2025-2026 College Football Thread

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by rwl04

Gruden wants nothing to do with the college game IMO, if he did he would have taken the Notre Dame job. I don't think he wants to be out on the road all the time going to see recruits and such.

I did hear rumors of Will Muschamp (HCIW at Texas) and Kirby Smart (DC from Bama) could be who Rocky Top is focusing on. If you do land Kirby Smart you are getting one hell of a coach. Florida State was going after him hard to be our DC since Mickey Andrews retired and he turned it down.

Tennessee will be fine, you had a solid recruiting class last year, and this year looks good too.

P.S. Shoulda kept Fullmer around a few more years...

Well, honestly I cannot say I blame Kiffin. I'm a huge UT fan but let's face it, this is a golden opportunity. SC is a more prestigious program, it will be much easier to recruit elite talent there, I'm sure he's getting paid more money, plus California is home to Lane. I mean how could anybody seriously blame him for jumping at the chance? SC did go after other coaches first but they turned it down.

[Chordata]

Kiffin and USC are a match made in heaven. They deserve each other.

As much as I dislike UT, they deserve someone better than Kiffin.

[Slec]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

Well, honestly I cannot say I blame Kiffin. I'm a huge UT fan but let's face it, this is a golden opportunity. SC is a more prestigious program, it will be much easier to recruit elite talent there, I'm sure he's getting paid more money, plus California is home to Lane. I mean how could anybody seriously blame him for jumping at the chance? SC did go after other coaches first but they turned it down.

While I see where you are coming from, this was a total dick move to the University and to the kids he recruited over the last 14 months. Does Garrett think he'll run a cleaner program than Carroll has been the last couple years?

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by rwl04

I did hear rumors of Will Muschamp (HCIW at Texas) and Kirby Smart (DC from Bama) could be who Rocky Top is focusing on. If you do land Kirby Smart you are getting one hell of a coach. Florida State was going after him hard to be our DC since Mickey Andrews retired and he turned it down.

Tennessee will be fine, you had a solid recruiting class last year, and this year looks good too.

I'd be curious if Muschamp would take the job. He's had plenty of opportunities but he's making plenty of money at Texas and seems to be comfortable there. Still, that head coach in waiting designation is a bit of a joke, Mack Brown is only 58 and has no intention of retiring so Muschamp could be waiting a long time. Kirby Smart might not have enough experience to be a major head coach at this point. He's only 34 and he's only got 2 seasons of experience as an FBS coordinator and before that he was mainly a position coach.

I wouldn't be so certain that this year's recruiting class looks good since none of the players have signed. I guarantee you all the SEC coaches were calling Tennessee recruits last night and trying to get them to de-commit. I wouldn't be surprised if Kiffin was calling his best recruits and trying to get them to follow him to USC. Tennessee needs to hire a new coach this week though, because the longer it takes the more recruits they will lose.

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

I wouldn't be so certain that this year's recruiting class looks good since none of the players have signed. I guarantee you all the SEC coaches were calling Tennessee recruits last night and trying to get them to de-commit. I wouldn't be surprised if Kiffin was calling his best recruits and trying to get them to follow him to USC. Tennessee needs to hire a new coach this week though, because the longer it takes the more recruits they will lose.

Apparently this is a dead period, so I hope the SEC coaches were NOT calling those early enrollees at UT.

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by Slec

While I see where you are coming from, this was a total dick move to the University and to the kids he recruited over the last 14 months. Does Garrett think he'll run a cleaner program than Carroll has been the last couple years?

Yeah but like I said, these opportunities do not come along everyday. The timing of this does suck but it's not entirely Kiffin's fault. There's no way that 14 months ago he could've foreseen all of the events that have transpired over the last couple of weeks. Carroll only just announced he was leaving USC and accepted the Seattle job last week and USC did go after other coaches first before approaching Kiffin. It's not like Kiffin was orchestrating some grand scheme. I'm just trying to remain rational amongs all the emotional Vol fans out there who are yelling for Kiffin to be burned at the steak. What should've Kiffin done? NOT take one of the most prestigious coaching jobs in the world for higher pay and in his home state at the risk of looking like a dick?

