Asked about Lane Kiffin on Friday, Jeff Fisher remained sharp-tongued when talking about the USC coach.
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Earlier this week, we explained to you why we believe Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel and Paul Finebaum of The Mobile Press-Register (and XM Satellite) wrote columns calling for the expulsion of Vanderbilt from the SEC:

They both know that “shocking” columns generate web hits.

David Climer of The Tennessean agrees with us.

On Tuesday we took issue with the fact that Finebaum claimed that he was insulted by Robbie Caldwell’s countrified performance at SEC Media Days.  We wrote:

“If you’ve ever heard some of the miscreants and crackpots who make up Fineabaum’s roster of regular radio callers, you’re probably just as surprised as I am to learn that he feels bad presentations are insulting.  If that’s the case, I’ve been insulted every time I’ve heard it.”

Climer writes in his blog:

“Uh, Paul, have you ever listened to some of your prized callers on air?  You’ve made a fortune off Moon Pie-mouthed mumblers that droned on and one about this and that.  I guess it’s different when you can take your self-righteous indignation straight to the bank.”

Here’s Climer’s summation:

“Full disclosure: Finebaum and Bianchi are friends of mine.  Both are very talented and very successful.

“And both of them know when to resurrect an old, tired, lame argument to fill space during the dog days of summer.”

Just as we told you on Tuesday.

Tennessee Titans Coach Jeff Fisher calls Southern California Coach Lane Kiffin unprofessional for hiring a Titans assistant without notifying him.
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Three years removed from a national championship, Les Miles is beginning to come under fire from LSU fans, who remind him that 9-4 is unacceptable in Baton Rouge.
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Now that Robbie Caldwell has won over the SEC press with his downhome tales and accent, it’s important to remember something Bobby Johnson said last week:

“Robbie, he tries to give you that hayseed act a little bit, but he’s a really smart guy.”

In other words, he’s not just some rube that Johnson pulled off a turnip truck.  There are many in Nashville who believe Johnson waited until mid-July to announce his retirement because he knew VU officials would have no choice but to name Caldwell as interim coach.

Head coaches like to groom their own successors.  There’s a reason Johnson wanted Caldwell to be the guy in Nashville.  And it wasn’t just his Mayberry personna.

Just seven coaches down, but we can go ahead and declare Robbie Caldwell as “Mr. Media Days” for this year’s gathering.  The best anyone can do is tie Vanderbilt’s personable interim coach for the title.

When national pundits like ESPN’s Pat Forde say, “By far the best press conference in SEC history by a brand-new head coach,” you know the guy has made a positive impression.

Bobby Johnson was a class act, but his media sessions were short-lived.  No one had questions for him.  They didn’t care.  Last year on the SEC’s weekly teleconference I once asked Johnson a question simply because I felt bad that no one else had.  It was a pity question for an SEC head coach.  Seriously.

Well, that won’t be the case with Caldwell.

Was he friendly?  So friendly and folksy that I expected the Darlings to show up and break out their bass, fiddle and jug behind him.

Was he entertaining?  The man talked about working on the “’seminating crew” at a turkey farm.  He drew laughs from the beginning of his session til the end.  He also showed true excitement over the opportunity now in front of him.  In addition, he had very warm remarks about Vandy recruit Rajaan Bennett who was killed before ever arriving on campus.  Caldwell actually got applause at the end of his session.  Unprecedented.

Was he honest?  Did I mention the part about the inseminating crew?  Caldwell emphasized the fact that he’d gone from lining playing fields to being a head coach in the SEC.  You couldn’t be more honest.

Personality — 5
Speaking Skill — 5
Honesty — 5

Total score — A perfect 15. 

I have no idea if Caldwell can coach.  And he’ll certainly have a hard time proving he can with Vandy’s roster.  But for a man who was having to replace a classy, popular coach in Bobby Johnson, Caldwell just hit a massive home run in his first-ever major press conference.

All hail, Robbie Caldwell… the surprise star of SEC Media Days.

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Caldwell was asked about any cultural adjustments that had to be made when he — so downhome in personality — arrived at Vandy:

“Well, I think it was a big adjustment for Vanderbilt… with my culture.”

Roars of laughter.

I hate to write this, but the more I enjoy Robbie Caldwell’s Southern wit, the more I’m afraid that some of the higher-ups at Vanderbilt won’t like being represented by a man who they might perceive as being a bit of a hillbilly.

That’s total BS if it’s the case because there are plenty of folks who can represent Vandy very well when it comes to academic circles.  But Caldwell might just bring some positive light to VU in terms of football coverage.

The guy is impossible not to like.

