Bryce Brown is soooo predictable

Remember Bryce Brown? Last year's top prospect nationally (according to Rivals) who sort of committed to Miami, sort of decommitted, then dragged out his recruitment forever before finally signing with Tennessee?

He and top-ranked all-purpose back David Oku both ended up in Knoxville after deciding that they really loved the recruiting process (I like to picture the two of them at McDonald's, staring at the menu for 10 minutes because they can't decide what they want). I said this exactly one year ago yesterday:

Brown and Oku might both be upstanding young men, but what are the odds one of these guys transfers by his junior year? 99 percent?

In hindsight, 99 percent might have been a little low. According to VolunteerTV, Brown is no longer a part of the team at Tennessee and is looking to transfer, possibly to Kansas State. If you're wondering (rightfully) why anyone would want to play at K-State, Bryce's older brother (and a former stud linebacker recruit himself) Arthur just transferred there from Miami. And if you're still wondering why anyone good would want to go to K-State, the Browns grew up in Wichita. Family matters, I suppose.

It's times like these when I fantasize about a casino where I can place bets on things like "Will Bryce Brown graduate from the University of Tennessee?" I need to call the State Gaming Board about this.

Anyway, Derek Dooley goes for the understatement of the year:

“(He has) concerns that I believe stem from -- and he told me stem from -- No.1, some of the reasons why he came here, and No. 2, his experience over the first six months he has been here. ... He’s dealing with a lot of issues.”

Indeed. This is what happens when you have a less-than-respectable agent/handler/manager from the time you're a junior in high school and never learn how to make decisions for yourself.

Wherever he ends up, I just hope it's where Bryce Brown wants to be and NOT where Brian Butler wants Bryce Brown to be. And I hope he sticks around long enough to get some use out of his gobs of talent -- if he doesn't, I'll probably look back in a couple years and regret wasting so much time writing about him.

Bryce Brown has a handler

If you follow recruiting closely (or much at all), you're probably somewhat familiar with Bryce Brown. He's a running back out of Wichita, Kan., who happens to be the top-rated player in the country, according to Rivals.

Brown has had kind of a wacky recruitment -- after committing to Miami last year, he apparently reconsidered and chose to delay his decision beyond Signing Day. He is now scheduled to make an official announcement on March 22, and at least one more official visit (to Tennessee) is on his itinerary between now and then.

Brown's older brother, Arthur, was a five-star linebacker last year who ended up at Miami. During his commitment, a guy named Brian Butler appeared on the scene as the brothers' "manager."

Butler has since become prominent in the Midwest as an organizer of high school camps, spokesman for various recruits and a personal trainer (although at 5-foot-8, 350 pounds, Butler may not be the best guy to go to for health advice).

The New York Times recently did a little research on Butler and uncovered some interesting tidbits:

In his representation of about 30 players from around Kansas, Butler has upset many local high school coaches. They say he persuades players to skip school-organized summer workouts in favor of his own — an assertion Butler denies. Coach Brian Byers of Wichita East High School said he suspected Butler of telling the Brown brothers to “shut it down” in games once they piled up big statistics.

Additionally, Butler has been selling website subscriptions for information on Brown's recruitment. It probably goes without saying, but this is bad.

“We’ve got to the point where a handler or a street agent starts a Web site to charge money for an update,” said Tom Luginbill, the national recruiting director for ESPN and Scouts Inc. “I’m not in line with that. I think that is a precedent that could become very scary and very ugly.”

Bryce Brown, who graduated from Wichita East a semester early, said he did not mind that Butler was trying to profit from their relationship.

“If there’s anybody that needs to be making money off of me, it needs to be the person that’s put the time in,” he said.

I think the worst part is that Brown realizes he's being exploited, and he doesn't even care becuase of his twisted understanding of loyalty.

Butler's version of the story, of course, is that he's just trying to help these kids out. But we all know what's really going on -- the coaches certainly know:

Many coaches in the city of Wichita have discouraged or prohibited Butler from training their players, and Butler acknowledges that most of his business comes from the suburbs.

If Butler was truly making these players better through training while helping them land scholarships -- which would also help promote the high school -- don't you think the coaches would be a little more cooperative?

The reasoning for this "discouragement" quickly becomes even more obvious a little further into the article in regard to the recruitment of a running back named Huldon Tharp.

