Kiffin Makes SI’s List Of What To Watch This Off-Season

 Send This Story To A Friend

Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel has listed the 10 off-season college football stories that need to be watched carefully.

The SEC only makes one real appearance and it should surprise no one that it’s Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin that gets the spotlight.

As in “Who will Lane Kiffin tick off next?”

The blurb mentions the two secondary recruiting violations the Vols had to report in January, but not the third which came on Friday.

For the full mention you can click right here.



Tennessee fans don’t seem to be worried about their brash young coach or who he might tick off next.  No other fanbase would be worried about their situation if Kiffin was talking big for them, either.

That’s the nature of fandom.  First-year coaches get a huge honeymoon.  Winning coaches get bigger freedoms.  Just remember Steve Spurrier and his sharp tongue in the 1990s.

As of this morning, a Knoxville News Sentinel poll shows that 771 fans (25% of respondents) believe Kiffin will lead Tennessee to a national championship.  A whopping 37% like Kiffin’s start and approve of his stirring of the SEC pot. 

Another 23% are taking a wait and see approach.

Only 13% answered either that they have doubts or that Kiffin should have never been hired in the first place.



Debate the passion of Vol fans’ attitudes as you wish.  As I said, I think you’d see similar numbers if Auburn fans were asked if they believe Gene Chizik will bring a title to The Plains.

But I do believe some Tennessee fans are misguided in one area.  Several are now making the case for media bias in the SEC.  They point to the numerous secondary violations reported by other conference schools last year and wonder where the reporting was when those violations occurred.

The problem with that argument, of course, is that no other conference coach has ever publicly used the word “cheat” in connection to a fellow league coach.

Doing so brings more spotlight… and more snickers and ridicule when the accuser bungles a rule himself.

Personally, I believe the media has been a bit over the top with Kiffin.  But no more so than they would have been on any other first-year coach who’s entered the league with as much verbal splash as Kiffin has.

And when you’re the guy barking, you can’t complain when others start to pay attention.