Chest-bumped to the front.  A thorough writeup of a first impression by XRayVol.  [Note by hooper, 12/01/08 9:53 PM EST ]

I've been uncharacteristicly quiet about this this whole situation for a while because I was trying to sort out all my feelings about it. Ugh...feelings. Bleck!  Anyhoo...  I was also waiting to see who the new coach was going to be and gather my thoughts about him. I've seen. I've gathered. Here we go.

Firstly, I, as I'm sure most of us do, mourn the loss of The Papa. He was truly a great man and a great coach and I for one will sorely miss him. And yes, I cried when they carried him off the field. I don't care who anybody thinks they are, if you're a true Vol fan that was a VERY emotionally charged moment. Just ask Kiffin. He cried too. Or so he said. A great era has ended and it should be revered and honored as such. I wish Coach nothing but the best and hope to see him return as an intregal part of the University and the Program. So does Kiffin. Or so he says. And as of right now, that's enough of that.

I was wary of the hire. Who will it be? Will he be right for us? Will he become a true Tennessee man? So forth and so on. I heard all the rumors about Kiffin being the guy and I began to hope that he wouldn't take the job just as an opportunity to re-establish himself as a springboard back to the NFL. That was my first and major concern. Yes, he's unproven as a head coach. But so was Fulmer when he got the job. Yes, he's relatively unknown to us as far as his ability and direction. But so was Fulmer. I had questions. I'm sure we all did. And even after the conference, still do. But I watched the conference and now I have fewer questions and a little more insight into this man, and a little more confidence I think.

I was eager to watch Layne Kiffin's news conference (just so y'all know, I'm a huge Alice In Chains fan and will be spelling his name this way for the forseeable future. Anyone familiar with Layne Stayley? If so, you understand) in order to gain some insight into our new coach, as I'm sure we all were. I went into it with a measure of skeptisism and came out with a measure of optimism.

I was impressed. With several things I hoped to see from him. He appears to have a great respect for the University and all it's tradition and meaning. He appears to be awed, and rightfully so, by the sheer emotion that pours from each individual member of the Tennessee family and the immeasurable importance that the program has for us. I was wondering about that and am now satisfied with his response to it. He also seems to have great respect for Papa, which I was also hoping for as that is an imoprtant measure of him for me. So far, so good. I wondered about just how prepared he was for taking his place in the unparalled tradition, history, and atmosphere of not only our University but our conference as well. He appears to not only be prepared but very excited as well. Okay. Good. Keep going. On top of that, I got an impression that he is, at least for now, quite humble about his place in all of that. Again, me likey. I was worried about just how seriously he would take this new position in our football world or if it would be just another job for him. He appears to be taking this all very seriously, which is important, very important. He needs to realize that this ain't just some thing you do to pay the bills. This is Tennessee Football son, and it's your life now. Obviously, there'll be moments in the coming future that'll bring that home to him more convincingly but he seems to be looking at it the right way, which will be imortant for him very soon.

I think I hoped more than anything, that he would realize the greatness of the opportunity that he's just been given in the capacity that it's one that could potentially not only make his career but also give his life stability and a home. A place for him to flourish and know that he's a very central part of something important that spans millions of lives. Something that gives countless people hope and inspiration. Other schools have a fan base. We have a Big Orange Nation. A Big Orange Family. And he is now our patriarch. I hope he understands the power of that, and the potential of it.

I was worried about the whole, "is he just using us?" thing. But I was quite taken with something he said. I'm trying to hold it at face value because it could just be a hook he was throwing out, but it was almost as if he knew what I wanted to hear.

"My agents won't like me for saying this, but... I'm not going back to the NFL. Not because of what I think of the NFL but because of what I think of Tennessee and being at this place."

Oh, you sweet talkin' ...  I had to smile just a little bit. And then there was the thing about him not wanting to move anymore and not wanting to move his kids because he knew what that was like. Hmmm...  Just what I wanted to hear. I just hope he means it. Especially if things don't go too well right away. Which they probably won't. But to hear it was nice. So I'll give him a little leeway because he said the right things and seemed to mean them. We'll see.

Bottom line: I went into the news conference with a bit of a scowl. And came out of it with a bit of a smile.  He seems to want to recruit hard and play hard and restore the competition among the players that I think we've been lacking as of late. He runs a pro-style offense instead of that stupid spread, which I didn't want anywhere near Knoxville (sorry Mike Leach). It's a gimmick and it's time is fading. The I-form, punch in the mouth, hard nosed football is everlasting and it should always be Tennessee Footbaw.

So Welcome Layne. Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast. Go out there and prove that you're the guy. I'm beginning to think you might be. We may have just gotten very lucky. Either that or Mike Hamilton isn't the bozo he seems to be. I'm going with the lucky thing. Either way, I've become a lot more open to the new era of Tennessee Football.

GO VOLS!!!!