Loyalty Becoming A Relic

A-Track tapes, vinyl records, S&H Green Stamps, the Wing T Formation, the "New Coke", all of these things have gone into the scrap heap of history. After today, you can put one other thing in the pile: Loyalty! It's a relic.

Fourteen months ago, Tennessee named former Oakland Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin as the Vols' new skipper. He came in excited about the opportunity to coach the Vols. He was already to sing "Rocky Top" after beating Florida (except he didn't beat the Gators). He tried to bring attention to the Tennessee Program. Some of that attention was not good. He went a little too far at times.

However, under Kiffin's leadership, the 2009 season for Tennessee saw marked improvement from Philip Fulmer's last year. Quarterback Jonathan Crompton vastly improved his Senior season under Kiffin. the team went 7-6 with a trip to the Chick Fillet Bowl. Even though they lost that Bowl game to Virginia Tech, things seemed very bright for the future for Rocky Top & Company. That is, until today.

With former USC Head Coach Pete Caroll bolting for the NFL, the Trojans were in a hurry to find the next man. Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Jack Del Rio was thought to be the top candidate. Current Oregon St. Boss Mike Riley was also a candidate until he turned the Trojans down. Then, the Council of Troy turned to Knoxville to a former assistant. It was too much of a temptation for Kiffin to resist.

Everything was in place for a resurgence of success for the Tennessee Football Program. Recruits were poised to don Big Orange unis. Now, they are in a lurch. We think it wrong when a team fires its head coach after one year, like in the case of Jim Mora Jr. being fired from the Seattle Seahawks after just one season. When coaches like Lane Kiffin make an about face after one season, making a multi-year contract about as valuable as toilet paper (assuming Kiffin's contract with Tennessee was a multi-year contract), that gives athletic directors and general managers the excuses they need to fire their head coaches after only one year (or sometimes even less).

The problem is that there is no such thing as loyalty anymore. Come one , Lane! Tennessee was loyal to you. They were willing to put up with your antics last Spring because they had faith in you that you could restore pride and respectability to the program, which , to a certain extent, you did. I'm sure your contract was for more than 14 months. Now you turn your back on Mike Hamilton, the administration, and most of all, your players. You did the very thing to Tennessee that Al Davis did to you. This reminds me of Dennis Franchione's dumping of Alabama to go to Texas A&M. Franchione told his players to "Hold on to the Rope". Interesting, since that happened, Alabama won a National Title and Franchione is now a color commentator for Westwood One's College Football radio broadcasts. You'd better come through for the Trojans, Lane, because there's always room in the broadcast booth.

Many recruits and fans believed in Lane Kiffin. They have been betrayed. It's true that Kiffin is familiar with the USC program being that he worked there and he knows the recruiting landscape. There is also rumors that USC is trying to get former Trojans Off. Coordinator Norm Chow away from arch rival UCLA, where he currently serves in that capacity. that would probably be a good fit since Chow has a reputation of making good QBs into great ones. Current Trojan starter Matt Barkley is a good quarterback.

All that having been said, this is still not right when everyone at Tennessee was loyal to Kiffin and believed in him. One other thing, what about his family? this is the second cross-country move in two years. The emotional toll his wife and kids must be taking. they were adjusting to life in Knoxville, in the South, and in the SEC. The kids were making new friends at school, and now they are being uprooted again. LSU Head Coach Les Miles was rumored to be going to Michigan after the departure of Lloyd Carr. Miles is a Michigan alum. He could have easily gone there if in fact they offered him the job, but he decided to be loyal to LSU and to keep his family grounded and stable. One caller on a sportstalk show here in Atlanta said that "in the South, loyalty means something". Lane Kiffin did not learn that lesson. Lane, you had a good thing going at UT. If things don't go well in Los Angeles and you are without a job, you'll rue the day you stabbed Rocky Top in the back.