For example, here’s how he described his hometown of Pageland, South Carolina:

“You had to like watermelon ’cause it was the watermelon capital of the world WE proclaimed anyway.  You had to like huntin’ and fishin’, frog-giggin’.  I was scared to death of girls, so that didn’t interest me.  And I played ball.”

“I played basketball.  I was probably the worst that’s ever been but I played it so I didn’t have to go pour concrete.  That’s a fact.”

“My first hourly payin’ job was on a turkey farm.  I don’t know if I can tell you what my job was.  But… uh… I was on the ’seminating crew.”

Monster laughs.  One woman screamed with laughter.

Vandy repped by Andy Griffith.  Whoda thunk it?

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I’m not the only one impressed by Caldwell’s good ol’ boy personna.

ESPN’s Pat Forde says he “May get a standing O” from the assembled media.

Tim Tucker of The AJC tweets that “No one seems happier to be here” than Caldwell.

Here’s another example of his chat.  When asked if he’d had a “welcome to coaching” moment, Caldwell said no.

“I got asked on the radio, ‘Well what about all the coaches, have they congratulated you?’ And I said, ‘No, not a one.’”

Laughs from the crowd.

“I said, ‘They don’t know me.’  And they will.  I got to see Coach Spurrier today, Coach Richt… so they had no idea who I am.”

More big laughs.

Sadly, I wonder if some of the pointier heads in Nashville will be disappointed in having such a downhome feller representing Vandy with his thick Southern drawl.  I certainly hope that’s not an issue because Caldwell is winning over everyone in his media session.

UPDATE — Forde just tweeted the following:  “Forget the standing O.  Caldwell might get a group hug from the hacks.  Fabulously unguarded and Deep South funny.”

And Caldwell just drew howls with another “I’m so excited” tidbit:

“Think about it.  I go from linin’ the field to I’m a head coach in the SEC.  I’m telling ya what a thrill.  It’s a dream.  I can still walk in places and nobody know me.  Last night I was opening a door for people and they gave me a tip.”

Huge laughs.

Sorry, Richt… Caldwell’s going to be the week’s winner in terms of his media session.  Impossible to top this.

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Asked about his staff’s interim status, Caldwell said that “our coaches are professional and that doesn’t concern them one bit.”

Okay, I don’t buy that, but it gives you an idea of this guy’s upbeat demeanor and — dare I say — folksy charm.

“Vanderbilt will do the right thing.  They always have.  Our chancellor was an interim.  So, you know, I think people make more of that than (they) probably should.  I’m just thrilled to have an opportunity.  I told my wife if it’s two days or 20 years I will now be able to say, ‘Hey, I was a head coach one time.’”

Oh, this guy’s likeable.  He seems like a country boy Vandy just brought in off the street.  Who knows if he can coach, but he’s a big win so far at Media Days.

Caldwell is clearly at ease in a very foreign situation for him.  His upbeat, honest, aw shucks attitude will win over quite a few hardened media types.

As far as size, age, and his Southern drawl are concerned, Caldwell could have easily played a smalltown mayor or a good-natured sheriff on some black-and-white television show.

Surprisingly impressive so far.  Of course, this has nothing to do with coaching… but still, he’s making a good first impression.

Robbie Caldwell’s opening statement from his first SEC Media Days:

“The first question you’re asking is, ‘Who is Robbie Caldwell?’  Very few people know me.  I’ve been behind the scenes for a long time.  I think I’ve been an assistant for 30-something years, I really don’t know how many.  But… tremendous opportunity for me.  Obviously it was bittersweet.  Coach (Bobby) Johnson retired and I’m so tickled for him that he’s got good health. … I lost a good friend, of course, he’ll still be available certainly.  And football lost a great man, a great coach.”

“As far as the program goes, we are excited.  I am excited.  You can imagine being in my position after all these years and all of a sudden here it is.  And it happened just like you’ve heard.  None of us had any idea.  Coach had always told us that he would retire one day and be in good health hopefully. … A couple of hours after that I was informed that I would be the interim head coach and I didn’t know what to say.  I was so excited.”

For a first-time head coach at Media Days, Caldwell does not appear nervous at all.

TODAY’S QUESTION: Bobby Johnson’s retirement means Vanderbilt will be looking for a new coach after this season. In terms of the Big Six schools, where would you rate the Vandy job and how coveted a job is it?

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Vanderbilt’s Robbie Caldwell wants to prove he’s more than a placeholder until a permanent coach is found. Recruiting might depend on it.
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So much for my week’s vacation.

Reports in Nashville say that Vanderbilt football coach Bobby Johnson is resigning.

