasPerfectSeasons writes:
At this rate, TN fans will know USC's recruiting class before the Vols' on here....
tnsportsman writes:
"It ended up not being a good cultural fit."
YOU THINK! Liar Surfer Dude! Hope he is flat in the middle of a Mud Slide right now, LOL.
OrangeDew writes:
Simple to take care of...don't read the article.
asleep#212036 writes:
Yeah, I think he did. Wow. Academics were better - for the first time in years, we didn't have to leave anybody behind for the bowl game. And Hamilton's right, you guys may have seen it but very few UT fans cared that he was an outsider or jerk. We had a better product on the field, period. Of course, his saying he left the place better off was true - up until the minute he left. Once that happened, we were in no wise better off. Maybe Hamilton will learn, Dooley certainly seems like a much better fit. Now can he recruit and/or coach? Go Vols!!!
HattiesburgVol writes:
Does KNS read these posts? If so, please listen to your customers/readers and stop the Kiffin articles. Again, we don't CARE!
volsoutlaw writes:
This article and all the talk actually makes us (south) look stupid. Coaching changes happen. Saban leaves LSU comes back to bama. Tuberville left Ole Miss for Auburn. It happens in Basketball also, going back to Fogler leaving Vandy for South Carolina. Get over it KNS, move on to covering the current team and stop re-living the past. You make me think of tabloid news when I come here sometimes, and that's not a positive comment.
jcp201 writes:
Unbelievably, he really did say that...
kdaff51 writes:
And he couldnt drive!
AtLeastMyTeamHasPerfectSeasons writes:
Well he don't need a license to catch a wave. A WAVE OF MUD IN SO-CAL! Come on rains, at least make his roof leak.
MidTennVol writes:
"This job isn't about just coaching and recruiting - there's also an administrative/CEO type of function, all the extra stuff you have to do, (being) willing to sign the autographs, and do speaking engagements. Having also been an athletic director, Derek has a much broader understanding of those things (than Kiffin)."
That information perhaps would have been valuable 14 months ago, but that wasn't necessarily what the Vols were looking for then.
---------------------------------
That wasn't necessarily what the Vols were looking for then?? Was it not part of the job suddenly when Fulmer left? Did those responsibilities just get added to the HC job description?
Somebody help me, I'm feeling light-headed.
Didn't you talk to him about these responsibilities, Mike? Isn't that part of a basic interview for this position? A fundamental part of the job as head coach of the football team at the University of Tennessee?
Or am I missing something here?
Seems like every other story I read here these past two weeks is written by Franz Kafka and I'm dragged into some burnt-orange Twilight Zone only to find myself flanked by Ernest P. Worrell on one side and Karl Childers on the other.
I don't think even Kafka could make this stuff up. Pass me some biscuits, Karl.
mdvol writes:
People say Kiffin used UT. Time will show that UT got the good end of this bargain. Kiffin helped put UT back on the map and we got rid of him before the s**T hit the fan. Look out SoCal. Careful what you wish for.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
This just in--- CLK just brushed his teeth... film at 11
FEARinSEC writes:
Please tell me you realized that a long time ago??
You know, once two strangers climbed ole ROCKY TOP....... Strangers ain't come down from ROCKY TOP, reckon they never will....
Liberal_Vol writes:
KNS. Report something that means something to UT going forward. Kiffin is simply old news.
Get over it finally! Jeeesus!
MidTennVol writes:
OutSTANDING riposte...
txsvol#372416 writes:
I think that Mike Hamilton was influenced by the "WOW" factor: big name coaches, like Monte Kiffin and others with significant pro and college experience would jump start our program. If my memory serves, during the first interview, 'The Punk' told Hamilton that even if he wanted to make him an offer then, he should not. He should interview his entire list and then, if he was the preferred choice, get back to him. 'The Punk' wanted no "buyer's remorse." I guess that he wanted no immediate buyer's remorse, just delayed buyer's remorse, which we now have exponentially raised higher than from any other possible hire of 14 months ago. 'The Punk' did recruit strongly while he wore Orange, but basically he was recruiting for himself, and not UT. As one of my friends from college days mentioned when I saw him a couple of years ago, and learned that he had been married five times, and divorced four. "I meet well, I just didn't wear well!" Same applies to 'The Punk soon to be called the Sewage Treatment facility!' I had serious questions when I learned that he was bringing Ed Orgeron along, because of his history of domestic abuse while at Miami a couple of decades ago, but I went along with the possibility that he had changed. But, all the stuff in his interviews with Mike Hamilton in October/November, 2008 were just what he needed to say to get the job, and were as false as Layla's front side! Go Coach Derek Dooley! Go Vols! SAVol
britt writes:
This article by the Department of Redundancy Department
jobrando#216494 writes:
News Flash--Kiffin took two dumps today
CapitolC writes:
Mike - I have a lot of respect for you - Count me as a solid supporter of yours. But I have to wave the BS flag here. Non sequitur
I understand your gentlemanly approach but this is a road you don't want to go down. If Lane Kiffin had wanted to stay here, he would have been able to make it work. I've lived and worked all over the world and I'm as culturally different from any of those places as any natural-born Ridge Runner.