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by O_V_N

Apparently this is a dead period, so I hope the SEC coaches were NOT calling those early enrollees at UT.

I don't completely know what a dead period means, because after a Google search some places say coaches are allowed one call per week to a recruit, some places say no contact, but according to ESPN.com:

"Multiple sources have told Dave Hooker of the Knoxville News-Sentinel that former Tennessee recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron, who was already at work in USC's football offices last night, has called several of the Vols' early enrollees and told them not to attend the first day of class today. This should allow them to transfer to USC without having to sit out a year."

Now it may be different because these players were enrolled at the school, although class hadn't started yet. If Kiffin had waited a day to take the job and the early enrolling recruits had started class they would have had to sit out a year if they wanted to leave Tennessee.

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

I don't completely know what a dead period means, because after a Google search some places say coaches are allowed one call per week to a recruit, some places say no contact, but according to ESPN.com:

"Multiple sources have told Dave Hooker of the Knoxville News-Sentinel that former Tennessee recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron, who was already at work in USC's football offices last night, has called several of the Vols' early enrollees and told them not to attend the first day of class today. This should allow them to transfer to USC without having to sit out a year."

Now it may be different because these players were enrolled at the school, although class hadn't started yet. If Kiffin had waited a day to take the job and the early enrolling recruits had started class they would have had to sit out a year if they wanted to leave Tennessee.

They don't have to sit out because they haven't yet enrolled.

By "dead period," what I heard is that during this week, only coaches/staff for the university of the early enrollees can contact those early enrollees. Orgeron was arleady working for USC - not UT. Hence, if it's in fact a dead period, he already committed violations by contacting UT's players.

Again, it's just what I heard. Could be wrong. Still doesn't smell right, though.

[fatediesel]

Charles Davis, a Tennessee grad from Fox Sports was on the Dan Patrick Show this morning and he believes if Tennessee strikes out with their top choices they could turn to Phil Fulmer, who they fired last year. Fulmer is apparently still very popular with alumni and they'd rather have him than settle for a smaller name coach. I'd be shocked if this happened but Tennessee needs to get something done quickly and Fulmer wants to return to coaching.

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Charles Davis, a Tennessee grad from Fox Sports was on the Dan Patrick Show this morning and he believes if Tennessee strikes out with their top choices they could turn to Phil Fulmer, who they fired last year. Fulmer is apparently still very popular with alumni and they'd rather have him than settle for a smaller name coach. I'd be shocked if this happened but Tennessee needs to get something done quickly and Fulmer wants to return to coaching.

Funny that Fulmer wasn't good enough 14 months ago, but now? Well, now's a different story...

I hope he turns them down.

[Steelmaker]

IMO the person really to blame in all of this is AD Mike Hamilton for setting the barrier for departure so low on Kiffin's contract. Only an eight hundred thousand dollar buy out?!? Are you freaking kidding me?!? By comparison, Rich Rodriguez's buyout at Michigan is 7 million dollars!! Of course Mike H. is going to play the "I was blindsided" card but in my opinion he is in too high of a position and makes too much money to get "blindsided." Plus the fact that Kiffin was able to get out of his contract 3 weeks before signing day!! That's the worst part!

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

IMO the person really to blame in all of this is AD Mike Hamilton for setting the barrier for departure so low on Kiffin's contract. Only an eight hundred thousand dollar buy out?!? Are you freaking kidding me?!? By comparison, Rich Rodriguez's buyout at Michigan is 7 million dollars!! Of course Mike H. is going to play the "I was blindsided" card but in my opinion he is in too high of a position and makes too much money to get "blindsided."

