Whom Should Tennessee Hire to Replace Kiffin?

Pete Carroll shocked the college football world when he left USC for the Seattle Seahawks and Lane Kiffin stunned Tennessee fans when he left Knoxville to replace Carroll. Drive through Tennessee’s campus right now and you will literally see people running around and throwing things in the streets. The famous “Rock” has all kinds of curse words on it and every Tennessee message board is filled with Tennessee fans voicing their displeasure. What was Kiffin’s statement to Tennessee fans?

"This was not an easy decision," he said in a press conference on Tennessee's campus. "I really believe this is the only place I would have left here to go."

Translation: “I was never going to retire as the coach of Tennessee and would leave the Vols for the NFL or USC.”

If you were convinced that Kiffin was going to retire at Tennessee, you need to take off your orange-colored glasses. The shocking part is most fans were hoping that if Kiffin left for the NFL or USC, it meant that the program was in good shape. Now that Lane has slapped Tennessee fans in the face, where should Mike Hamilton turn? Keep in mind that Tennessee’s recruiting class will suffer a huge blow and this class could go from a top-five class to a top-30 class. Keeping in mind that the Vols will lose a lot of recruits and have to find a quarterback and offensive line, here are the coaches Hamilton should go after:

• Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech): This will not be the name that everybody agrees with, but is there a better X’s and O’s coach than Johnson? Kiffin is known as a great X’s and O’s coach for his great work with quarterback Jonathan Crompton, but Johnson is better in that category. You will hear pundits say that Johnson’s offense can’t work in the SEC. Keep in mind that his triple option offense was questioned when he was in the ACC and Georgia Tech won the ACC this season, thanks in large part to his dominating offense. With no proven quarterback, this would be a great offense to convince recruits to sign with the Vols now. How good would former Alabama quarterback commitment Blake Sims look running this offense? If you pair Sims, or any other mobile quarterback, with Bryce Brown, David Oku, Toney Williams and two good receivers in Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore, you would have one very explosive offense.
• Gary Patterson (TCU) – This defensive genius just signed an extension with TCU, but Patterson would jump at the opportunity to coach in the SEC. He might not have the top-five recruiting classes that Kiffin had at Tennessee. His advantage is he would be able to shut down most offenses in the SEC, including Arkansas and Florida.
• Jon Gruden (ESPN) – MrSEC.com reported today that he has already been contacted by UT officials. Some have questioned if Gruden would really want to deal with 18-year old brats, but keep in mind that Gruden admitted recently that he almost took the job as the offensive coordinator at Oregon. This would be a big-name hire that would help out in recruiting.
• Bobby Petrino (Arkansas) – He left the Atlanta Falcons in a similar way that Kiffin left Tennessee and he would leave any school for the right amount of money. Petrino’s offense would be more productive than Tennessee’s last season and it would hurt Arkansas and give the Vols an advantage in recruiting.
• Will Muschamp (Texas) - He is waiting for Mack Brown to retire at Texas, but he would love to get the opportunity to coach at an SEC school. He has plenty of ties to the SEC and Tennessee fans would love his intensity. Muschamp is a strong recruiter and the defense would not take a huge hit with Muschamp replacing Kiffin.

Those are the names that I would go after and you will hear more and more obscure rumors as the days go on. MrSEC.com also reported that Tennessee officials are headed to Oxford to talk to Houston Nutt. Hamilton was a big fan of Air Force’s Troy Calhoun after he fired Fulmer, but Hamilton can do better. One coach that would jump at the chance to coach the Vols is former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. The only problem with that hire is the fact that Hamilton might be shoved in an electrical closet in Neyland Stadium if Leach is hired. Here’s hoping the rioting stops in Knoxville and we will bring you more information, assuming that the offices of Hard Knox Sports don’t get burned down by rabid Tennessee fans.