According to WSMV-TV “it is unclear why Johnson is leaving his position.”  An announcement from Vandy is expected this afternoon.  (UPDATE — Vandy’s press conference is schedule for 2pm ET.)

104.5 “The Zone” in Nashville believes the resignation will take place immediately and that either Ted Cain or Robbie Caldwell will be named interim coach.  ESPN suggests that Bruce Fowler might be named interim coach.

The 60-year-old Johnson has been at VU since 2002 and has led the Commodores to a win over rival Tennessee and to a bowl game victory.  Both wins snapped long negative streaks.

To resign just days before SEC Media Days leaves the Vandy team completely up in the air — if the resignation is immediate.

And to step down midsummer with no warning will lead most (including us) to believe that the decision relates to either:

a) Health issues

b) Family issues

c) NCAA issues

d) Some form of scandal

Update: Johnson says he’s stepping down for personal reasons – retiring at the end of the month. Robbie Caldwell is the interim head coach. Johnson said the decision was not prompted for health concerns for either himself or his wife. Johnson went 29-66 at Vandy.

And the speculation begins…

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Reaction to John Wooden’s death Friday:
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Yesterday, we wrote that Bobby Johnson could well have a lifetime contract at Vanderbilt if he wants it.  The man has made the Commodores more competitive and actually led them to a bowl win just two short years ago.

The fact that he’s done that a school that is as hamstrung as Vandy is impressive.

First, it’s not easy to accumulate talent at Vanderbilt.  A player has to be an excellent student as well as a top-notch football player.  Then if a player gets in to Vandy in the first place, he has to keep his grades up in a pretty tough academic environment.

Junior offensive tackle James Williams couldn’t do it.  It was announced yesterday that the ‘Dores’ top lineman is academically ineligible and will not return to the football team for academic reasons.

“Obviously, it’s a very big blow,” Johnson said.  “James was a very good player for us, event though we only had him for just a little bit of time last year (due to injury).

“We’re not in a situation where we could afford any kind of attrition on the offensive line, but it’s happened and we have to move forward.”

When outsiders view Johnson’s record, they should remember the uphill climb he faces in Nashville.

1.  He must find players who are academically eligible to get into Vanderbilt in the first place.

2.  He must find players who are academically eligible to get into Vanderbilt AND are SEC-caliber athletes.

3.  He must convince those players to attend a school that is academically grueling and that has a tradition of being the SEC’s losingest football program.

4.  He must keep those players academically eligible once they do arrive on campus.

5.  He must pray that injuries don’t damage his thin-to-begin-with depth.

6.  And he must do all of that while competing in the strongest league in America… a league that also has some of the easiest entrance standards (for every other school) among the BCS conferences.

Johnson’s job is by far the most difficult in the SEC.  And it’s only made tougher when solid players like Williams can’t keep their grades in order.

The conference expansion talk has now gotten completely out of control.  There’s legitimate coverage being given today to the possibility that Vanderbilt might flee the SEC for the Big Ten.

Of all the expansion scenarios out there, the ones involving SEC teams leaving the league are the most far-fetched.  That hasn’t stopped them from making headlines, however.

First came talk that Arkansas would be a natural fit for the Big 12 should that conference lose Missouri or Nebraska.  The idea being that Arkansas would be a better fit with its old rivals to the west.

Only a couple of issues with that — Arkansas already plays Texas A&M on a yearly basis and they willingly abandoned rivalries with Baylor and Texas Tech 20 years ago.  That leaves only Texas as an old rivalry in need of possible renewal.  As for the old Big 8 schools, the Razorbacks probably aren’t excited to start up rivalries with folks like Kansas State and Iowa State.

In addition, Missouri and Nebraska — if they leave for the Big Ten — will do so because they feel their cut of conference revenue isn’t as big as it should be.  So do you really think UA would jump into yet another new conference in hopes of making a lot LESS money than it makes now?

No.  Plus, the vast majority of Arkansas fans aren’t interested in switching leagues.

Then came a column from Ron Morris of The State newspaper in Columbia.  He said that South Carolina would be a better fit in the ACC than it is in the SEC.  That might look right if you’re using an atlas, but it has no basis with any green paper.

The ACC is struggling to find new television partners right now and there’s no way that the league can match the dollars of the SEC (or the Big Ten, for that matter).  It’s highly unlikely Carolina would want to make less money.

Mark Story of The Lexington Herald-Leader then suggested that Kentucky might want to push for admission into the Big Ten.  Granted, that league does make more cash than the SEC, but on a per team basis, that number is only about $5 million per year.  Will that difference go up or down if/when the Big Ten expands to 16 teams (which would have to be the case for UK to gain an invite).

