Brazen coach Lane Kiffin is winning few friends in his new - 02.16.09 - SI Vault

Candid write-up on Lane Kiffin

about 3 years ago rblakeh 8 comments 5 recs |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Must-read

Very candid, very informative…and dare we say, very favorable.

by Will Shelton on Feb 11, 2009 2:51 PM EST reply actions

Really enjoyed this one

Unlike some of these writers, this guy gets it.

by bsmithinc on Feb 11, 2009 3:25 PM EST reply actions

Yea

He took the time to actually research the situation rather than recycle the same quotes.

by Getoffmyvols on Feb 11, 2009 3:40 PM EST up reply actions

Yes, very good read

“Here’s the point: We need to win. That’s 25 minutes that Nick Saban and Urban Meyer had that I lost because somebody was late picking me up at the airport.”

Talk about intense.

by Getoffmyvols on Feb 11, 2009 3:25 PM EST reply actions

I loved that comment

That is the attitude that will get this program back in the top five every year and contending for a MNC.

by CityOrange on Feb 12, 2009 1:11 PM EST up reply actions

o.O

One of his rules requires that players sit in the first or second row at every class. If a player sits in even the third row, he’s marked as absent and faces time on the StairMaster as punishment.

by David Hooper on Feb 11, 2009 4:27 PM EST reply actions

As far as I can tell, the comments that I have read dealing with Kiffin’s work ethic and the ethic he inspires from others are very promising. From decking himself in orange head to toe to get Orgeron to the 5am workouts, I can tell that a mighty change is coming.

It may not be the Tennessee football we are used to, I was raised on Fullmerism, but it will the best prepared team that we can hope for. I am completely confident, even more so after reading this article, that Kiffin’s Chimera will create a work ethic that will not be paralelled by any other program. We have plenty to look forward to and I truly think that the discipline and the hard work instilled in our Vols will show through from the first snap of the season.

Keep up the good work on this site. This is only my second posting and the burning orange keeps me warm up here in Boston since I moved from Tennessee three years. ago.

by BeantownVol on Feb 13, 2009 4:18 PM EST reply actions

WOW

“Last year we didn’t start running until February. And there’s more discipline now. We can’t wear earrings or jewelry or headbands. One thing I’ve noticed is how hard the guys are pushing, trying to make a positive first impression. It’s tougher than it was, but no one’s complaining.”

Kiffin’s efforts at discipline aren’t confined to workouts. One of his rules requires that players sit in the first or second row at every class. If a player sits in even the third row, he’s marked as absent and faces time on the StairMaster as punishment. “I was in my 8 a.m. math class the second day we came back,” says All-America safety Eric Berry. "I’m the only player in there. Afterward my classmates start coming up to me. ‘Dude, did you see Kiffin?’ He’d come to the rear door and poked his head in to make sure I was there. Before, the coaches would send the weight-room guys or graduate assistants to check. But this was the head coach.

This was my biggest problem with Fulmer….lack of discipline and his teams always had a softness aboout them because of it. And, that late 3rd and 4th quarter, when we were always wearing down is where conditioning comes into play. If you’re gonna play smash-mouth football in smash-mouth conference, you’d better have a smash-mouth coach.

by jacknr3 on Feb 19, 2009 3:21 PM EST reply actions