Tharp's coach, Dave Fennewald, was attempting to help him land a scholarship by sending out tapes, calling college coaches, etc. But when Butler told him that Tharp had been offered a scholarship by Miami, he was "very surprised."

Tharp said he never knew Miami was recruiting him as a fullback. Late Tuesday night, Tharp said that he never received a written scholarship offer from Miami. He said he “was just talking to them.”

Asked if Butler told him that he was going to tell people that he had a Miami scholarship offer that did not technically exist, Tharp said, “Yeah.”

Late Tuesday night, Butler said he spoke to a Miami assistant, who told him that he had verbally offered a scholarship to Tharp. “There’s not a problem,” Butler said, adding, “It’s a 100 percent fact that he was verbally offered.”

Miami officials confirmed twice late Tuesday that they did not offer Tharp a scholarship.

It's one thing to push and prod a little to help a guy find a place on a D-I roster, but it's quite another to flat-out lie in an attempt to gain publicity. Butler has also had the requisite "unsuccessful business ventures," including a failed career as a rapper, a forgery conviction in 1997 and a warrant for unpaid state taxes this year.

This has been a problem for years in college basketball -- players have "handlers" or "mentors" who leach onto them at the first sign of success and exploit them to land jobs with colleges or camps, where they can hook up with even more talent in an effort to ride someone's coattails to fame and riches.

College football has been remarkably free of these guys, but unfortunately, it appears that those days are coming to an end.

You already know this

Uber-recruit Bryce Brown is a Tennessee Volunteer.

It seems only fitting that two of the most controversial and talked-about figures this offseason, Brown and Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, will end up together in Knoxville.

Regardless of your opinions about either one, this is a pretty big score for Kiffin, and the main reason I think that he ultimately will be successful -- he's surrounded himself with excellent assistants who are even better recruiters, as evidenced by pulling in both Brown and top-ranked all-purpose back David Oku (although Florida fans believe it has less to do with recruiting prowess and more to do with LOL TENNE$$EE cheaterz!!!).

But if he's going to build his offense around these guys, Kiffin better hope that Brown and Oku are more decisive on the field than off it. In case you're not familiar with Oku:

The prep running back who delayed his decision past national signing day, and then moved from an Oklahoma high school to a Nebraska high school, and who visited Auburn three times, stuck with the school he originally committed to a long time ago.

Brown and Oku might both be upstanding young men, but what are the odds one of these guys transfers by his junior year? 99 percent?

Catching up: We're almost there

* Just about everyone who hadn't picked a quarterback as of last weekend has picked one now. Tennessee is going with Jonathan Crompton (no surprise there), Texas A&M is going with Jerrod Johnson (also no surprise, although ex-receiver Ryan Tannehill made things interesting in camp and will now play QB full-time) and Louisville will start NC State transfer Justin Burke. Michigan will apparently play everybody, and Pete Carroll (he just has to be different, doesn't he?) wants a little longer to look at Aaron Corp in practice before deciding between Corp and Matt Barkley.

* Speaking of quarterbacks, Miami could use a couple after backups Taylor Cook and Cannon Smith both announced Wednesday that they plan to transfer. Neither was likely to challenge sophomore starter Jacory Harris for playing time, but with Cook, Smith and former starter Robert Marve all out of the picture, the Canes' depth chart is now frighteningly thin. If Harris were to get hurt, the offense would be left in the hands of the only remaining scholarship QB on the roster -- true freshman A.J. Highsmith.

* I was planning on making this a separate post, but Brian over at Mgoblog so thoroughly covered the stupidity of the situation that there's really not much left to say. Indiana has agreed to play Penn State at FedEx Field in Washington in 2010, which at first seems like minor news -- neutral-site games happen all the time. But in-conference neutral-site games, especially ones that are moved much, much closer to the visiting team? Not so much. In fact, Brian's research shows that the only Big Ten game since World War II that was moved out of the home team's state was when Wisconsin played Michigan State in Tokyo in 1993, and I doubt that created much of an advantage for either team. Indiana had 3 million reasons to make the switch, but this is still frustrating as a fan of a team that hopes to compete with Penn State (which will now have one fewer Big Ten road game to worry about) for a conference title. I'll let Brian explain:

Let's stipulate that schools have the right to do whatever they want with their nonconference schedules. The effect on the rest of the conference is minimal there. ... Once we start talking about conference schedules, though, people have a right to bitch. Every team is playing for a conference championship. The schedules need to be as equitable as possible. ...