Again, the chance of this happening is very, very slim.  UK was a founding member of the SEC.  For those who point out that Arkansas was a founding member of the SWC before it broke away, there’s one pretty big difference: The SWC was falling apart, the SEC is one of the two top leagues in America. 

Finally — following an ESPN report (ie: speculation piece) — The Tennessean in Nashville is reporting today that Vanderbilt has not been approached by the Big Ten.

“To my knowledge, and I think it’s solid, we have not received any inquiries from (the Big Ten),” said David Williams, Vandy’s vice chancellor of university affairs and athletics.

Of course they haven’t.  This is all speculation.  And folks are chasing after internet “I wonder if” pieces as if they’re legitimate news reports.

Just a couple of weeks ago, a Chicago sportswriter put forth an observation that the Big Ten MIGHT be speeding up its timeline in order to get teams in place for the fall season in 2012.  It was one writer’s speculation.

What followed was a series of reports — hundreds of them — that the Big Ten’s timeline HAD changed and that big shifts would be announced at the BCS meetings in Arizona.  As it turned out, nothing had changed.  There were no big announcements.

Yet here we are with the press running around trying to due diligence on every rumor and pipe dream scenario that’s put forth in cyberspace.

“If anybody thinks we’re in negotiations, rest assured we are not,” Williams said.  “I would be very, very suprised if the Big Ten came to us, and I would be very, very surprised if we’d leave the SEC.  We are a founding member of the SEC and that’s where most of our folks think that we belong.”

Arkansas, South Carolina, Kentucky, Vanderbilt…

No one’s going anywhere, folks. 

Get team-by-team schedules for next fall.
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Patriots Coach Bill Belichick came to a Vanderbilt practice to scout Myron Lewis, but it was Thomas Welch who apparently got his attention.
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Just five days before the NFL draft begins, Tim Tebow brought his cheerful disposition and positive outlook to an athletics banquet at Lipscomb University.
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Redshirt freshman Walker May had two of the Commodores’ five sacks as the defense sealed off the end zone during the first 13 series of the Black & Gold scrimmage under sunny skies this morning at Vanderbilt Stadium.
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The Commodores hold their annual Black & Gold scrimmage this morning at Vanderbilt Stadium, an intrasquad game that football Coach Bobby Johnson said will be more work than play.

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The Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, at LP Field and will air on ESPN.
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Junior Vanderbilt center AJ Ogilvy announced yesterday that he will be heading to the NBA and he’s not looking back.  The 6-11 Aussie plans to withdraw from classes soon and has already signed with an agency.  (Hmmm, could Vandy actually take an APR hit?)

As for regrets, he’s had a few.  But then again, to few to mention…

“I definitely have regrets, those two (first-round NCAA) tournament losses over the past three years will haunt me, but I had a lot of fun and we won a lot of big games, too.  My time here is done.  I’ve enjoyed it, but I think it’s time for me to start the next phase in my life.  It was a hard decision, but I think it was the right decision.”

His presser was far from a tear-filled, “I’m gonna miss Vandy” announcement.

“At the moment I think I’m going to be pulling out of classes and try to spend a little bit of time at home before I start going on workouts.  … In the long run, I want to try to go to school back home in Australia.  I’ll definitely get my degree, but I’m not sure if I’ll come back to Vanderbilt to do it or not.”

Ogilvy is not highly ranked in most mock drafts, so the big man could be heading toward a professional career overseas.  Australia, perhaps.

Despite the fact that Ogilvy will leave as Vandy’s all-time leader in free throws made, blocks per game and ranks 13th on the school’s all-time scoring list, David Climer of The Tennessee believes the player never lived up to his potential.

“From the outside looking, Ogilvy never appeared fully invested in this,” Climer writes.  “He arrived from Australia as a good player with plenty of potential but failed to take that next big step forward.  He was never the awesome Aussie that headline writers craved.”

Climer also read something into a statement released by Kevin Stallings regarding his former player’s NBA hopes: “Hopefully his agent’s projections of being a late first-round draft pick is accurate and he will have a long and prosperous NBA career.”

Climer’s take:  “Translation: There’s no way he goes in the first round and probably not in the second.  Better learn to speak a foreign language or two.”

Ouch.  But let’s keep in mind that this is a young man who was playing basketball on the other side of the world from his home.  Who knows what role that distance might have played in Ogilvy’s demeanor, drive and overall happiness?

Without him, next year’s Commodores will have rely on 6-11 Festus Ezeli, 6-9 Steve Tchiengang or two incoming freshmen to hold down their inside game.