Maybe Kiffin was only willing to sign if the buyout was that low, so your AD said "well, we better agree or we're screwed."

[Slec]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

IMO the person really to blame in all of this is AD Mike Hamilton for setting the barrier for departure so low on Kiffin's contract. Only an eight hundred thousand dollar buy out?!? Are you freaking kidding me?!? By comparison, Rich Rodriguez's buyout at Michigan is 7 million dollars!! Of course Mike H. is going to play the "I was blindsided" card but in my opinion he is in too high of a position and makes too much money to get "blindsided." Plus the fact that Kiffin was able to get out of his contract 3 weeks before signing day!! That's the worst part!

They are typically structured this way. The general rule of thumb is that a new coach has 3 years before their job is 'in jeopardy' for underperforming. The flip side is that if the coach becomes a hot commodity in that time it can be a leverage point in negotiations.

As a result, the buy-out for both sides typically go up each season (and may go down depending on length of time coached) so it may have been a $3M buyout in year 3 or 4. I don't know as I haven't seen the contract, but that seems typical.

No one expected him to be gone after 14 months

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by O_V_N

Maybe Kiffin was only willing to sign if the buyout was that low, so your AD said "well, we better agree or we're screwed."

Not likely. Kiffin was unemployed and not being pursued by anyone else. He was in NO position to negotiate tough terms. By all accounts, Hamilton had the upper hand and was in more of a position to dictate the terms of the contract.

This is such an embarassment for the program!

[fatediesel]

It looks like Kyle Prater, the number 1 receiver and number 2 overall recruit, will be going to USC and enroll Monday for classes. Prater was likely going to committ to USC until Carroll left and then was going to visit Tennessee, but now he gets the school and coach he wants.

This is just getting fun now. I'm starting to think everyone associated with Kiffin is scum. Per si.com:

Later Tuesday, Volquest.com reported that former Tennessee recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron -- part of Kiffin's advance team already in Los Angeles -- called several Tennessee commitments and offered them scholarships to USC. The site reported that several early enrollees, in the locker room for their first meeting with their new Tennessee teammates, turned on their speaker phones so other players could hear Orgeron. If that accusation is 100 percent true, it will enrage other coaches, who already hated the way Kiffin and his staffers flouted the written and unwritten rules of recruiting. Even in the cutthroat world of football recruiting, it's considered extremely bad form to leave a program and then try to raid your old school's recruiting class.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...html?eref=sihp

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

This is just getting fun now. I'm starting to think everyone associated with Kiffin is scum. Per si.com:

I agree; this is the most memorable offseason in recent memory.

And you're just now thinking that Kiffin and his lot are scum!?

Funny enough, it looks like Al Davis might've been right...

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by O_V_N

Funny enough, it looks like Al Davis might've been right...

Great line from Al Davis when Tennessee hired Kiffin:

"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."

Now he leaves Tennessee 3 weeks before signing day and leaves the team desperate for a new coach.

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Great line from Al Davis when Tennessee hired Kiffin:

"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."

Now he leaves Tennessee 3 weeks before signing day and leaves the team desperate for a new coach.

Who would've thought Davis was a real-life prognosticator!?

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by O_V_N

Who would've thought Davis was a real-life prognosticator!?

And a sane individual maybe he shouldn't be put out to pasture.

It keeps getting worse:

Espns' bottom line was saying they lost at least three 4 star recruits I couldn't keep up with the names.

Also that 5 star recruit WR.

[fatediesel]

Rumor is if Norm Chow leaves UCLA for USC then UCLA is going to target Mike Leach as the new offensive coordinator and install his air offense.

Chow leaving is nowhere near a done deal though. For one thing he doesn't get along with Lane Kiffin. He's going to want a huge salary and USC might not want to pay the money considering Lane's dad Monte is already the highest paid coordinator in college football. Chow is already making $690,000 a year and is due a $250,000 bonus on April 1 if he's still there, so he'll likely want at least $1 million a year.