Not so with Indiana's decision to sell a home game, which benefits exactly one team, has been approved by no one, and compromises the integrity of the league schedule.

I won't steal his entire post, but you get the idea. This is a bad thing, and the Big Ten needs to step in and forbid this type of manipulation of the conference schedule.

* Buffalo running back James Starks, a first-team All-MAC pick last year, suffered a shoulder injury in practice that will end his season. And because Starks is a redshirt senior, his career is over. The Bulls had already lost QB Drew Willy to graduation, and it now seems extremely unlikely that they'll have enough offense to defend their MAC championship. Turner Gill might be an excellent coach, but he can't turn water into wine.

* Tennessee uber-recruit Bryce Brown will not be suspended by the NCAA after an investigation into his eligibility. It's unclear if the NCAA had actually decided to punish Brown before Tennessee appealed or whether the initial investigation just ended with a decision to forgo punishment, but either way, Brown is good to go for the Vols' opener against Western Kentucky. I'm not sure how an investigation into quasi-agent Brian Butler ended without scandal, but whatever. I guess Lane Kiffin finally got some good news ... the only problem is that it came on the heels of finding out that starting receiver Gerald Jones will miss three to six weeks with a sprained ankle. With Austin Rogers (torn ACL) and Denarius Moore (foot injury) already out of the lineup, Tennessee's running game had better improve significantly on last year's 122 yards per game (ranked 88th nationally). It should get better with the addition of Brown and fellow freshman David Oku, but if it doesn't, it will be a looooooong year in Knoxville.

* Nebraska running back Quentin Castille, who rushed for almost 500 yards and six touchdowns last season and was set to platoon this year with Roy Helu Jr., was dismissed this week for a good ol' violation of team rules. There haven't been any reports of legal problems or anything serious, but Bo Pelini sounded less than thrilled when making the announcement to the media:

It's pretty black and white my expectations and what we lay out as a staff, and if someone doesn't follow those policies and guidelines, they're no longer going to be with the program.

There is now little to no experience behind Helu at running back, and with the Huskers breaking in a new QB (Zac Lee) and a new receiving corps this season, expect Pelini to put a lot of weight on Helu's shoulders, especially early in the year. Whether he's up to the task remains to be seen, but Helu did rush for 803 yards last season (at an impressive 6.4 per carry) while earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors.

Catching up: Should I stay or should I go?

* Football over baseball (for now): Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is celebrating Christmas in July right now, because QB Kyle Parker (who seemed to be gone when the Colorado Rockies took him in the first round last month) announced Wednesday that he's turning down $2.4 million in signing bonuses to return to school and play football this fall.

He definitely left open the possibility of leaving next offseason -- or any other time -- to focus exclusively on baseball, but at least top prospect Tajh Boyd would have more than a few spring practices under his belt by that point. The transition would be a little more manageable.

Parker's not quite Drew Henson in terms of football ability, but he's pretty good. He completed 55.6% of his passes with 20 TDs and 12 interceptions last year as a redshirt freshman, and he lit up both Miami and Florida State with a combined seven touchdowns passes. The $2.4 million question is whether he can do that without C.J. Spiller's 1,700 total yards and Jacoby Ford running circles around people. If he can, Clemson will be at or near the top of the ACC Atlantic again.

* Martin changes his mind: Cal freshman Chris Martin, a five-star prospect and one of the top defensive ends/outside linebackers in the country according to Rivals, lasted all of about four months as part of the Golden Bears' recruiting class:

Chris Martin, one of the top recruits from Cal's 2010 signing class, has announced his intention to transfer out due to "distractions."

"My decision to transfer definitely does not reflect on the football program or the academics at Cal," he said in a press release. "Rather, I feel like for me to focus and truly reach my potential I need to leave many of the distractions I have here at home in the Bay Area.

"I need to venture away from home and start my college career somewhere else where I don't have those distractions."

Martin went to high school in Oakland. If you're thinking it's a little odd to commit to what's basically your hometown school and then decide four months later that there are too many "distractions" in the area, you're correct. But if there are some people around him who are getting into trouble or making him think he'd be better off somewhere else, I can't blame him. He's 18.

So where's he headed? Well ... when this guy wants to get away from home, he really gets away:

A day after he notified the University of California about his intent to transfer, former Grandview High School linebacker Chris Martin announced Wednesday he will be heading to the University of Florida.

