kiffin to ut

Several reports Wednesday evening cited sources close to the University of Tennessee football coaching search as having confirmed that former Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin will be introduced at a news conference as the new Vols’ head coach on Monday, December 1.

Longtime Vols’ head coach Phillip Fulmer is set to coach his final game at Tennessee Saturday against Kentucky.

UT athletic director Mike Hamilton is believed to have been busy negotiating a deal with Kiffin this week. Former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron, who coached with Kiffin at Southern Cal, is rumored to be set to accompany Kiffin to Knoxville as one of his top assistants. Orgeron is widely renowned as a ferocious presence on the college football recruiting trail. Hamilton has stated that the ability to recruit nationally is among the top attributes UT is looking for in a potential head coach.

Kiffin, a 33-year old former college quarterback at Fresno State, has also been linked to openings this fall at Clemson and Washington. His father, Monte Kiffin, is a veteran college and NFL coach who now serves as the defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The younger Kiffin is primarily known as an NFL coach as well. He made headlines early this year when he was fired by controversial Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis after the two reportedly had different ideas about the direction of the franchise. Kiffin was 1-3 this year in his four games as the Raiders coach. He was 4-12 in 2007 in his one and only full season as a head coach at any level. 

At 31 years of age when first hired by the Raiders on January 23, 2007, Kiffin became the youngest head coach in NFL history and the youngest since 1969 when Hall of Famer John Madden, at the age of 32, was promoted by Davis to take over head coaching duties in Oakland.

Kiffin started his fast climb up the coaching ladder as a quarterbacks coach at his college alma mater in 1997. He moved on to coach the offensive line at Colorado State (1999-2000) before joining Pete Carroll's staff at Southern Cal in 2001 where his star really began to rise.

Kiffin was initially the tight ends coach at USC and became the Trojans' wide receivers coach the following year. He eventually became USC’s passing game coordinator and recruiting coordinator, and then replaced Norm Chow as Southern Cal’s  offensive coordinator in 2005.

While at USC, Kiffin helped recruit such national prospects as Steve Smith, Dwayne Jarrett, Patrick Turner and Mike Williams. Kiffin helped USC amass the number one-ranked recruiting class in America during his two seasons as the Trojans recruiting coordinator.

When Tennessee makes the hiring official, Kiffin will become the youngest head coach in all of Div. 1-A football, beating out Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald by six months.

More details on the Vols ongoing search for a new head football coach will be available in the coming days at seymourherald.com.