If LK can hang around Ed Orgeron for extended periods of time, he would have no problem matriculating in Knoxville and thriving in UT culture, deeply immersed in the world that he loves, football.
volsfaithful writes:
I grew up in the north but lived in Knoxville for most of my life. I am in Washington DC now (having a job is nice, I can still retire in TN). I've seen fast paced New York and the people were fine, just different. I live in Northern Virginia - it's called that because it definitely isn't the South here. Knoxville is a great blend of people from all over, a great place to live, a great culture and people are proud of where they live! I'll never be a millionaire and I really don't care, but I work hard. I expect our new coaches will work hard AND to have integrity. If they can't coach, we go through it again a little slower at the right time. UT is now on the map again, right or wrong, LK did that, especially when he left. BUT, he took the dirty laundry with him so we didn't even have to clean house. Knoxville is a great place to live and to work and I look forward to watching UT football this fall with a coach that has intensity and a love for where he is, not where he wants to go. I think it will work out just fine. GO VOLS!
BigBadVol writes:
I was thinking the same thing? I don't remember previous armed robberies at UT under any coach.
Vol_in_GA writes:
Very astute observation, Hamilton...
american_pitvol_terrier writes:
I hate the comparison of Mongo to Orgeron. Mongo is one of my favorite child hood memories. "Mongo no go! Mongo love Sheriff Bart!" Glad he left, though. Bad news. Sheriff Garrett will reap the whirl-wind. Write it down, take a picture...I don't give a F! 3 different movies there.
crappieking writes:
Hamilton is over his head. Period.
ellerbee123 writes:
Let's ALL quit talking about Kiffin. He is where he wants to be, where he can recruit basically unchallenged and play powder puff football. He knew he could not handle the SEC -- the strongest, most competitive conference in college football.
volsmith writes:
Hamilton: "Unless people get amnesia, that is the coach everyone wanted."
Hah, what a joke! That is surely not the coach I wanted. Brian Kelly or others would have been a much better choice.
I'm afraid Hamilton may have made the Dooley hire in desparation, but I think it will turn out to be a better hire than the Kiffin debacle.
newportvol writes:
Did you hear the news? Layla Kiffin finally speaks out: Layla Kiffin says Knoxville fans had it in for her husband from the day they arrived. She says that every store she went to had "Fire Lane" painted in the parking lot! UT officials now state they will not hire anymore coaches with blonde wives!
go_vols_go writes:
Kiffin is old news. This article just reiterates what everyone already knew about the man. Time to get in the Dooley Daully and put Kiffin to sleep.
VOLtage writes:
I miss all the wonders I thought he was gonna do here.
ARMY_VOL writes:
No kiddin' Hammy! And in an unrelated story the head of the Knoxville Jewish Synagogue admitted that it was probably a bad move to invite the President of the local pork council to speak at his son's Bar Mitvah.
murrayvol writes:
Not in a B cup.
sstirrer writes:
Dear God,
In the past year you have taken my favorite actor Patrick Swayze, my favorite actress Farrah Fawcett, my favorite musician Michael Jackson, my favorite news anchor Walter Kronkite, my favorite athlete Steve McNair, and my favorite tv pitchman Billy Mays. I just wanted to let you know my favorite coach is Lane Kiffin.
Thank You,
AVolFan
FEARinSEC writes:
Well, you will be missed.....
(sarcasm intended)
tennisvol writes:
In the end, I think many people feel Hamilton made a bad decision in bringing in Kiffin. The Raiders organization tried to tell everyone but I guess him bringing his dad and ole coach O was just too much of a good thing. Raiders statement about Kiffin in Tennnessee - - "Lane Kiffin is a flat-out liar. He lied to the team, he lied to the fans, and he lied to the media. He will try to destroy that university like he tried to destroy the Raiders." I don't guess Hammy got the message in time.
TommyJack writes:
Mikey was on ESPN today talking about the "cultural fit". If KNS had NOT reported on it, you same people would have been carping about it. Fickle.
volsoutwest writes:
Now that's pretty funny, Newport.
tnsportsman writes:
I swear Layla looks just like a stripper I met off I-75 outside Gainesville working at a strip joint 12 years ago. She said her famous daddy had cut her off and she was making her own money as a FL college student. I so wish I had a picture confirmation! LOL
ARMY_VOL writes:
Between Army depolyments with the Reserves and trying to get caught up on work post-deployment, I haven't spent a lot of time on this site in the last couple of years. That said, your post renewed my confidence that at least a fraction of the posters actually attended college. Your Kafka reference was classic. I'm setting the over/under on the number of people who actually got it at 10. This was a far more cerebral site when it wasn't free. Oh and I'm setting the over/under on the trolls who get it at 1. Thanks for the laugh.
ARMY_VOL writes:
Denamrk...read my repsonse to Bolivar who responded to you. I meant that response for you, but like I said in my response...long hiatus. My mistake. Great post
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