Martin made his choice of Florida public on his Facebook page, saying: "I would like to thank everyone who has been supportive of me through my crazy mental episodes. A special thank you to my mother and father who have supported me no matter what. I love you both. God has granted me a second chance. A chance I cannot mess up. With that said. Go Gators. Thank You to everyone and all the coaches who showed their interest in me."

It's worth noting that Florida's 2010 recruiting class now includes an entire defensive line (two ends and two tackles) full of five-star prospects. Urban Meyer, you are truly a recruiting maestro.

* Middleton done at U-Dub: Washington tight end Kavario Middleton is no longer a Washington tight end. In fact, he's no longer a Washington anything:

Washington has dismissed starting tight end Kavario Middleton for a violation of team rules less than two weeks before the Huskies begin fall camp.

Washington coach Steve Sarkisian made the announcement on Tuesday in a statement but did not specify what Middleton did. The school said there would be no further comment.

Middleton was a big-time prospect back in the day (in the top 100 nationally) and started to put things together last year as a sophomore with 26 catches for 257 yards and three touchdowns. Then, during spring practice, he was supposedly passed by redshirt junior Chris Izbicki, who has a grand total of seven career receiving yards. Given the comments from Middleton's high school coach -- "Sark gave him every opportunity to improve and grow" -- my guess is that his demotion on the depth chart was a motivational tactic after a handful of screw-ups and that his "violation of team rules" was the last straw.

* Still undecided ... still: Bryce Brown, the most noncommittal player in the history of college football, apparently has changed his mind yet again. He left Tennessee in March and was presumed to be transferring to Kansas State (close to his family's home in Wichita) with older brother and former Miami linebacker Arthur Brown, but rumor has it that Bryce now wants back in at Tennessee. K-State must not have been as excited as he'd expected (who knew?).

Since the brothers seem to be set on playing together and Tennessee is woefully short on scholarship players (seriously, the Vols only have about 70), it sounds like the hypothetical package deal suggested a few months ago might be back on the table. Derek Dooley's "I'm not going to make a recruiting pitch" stance is admirable now but won't be remembered so fondly when UT is sitting at home in December with a 5-7 record.

If he can just bring in the Brown brothers, a five-star QB, a few talented offensive linemen, a starting safety ...

* You're next: SEC coaches are probably a little leery about picking up the phone right now, because that agent party down in Miami has the enforcement guys at the NCAA thinking they're The Untouchables. It all started with North Carolina and Marvin Austin, but that was just the tip of a massive, Titanic-destroying iceberg. Next on the list was South Carolina and Weslye Saunders. After that it was Florida and the Pouncey brothers. After that it was Alabama and Marcell Dareus. And now they're headed on down to Georgia:

Georgia associate athletic director Claude Felton says the NCAA has requested permission to conduct an inquiry on campus.

TMZ.com reported Wednesday that Georgia is investigating whether All-American wide receiver A. J. Green attended an agent's Memorial Day weekend party in Miami that also has spurred investigations at Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Georgia football coach Mark Richt met with Green on Tuesday, and Green denied being in Miami that weekend, sources told ESPN.com.

Yikes. First of all, if you're a big-name college athlete and you're attending an all-expenses-paid trip on an agent's dime, you're an idiot. That's about as blatant as a rules violation can get. Secondly, I hope Green -- and everyone else, for that matter -- is telling the truth about who went where and who paid for what. Remember what happened to Dez Bryant? Breaking the rules is bad but not necessarily a career-ending transgression. Breaking the rules and lying about it? Just ask Bryant.

Chip in charge

The uncertainty at Oregon finally ended on Friday when coach Mike Bellotti announced that he is stepping down on March 30 to become athletic director. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who had already been declared the coach-in-waiting, will take over as head coach.

Of course, Kelly really had been in charge for some time -- Bellotti made it clear that Kelly was making staff decisions when defensive line coach Michael Gray and receivers coach Robin Pflugrad were let go shortly after the season.

"I allowed Chip to address the entire staff, talk with each coach. Those are the only two positions where he's going to bring in people."

It doesn't seem that there will be much transition for the players, and there probably won't be a whole lot for the staff, either -- the only guy who will see a significant shift in duties is Kelly. But that begs the question as to whether the Ducks' insanely potent offense will be able to maintain its, um, potency.

