Or the “that coach will be retiring soon” sort of way; I’m sure our recruits get that line quite a bit, perhaps rightly so. But I don’t think every coach tells players that opposing schools place all their recruits in gas stations.

Current:
Sheldon Brown, 112 games in seven seasons, including 14 picks
Johnathan Joseph, 39 games in three seasons, including his four-interception campaign in 2007
Those are the best. There are several more current NFL players on rosters.

Past:
Robert Brooks, who caught 102 passes for 1,497 yards and 13 TDs in 1995, one of his eight seasons in the league
Duce Staley, who had three seasons where he rushed for more than 1,000 yards and averaged 4.0 ypc over his career

Again, only S.C. natives. That doesn’t count the guys from outside the state — George Rogers ring a bell?

It might be different. Knowing his history of moronic comments, though, I’m going to with the recruit.

It’s also not just what he said, but how he said it. If he had said something like, “Tennessee has more NFL alumni than South Carolina” — no harm, no foul. It’s absolutely true. Even if he had said, “You’ll have a better chance of making the NFL with the Vols than with the Gamecocks” — matter of interpretation, basis in fact, I might not like it but he’s got every right to say it. The suggestion that everyone who plays at South Carolina ends up “pumping gas” is what I took exception to. (Not to mention, the whole post was obviously a bit tongue-in-cheek.)

And while the Gamecocks might end up in fourth, I’d like to see Kiffin actually, you know, coach before I decide whether or not he’s all bluster. We are, after all, 2-2 against Tennessee since Spurrier came.

Or a kidney. Or both.

And I like 3SIB. Glad you came by.

As far as Kiffin goes, I think the thing that gets most people is that he’s running his mouth so much despite not having proven anything yet. So what if Spurrier ran his mouth back in 1990? He had an ACC Title, a successful tenure as a coach in the USFL, not to mention a Heisman and significant NFL playing experience. What does Kiffin have? Success riding Pete Carroll’s coattails and utter, complete failure in the NFL. Oh yeah, he has his dad’s name. I know you probably hate Spurrier, but there’s really no comparison between Kiffin and Spurrier’s accomplishments upon taking their respective first major college coaching gigs.

Now, this isn’t to say that Kiffin won’t be a great coach. Maybe he will be. He certainly has the resources in Knoxville to prove himself—great tradition, enthusiastic fan base, recruiting advantages, nice staff. But it would be nice if he proved himself before mouthing off.

By the way, none of this is meant as a jab at UT per se, other than in that I find it little odd that Vols fans would take it upon themselves to defend Kiffin’s inexcusable behavior. I don’t have any particular dislike for Vols fans outside of the fact that you’re a formidable SEC opponent.

Therefore: Lane Kiffin < Mike Shula

Monte is a great pro coach. Being a great pro coach and being a great college coach are two different things, though, and Monte’s track record of success in college was dubious even before he bumped Joe Paterno down to second place in the “Coaching College Football Past the Age of 1,000” sweepstakes.

This hire was a fumble. I respect your need to fall on it, but you know and I know that, three years from now, when he’s gone, you’re going to admit that we were right all along.

It’s Steve Spurrier’s mouth on Gene Chizik’s resume. Not an attractive combination, no matter how hot Layla is.

I still think Kiffin is full of it, but I guess I can’t blame you for “supporting” him, although I’m still not sure about those that “defend” his odd behavior. It’s only natural that you would support the guy you’re school hired to lead your program. Even if he hasn’t proven anything yet, he hasn’t failed at UT yet, either, so he’s got that going for him.

FWIW, I never had too much against Fulmer. Of course as a South Carolina fan he wasn’t my favorite, but I did respect his devotion to UT. I certainly don’t blame UT for letting him go, though. The program was clearly moving away from UT standards.

Spurrier hasn’t thrown any “jabs” in the four plus years he’s been at South Carolina. He’s really been a model citizen since moving to Columbia. The closest he has come was his quip about Kiffin getting right to work when he arrived at UT. Honestly, though, this was blown way out of proportion by the media, et al. To me, the remark seemed more like an off-handed comment on how quickly Kiffin was getting started – almost a compliment. Still, Spurrier’s response was to follow up with an apology and basically call Kiffin smarter than himself.

Now let’s contrast that with Kiffin’s remarks, which cannot be construed as anything but antagonistic name-calling. I personally think the reason Kiffin’s latest comment has been received so poorly is it sounds like the kind of stereotypical remark that any small-minded individual around the country might make. Everyone in South Carolina is well-aware of its (mostly undeserved) reputation around the rest of the US, but that doesn’t mean we like it perpetuated in the national media. We fight against that crap every day, as does UT. Believe me, Vanderbilt’s shine doesn’t rub off on you nearly as much as you might think.

As for your choosing to trust that Kiffin did not actually utter such a comment, I can’t really argue with you there. I would probably do the same thing if I were in your shoes. I just want to point out that Kiffin had to own up to his other indiscretions, as those were all caught on tape. I think Kiffin realizes how extremely distasteful his latest outburst was and is trying to cover it up. After all, who has more incentive to lie, Alshon or Kiffin?

You’re right about one thing, though, I would like a little smack – a la the back of Spurrier’s hand across Kiffin’s face.

of coaches who also recuited Alshon to see if Alshon accussed them putting down the entire state of South Carolina too. Oh wait, that’s right. Alshon and his coach havn’t accused Pete Carrol of saying anything.