Praise the LORD the snow is gone! We did get our little “mini” heat wave this week, which was FABULOUS and the snow melted! I can see my yard and driveway again!!!
This week we also got to say a big Good- Bye, good riddance to UT Head Football Coach Lane Kiffin or as some have been affectionately calling him, Lame Kitten. Now I know that this story has been totally played out in the media and will be blogged about by EVERYONE! However, since my bloods runs orange and white I feel that I need to get my 2 cents in there, so here goes!
Well, the news broke for me via a Facebook status on Tuesday night. A good friend and fellow UT faithful posted that Kiffin had jumped ship to USC to replace Pete Carroll who is going to give the NFL a go in Seattle (in an effort to keep the blog from being censoredI will not give you the exact wording). Well, needless to say I felt mad, sad, and most of all BETRAYED all at once. I never was a huge Kiffin fan, he always seemed to be a bit full of himself, however since he was the Coach of my Vols I had tried my best to support and believe in him. In return he totally runs out on us before SIGNING DAY. VERY BAD! I totally understood the riots (see video below) that happened at UT that night, they couldn’t hit Kiffin so they had to burn a mattress!
On a side note-1. How did they ever have time to put this montage together? 2. If you burn your mattress do they give you another one?
So after the news broke there was the long wait for the Kiffin press conference where Bless His Heart, he thanked us all generically.
Before we leave the Kiffin incident totally behind us I would just like to clear up one statement that Kiffin made during his USC press conference
NO we are not upset because you did such a great job! We are upset because you left 3 weeks BEFORE SIGNING DAY!!! Pardon my rant I just had to clear that up.
As a friend of mine said “He was a jerk when he came and he was a jerk when left” and I would have to say that I agree. I would like to personally say a generic thank you to Lane Kiffin for all the NCAA troubles he left behind. Way to mess up and leave UT to clean it up!!! Good bye Kiffin and please DON’T EVER COME BACK!!!
Now with Kiffin behind us it is time to focus on the future and Mike Hamilton’s search for the next Head Coach. My Dad and I were in daily phone contact discussing rumors, possibles, and news stories during the long 3 day wait till a new coach was announced. Names were flying everywhere, mostly of people turning it down. 1st Muschamp, the “Coach in Waiting” at Texas, turned it down, and then David Cutcliffe, former UT offensive Coordinator and now head coach at Duke, was apparently very close to a deal but then he withdrew his name. Things were looking pretty dark and we were getting closer and closer to the big recruiting weekend and then out of the darkness emerged . . . .
DEREK DOOLEY
And the Vol Nation said a collective “Who?” Okay, maybe I was the only one who said that, but seriously I had never heard of him. As it turns out he was the Head Coach at LA Tech, son of the famous Georgia Head Coach Vince Dooley and had coached and recruited under Nick Saban (for a complete bio please click here).
In the words of Phil Fulmer:
“The next coach should embrace Tennessee traditions, be mature and have integrity”
I am not sure if Derek Dooley has all these qualities but I could tell from his press conference that he is a man of some class.
Will Derek Dooley be successful at UT? That is hard to say at this point, but I do know that we all will have to give him time and a good chance. The first season out could be rough, especially given the recruiting set back. I do not want UT to become a University that plays musical coaches. So from one VOL to the rest lets all get behind Derek Dooley!!! Lets give him time (more than one season) to build a team and see where we can go.
In conclusion,
Welcome Derek Dooley!
&
GO VOLS!!!!!
We have not even kicked off yet and it has already been an exciting year.
No comments:
Post a Comment