Make no mistake: While Oregon athletic director Pat Kilkenny likes pretty much everything about Kelly, his mind for offense is the reason he's now in charge. In Kelly's two years with the Ducks, the offense has set 24 school records. In 2007, Oregon was 10th in total offense and 12th in scoring offense. In 2008, those numbers improved to seventh and seventh despite the loss of Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart to the NFL.

The guy knows how to put points on the board -- the only question now is whether he knows how to run a team. It's not always easy to do both, but it's certainly been done -- Urban Meyer and Rich Rodriguez seem like reasonable comparisons given Kelly's offensive aptitude, and if he enjoys anywhere near the success those guys have had, Oregon should be in good shape.

And Kelly might get a 6-foot, 215-pound welcoming gift this week -- running back Bryce Brown, the nation's top player according to Rivals (although one that comes with some baggage), is set to announce his college destination on Monday. It's believed to be between Miami and Oregon (although LSU and Tennessee are also in the mix), and with some debate over whether the Hurricanes are still interested, there's a good chance Brown will end up wearing an Oregon uniform, whatever color it may be.

Assuming that Brown commits, it'll cap off one of the most bizarre offseasons in recent memory. It's not often that a team loses it's star running back (LaGarrette Blount) to an indefinite suspension, has its coach resign in March and gets the top recruit in the country a full month after Signing Day.

What's even more remarkable is that despite all the drama and uncertainy, there's a good chance Oregon will come out the other end looking just as strong in 2009 and beyond.

As for Bellotti, regardless of how you want to dissect his lack of Pac-10 championships (just one) or Rose Bowl berths (none), he retires as the undisputed greatest coach in Oregon history. His record of 116–55 speaks for itself, and he just missed playing in two national championship games -- in 2001, when the Ducks got jobbed by the BCS computers in favor of a Nebraska team that was steamrolled by Miami, and in 2007, when Dennis Dixon's knee blew up and the team, ranked #2 at the time, proceeded to lose its next three games.

Simply put, Bellotti built on predecessor Rich Brooks' success and put Oregon on the map nationally (with a little help from Nike, of course). The Ducks might never overtake USC atop the Pac-10, but the fact that they're even in the conversation has to be worth something.

Dr. Saturday, the master of statistical evidence, brings it to us in chart form:

More fun for Kiffin

Lane Kiffin has been thoroughly (and rightly) criticized for the controversy he's caused since taking over at Tennessee, so when he was cited for a third minor recruiting violation this week, the consensus response was, "Can't this guy stop screwing up?"

For once, though, there's really nothing to criticize. His "violation" was using a recruit's name (Bryce Brown, to be specific) when talking on a radio show in Knoxville about the growing trend of players delaying their commitment past National Signing Day.

Yes, Brown is considering attending Tennessee, and there is a rule that forbids coaches from publicly discussing uncommitted recruits. But citing a high school player as an example of something completely unrelated to the Vols' recruitment of him seems like a pretty insignificant slip of the tongue.

This is one instance in which Kiffin's previous remarks -- and the frenzy they caused -- have brought unnecessary attention to a mostly harmless remark. Normally I'd defend the guy, but ... well, he's the only one to blame for the intense spotlight he's now under.

Take your shots, SEC

I imagine that when Lane Kiffin was a rising assistant at USC, he didn't envision his first collegiate head coaching job going like it has. Granted, most of his problems so far have been due to his own big mouth and lack of thinking, but I think we'll just have to file this news under the "karma" category:

With senior Austin Rogers out for the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Friday, the Vols now face the likelihood of going into the season without junior Denarius Moore.

Moore, Tennessee's top returning deep threat, has a broken bone in his left foot and will be sidelined for eight to 12 weeks. He's currently in a walking boot and is facing surgery.

Yikes. Kiffin was already in for a challenge at Tennessee, but I'm not sure "challenge" quite covers it anymore.

The only remaining options at quarterback are disappointing senior Jonathan Crompton and uninspiring redshirt junior Nick Stephens (third-stringer B.J. Coleman transferred and Kiffin declined a commitment from five-star dual-threat QB Tajh Boyd, who ended up at Clemson).

Talented freshmen Bryce Brown and David Oku will help Montario Hardesty in the running game, but there was plenty of backfield talent last year, too, and Tennessee finished 88th nationally in rushing offense behind a surprisingly poor offensive line.

And with three of last year's top four receivers -- Rogers, Moore and graduated senior Lucas Taylor -- now out of the equation (junior Gerald Jones is all that's left), I just don't see where the offense will come from this year unless Eric Berry (pictured) quickly learns how to pass, run, catch and return kicks.

Relying on Crompton seems like a dicey proposition at best, and unless the running game makes MASSIVE strides, competence seems like the best-case scenario at this point (and abysmal remains a distinct possibility). And considering that Kiffin -- and Tennessee, by extension -- will have a gigantic target on his back after the Piss Off Everybody Tour he's embarked on since his arrival ... well, for Kiffin's sake, I hope his offensive prowess is all it's cracked up to be.

Meanwhile, to the rest of the SEC: Enjoy.

Change of plans

Lane Kiffin apparently won't have Norm Chow at his side after all:

Norm Chow will remain offensive coordinator at UCLA, according to UCLA officials.

Chow’s status has been in doubt the last week after USC made contact with him in an attempt to lure him back as offensive coordinator under new head coach Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin said the other day that he intends to call plays for USC "like I always have," which was probably a deal-breaker for Chow (as it should be). I don't know why he would join Kiffin to be essentially a consultant when he can continue as a true offensive coordinator at UCLA.

What does it mean for the Trojans? Well, it means Kiffin's coaching ability will be a little more relevant than expected, which may or may not be a good thing.
Let's look at what his teams have done offensively (again, the Raiders don't count, so we're talking about 2005-06 USC and 2009 Tennessee):

• In 2005, USC finished first nationally in total offense (577 yards per game) and second in scoring (49 points per game) while becoming the first team in NCAA history with a 3,000-yard passer (Matt Leinart), two 1,000 yard rushers (Reggie Bush and LenDale White), and a 1,000-yard receiver (Dwayne Jarrett). How much of that was Kiffin and how much of it was the other guys? Hard to say. But the 2004 national championship team -- with Norm Chow as O-coordinator -- averaged 130 fewer yards and 11 fewer points per game, so there was obvious improvement.
• In 2006, the running game plummeted to 68th nationally while the John David Booty-led passing game finished 14th in yards and 30th in efficiency. USC finished 21st in total offense (392 yards per game) and 18th in scoring (30.46 points), which isn't spectacular for USC, but keep in mind that Booty had never taken a meaningful college snap before the '06 opener and Chauncey Washington wasn't exactly Reggie Bush or LenDale White. Jarrett and Smith were about the only guys left at the skill positions, so you could argue that the '06 offense had the least talent of any in the Pete Carroll era.
• In 2009, Tennessee finished 60th (smack dab in the middle of the FBS) in total offense and 43rd in scoring offense at 29 points per game. The running game was average (54rd), the passing game was average (43rd in yardage and 38th in efficiency) ... everything was very meh.

When you look at USC's 2006 numbers and consider that this year's Vols had Jonathan Crompton throwing to a bunch of inexperienced receivers (other than Gerald Jones) yet STILL produced more through the air than Montario Hardesty and Bryce Brown did on the ground, there's a conclusion that can be drawn: Kiffin's background as a quarterback shows up in his team's offensive results. In other words, his teams are better at throwing the ball than running the ball. This isn't necessarily good or bad, just an interesting observation going forward.

Based on the typical talent level at USC, the 2006 numbers are probably a realistic expectation (except for a slightly better running game, if for no other reason than the pure quantity of five-star running backs USC pulls in). His quarterbacks and receivers will probably be very good.

Is he Norm Chow? No. His overall lack of play-calling experience is a valid concern, as three years isn't exactly an eternity. But his offenses have ranged from elite when he has talent to average when he doesn't have much, and the talent should never be much of a problem at USC.

Let's settle down, people

Probably the best thing about Tennessee choosing a new coach Friday is that I hopefully won't be subjected to any more "LANE KIFFIN IS THE BIGGEST JERK EVER!!!" columns. I'm looking at you, Gene Wojciechowski:

Whatever happens, it will take years for Kiffin to patch and caulk the gaping holes in his credibility. If you were a recruit, why would you believe a word he said?

OK, let me start by saying that Kiffin is an asshole. From the moment he accepted the Tennessee job, he went out of his way to insult everyone from Steve Spurrier to Urban Meyer to recruits. He just doesn't care.

But for everyone crying about him leaving Tennessee after one year, get real. College football coaches have as little job security as anyone on Earth; everybody out there is one or two bad seasons from getting canned. Loyalty doesn't exist from either side. If you want to coach at a big-time school, the only way to do it is to leave your former employer between a rock and a hard place by jumping ship when said job is offered to you. Kiffin can't just wait around a couple years on the off chance that he might get a second chance at his dream job. It was unfortunate timing for Tennessee, nothing else.

Look it at from a real-world perspective: You take an excellent job with a great salary, plenty of money to live on. You're excited and plan on being there for as long as possible, and you bring in a number of good employees to help achieve your long-term goals. A little over a year later, you're offered an even better job, an opportunity of a lifetime that you'd only dreamed about. It's where you grew up and where you honed your skills, and they're offering to significantly increase your salary and let you bring along all your best employees. If you can honestly say that you'd turn that job down, you're a more loyal person than I am.

And after all the hatred from Tennessee fans and all the criticism in the media, the second person the Vols went after -- Duke coach David Cutcliffe -- had been at his job for all of two years. The guy they hired -- Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley -- had been at his job for three years. Urban Meyer left Bowling Green after two years and then Utah after two more to take over at Florida. Brian Kelly left Central Michigan after three years and then Cincinnati after two to go to Notre Dame. That's what happens when elite programs have job openings.

I suppose two years is slightly better than one, but it doesn't matter; every recruit those guys brought in still had at least three years left under another coach. There's no right time to leave a program, so criticizing Kelly or Kiffin but not criticizing Dooley or Meyer is ridiculous. If you want to blame anybody, blame the NCAA for not allowing players a free transfer if their coach is fired or leaves voluntarily.

Then there's the FURY about Kiffin immediately trying to persuade Tennessee's recruits to join him at USC. Por ejemplo:

the thing that I do not understand is Kiffin & Co. trying to singlehandedly tear down the Tennessee football program by trying to steal recruits already committed.

For an appropriate response to these claims, I'll cede the floor to Dan Hawkins:



IT'S DIVISION I FOOTBALL!!! If you think this doesn't happen everywhere up until the minute a guy faxes in his letter of intent on National Signing Day, you're smoking crack. Just last year, for example, Michigan had two committed players bail on Signing Day but pried receiver Roy Roundtree away from Purdue, at which point Joe Tiller spewed some holier-than-thou complaints about Rodriguez being "a guy in a wizard hat selling snake oil." It was then discovered that Purdue's first move after losing Roundtree was to try to get a guy who had just signed a letter of intent with Ball State. Pot, meet kettle.

As someone who closely follows recruiting, I can tell you definitively that no commitment goes unchallenged until the paper is signed. Hell, it's a common thing now for guys to commit while still openly considering other schools and taking official visits. They're not really committed; they're just reserving a spot.

Anyone remember Bryce Brown, the top-ranked player in the country last year who ended up signing with Tennessee? For almost a year before National Signing Day, he was "committed" to Miami. That obviously meant a lot.

Again, the timing of all this craziness obviously sucks for Tennessee (February 3 is approaching in a hurry), but if it's not against the rules, it happens. Get over it and move on.

I hate to be the guy to defend Kiffin, because I really think he's a douche. But that's the thing: Just because he's done a ton of stupid shit and nobody likes him, that doesn't mean we should all flip out about him jumping at the USC job and trying to bring some recruits along with him, both of which are perfectly understandable and have plenty of precedent from coaches who didn't receive nearly the amount of criticism.

Tennessee hires that one guy's kid

Most Tennessee fans couldn't have picked Derek Dooley out of a police lineup 24 hours ago, but they'll probably become familiar quickly:

Derek Dooley, the son of Georgia legend Vince Dooley, was introduced Friday as Tennessee's second new head coach in 14 months, replacing Lane Kiffin days after he bolted for Southern California.

I wasn't surprised at all that the Vols made Texas defensive coordinator (and coach-in-waiting) Will Muschamp their top priority after Kiffin left, and when Muschamp turned them down, I wasn't surprised that Duke coach (and former longtime Tennessee O-coordinator) David Cutcliffe was next on the list. But hiring Dooley was a surprise. Also surprising: Dooley being able to find a bright-orange tie that quickly. Impressive ...

If you'd never heard of Dooley before today, here's a brief summary: He's been an offensive position coach (wide receivers and/or tight ends) with SMU, LSU and the Miami Dolphins, and he was also Nick Saban's recruiting coordinator from 2000-02, when LSU finished with Rivals' top-ranked class twice in three years. He's young (41), he's smart (a law degree?!?), he's an excellent recruiter and he's worked under one of the best coaches in the sport. And if this reminds you of somebody, you're right: Dooley is basically a smarter, less douchey version of Lane Kiffin.

And that's not where the similarities end. Dooley went to Louisiana Tech in 2007 and took over for Jack Bicknell, who was fired after going a little under .500 (43-52) in eight years and reaching only one bowl game (a Humanitarian Bowl loss to Clemson in 2001). In three years, Dooley did the following:

2007: 5-7
2008: 8-5 (beat Northern Illinois in Independence Bowl)
2009: 3-9

If you're counting at home, that's a 17-20 record; he was 12-12 in WAC play. Tennessee fans probably gagged on their Jack Daniels when they heard about that on the teevee.

There's not much to point at and say, "Wow, that's impressive," but to argue that Louisiana Tech didn't improve during his tenure would be stupid. This year's 3-9 record was mostly the result of four losses by eight points or less, including a 24-16 loss to LSU in November. Louisiana Tech was also the only team in the WAC to come within 10 points (45-35) of Boise State. Compare that with the 2007 team, which was coming off a 3-10 season and lost to LSU by 48 (yikes), Nevada by 39, Cal by 30, Mississippi by 24 ... you get the idea. Competing is the first step toward winning.

I watched the Louisiana Tech-LSU game and saw two teams that didn't belong on the same field talent-wise, and there were only two reasons that game was close:

1. Jarrett Lee is a pretty terrible quarterback, which hurt LSU's offense all year.
2. Dooley's creative (and aggressive) play-calling got Louisiana Tech a fucking brilliant touchdown just before the half to take the lead, and his unwavering optimism/confidence clearly rubbed off on his players.

This postgame quote pretty well summarizes my thoughts:

"We ran ball as well as you can run it against them," Tech coach Derek Dooley said. "We went toe-to-toe and we weren't affected by the environment. We weren't playing in awe of LSU, and I think those are great steps. At the end of the day, they have a better football team than we have."

So Tennessee fans should feel pretty good, right? Ummm ... maybe. Bringing in high-end recruits and inspiring confidence in your players are definitely things you want from your head coach, but what you need from your head coach are wins, and the fact of the matter is that his career record is 17-20. It remains to be seen whether that says more about Dooley or the difficulty of doing any better than .500 at Louisiana Tech.

There are two quarterbacks in the NFL right now with the last name of Manning. Both have every skill necessary to be elite and bloodlines that provided a head start money can't buy. Peyton turned those advantages into awesomeness, becoming one of the greatest QBs in NFL history. Eli is an average starter, which is fine but probably not what the Giants were hoping for at $16.5 million a year. Dooley reminds me of one of the Mannings ... I'm just not sure yet which one.

Dooley is the top-five draft pick with "upside" (Jay Bilas' favorite word), a guy who hasn't shown much in terms of results but might be unbelievable in the right situation. Tennessee is obviously banking on being the right situation.

Would I have hired him over Muschamp? No (not that Tennessee ever had a choice, but it's a point of comparison). Would I have hired him over Cutcliffe? Probably. Cutcliffe would have been the safe pick, the guy who's been around and knows the program and probably would have been able to stabilize things and do a fine job. Dooley is the upside pick, a riskier hire but one that might look brilliant five years from now. And since neither of the aforementioned guys were interested, Tennessee's choices were limited anyway.

But comments like this ...

We thought the Chisik hire at Auburn was bad, this is ten times worse!! A losing record in the WAC conference, are you kidding me?

... are moronic (which I guess is appropriate for any conversation in SEC country). It's funny that the comparison is Gene Chizik, who was hired last offseason from Iowa State with a 5-19 record and promptly led Auburn to an 8-5 season with the help of crazy-but-brilliant offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. I could easily see Dooley getting off to a similar start, especially when you look at Tech's impressive rushing numbers and realize that he'll have guys like Bryce Brown and David Oku at his disposal next year.

If I had to bet one way or the other on Dooley -- either boom or bust -- I'd go with boom (a firecracker boom, not a nuclear one). He can recruit, he's smart and he's been trained by the best, and those things will be a lot more relevant at Tennessee than at a talent-deprived mediocrity like Louisiana Tech. It's not easy to win in the SEC against Florida, Georgia, Alabama and LSU, but everything's relative; in the world of college football, Knoxville is the freakin' Taj Mahal compared with Ruston, Louisiana (wherever that is).