FanHouse Monte Kiffin

Several months ago, I said one of the big questions of the 2009 SEC season was which of the new high-priced coordinators would make the biggest splash in the conference: John Chavis at LSU, Monte Kiffin at Tennessee or Gus Malzahn at Auburn.

Four weeks into the season, I think we can call this contest: It's Malzahn by a landslide.

While Kiffin has kept Tennessee in the top 10 on defense -- truthfully he didn't really have anywhere to take them -- Chavis has been serviceable at best for LSU. Arriving at Auburn, a team that averaged just 17.3 points per game in 2008, Malzahn revolutionized an offense that is now ranked No. 3 in the nation. So far this season, Auburn is averaging seven yards per play and 525 yards per game (nearly 200 more per game than last year, albeit not yet with the gauntlet of SEC defenses), and has scored 23 touchdowns.

As if that weren't enough the team is now averaging 45.25 points a game. By the fifth game this season, at Tennessee, Malzahn and Auburn stand a decent chance of putting up more points in 2009 than they did in the entire 2008 season.

With statistics like these, I think there's only one solution: Name Gus Malzhan the coach in waiting.

As I watched Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in Saturday's win over Tennessee, I became more convinced than ever that he won't be an NFL quarterback. Tebow is a great quarterback in Florida's offense, but Tennessee defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin exposed real limitations, including an inability to feel pressure and a slow delivery, that just won't work in the NFL.

Wednesday, the annual circus known as the SEC Media Days kicks off in Birmingham, Ala. As college football has become a year-round sport, the three media days down in Birmingham have become the official launch date for SEC football fans, a time when our region's football obsession officially begins anew. Even if, you know, it never actually dies. Last season then-Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer arrived and was immediately served with a subpoena in a lawsuit brought by my favorite people on Earth: disassociated Alabama boosters. Getting disassociated from the Alabama football program is like being the only guy in a prison who no one will share a table with.

This season, 25 radio stations will be broadcasting live from inside the event, and over 800 members of the media have been credentialed. It's like Woodstock for people who use the word, goll-durn. And we'll be there for the ride. Goll-durn.

Christmas decorations begin in late August, and now the ClayNation Hypesman Watch (CHW) is here in the first week of May. It's part of a new term, I just coined: Heisman Creep. (And it has nothing to do with Maurice Clarett). We're going to try something radical here, every other week or so we'll drop in and give you a top 10 list for Heisman candidates. Even though most of them are finishing their spring finals right about now. The goal is to ridicule the Heisman obsession, keep us entertained, and write about the Heisman in a way no one else is.

And, plainly, it's never too early to start debating the most over-hyped award this side of a kindergarten valedictorian.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Only two weeks after Jon Gruden's surprise firing as head coach of the Buccaneers, the general sentiment in Tampa seems to have gone from "good riddance" to "Jon who?" Gruden is such a forgotten man in Tampa that I've barely heard his name this week.

But I have heard the name of his longtime defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who also left the Bucs to coach alongside his son Lane at the University of Tennessee. And although people here in Tampa have much warmer feelings for Kiffin than for Gruden, there's a sense here that Kiffin's departure may not be a bad thing.

The coaching transition in Seattle hasn't garnered much attention around the NFL this off-season, with coaching changes in places like Denver and New York making headlines while the media mostly overlooks the departure of Mike Holmgren.

The reason for that, of course, is that we've all known since last year that Jim Mora Jr. would take over for Holmgren after the season. But just because everyone in Seattle knew this change was coming, that doesn't mean there's no news coming out of Seahawks headquarters.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that Seattle requested permission today to interview Patriots special teams coach Brad Seely, who could replace the Seahawks' current special teams coach, Bruce DeHaven.

And in a sign that Mora would like his defense to model the Tampa 2 system that Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin has employed over the last decade, Schefter reports that the Seahawks are also interviewing Buccaneers linebackers coach Gus Bradley and former Lions head coach Rod Marinelli.

What it all adds up to is that just because Mora was the top lieutenant on Holmgren's staff, that doesn't mean Mora is going to do things the same way Holmgren did. And really, why should he? With the Seahawks coming off a 4-12 season, they need more changes than just a new head coach.

It didn't take Lane Kiffin long to find another job after his rather infamous year-and-a-half stint as head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Recently, he's been named head coach at the University of Tennessee, and was able to get his father, Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, to join him.

Kiffin continued to fill out his staff at Tennessee this week by hiring a couple of his former colleagues in the Oakland organization. According to Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune, offensive line coach James Cregg will be leaving to join the fighting Kiffin's, while two other members of the Raiders front office -- director of football operations Mark Jackson, and Steve Reaves, whose job was to essentially make copies and go on coffee runs -- also left the organization today, presumably, to join Kifin.

Somewhere in his lair, owner Al Davis is throwing papers in the air trying to find a way to sue somebody, or, if all else fails, fire somebody. I'm sure at some point Davis will have a reaction to this in the form of a bizarre press conference, so, while we wait, let's get the reaction of current Raiders sacrificial lamb (head coach) Tom Cable.

In the wake of Lane Kiffin's hiring at the university of Tennessee, reports began to surface that Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin -- Lane's dad -- would be joining him to run the Volunteers defense. It appears that there's plenty of fire to go along with that smoke, as ESPN's Chris Mortensen mentioned today that Kiffin is leaning towards going that route.

There are only two possible holdups to such a deal. The first one being, (Monte) Kiffin is still under contract with the Buccaneers after signing a contract extension a year ago.

The second possible hold up is: are we sure the Tennessee athletic director isn't a senile old man that will refuse to let (Lane) Kiffin fire the current defensive coordinator to bring in his pop to coach alongside him? Okay, perhaps that's not going to happen. If you'll recall, Lane, reportedly, tried to bring Monte with him out to Oakland prior to this season, until Al Davis decided that Rob Ryan was the greatest defensive coordinator ever. Obviously, that's not going to be a problem here, as I'm just looking for a reason to make another Al Davis joke.

As far as father and son coaching tandems go, I would think that Lane Kiffin and Monte Kiffin would have to rank near the top in terms of potential to turn around a college football team. Or, if not "turn around", take talented players who were forced to underachieve with Tommy Bowden, and help them win.

Which explains why there's a pretty strong rumor about the Kiffins heading towards Death Valley. Or at least, as JoeBucsFan is reporting, why it's something that's being considered.

Through a source with strong ties to Clemson movers and shakers, Joe was informed of a meeting of Clemson boosters held Wednesday at the school and that many big-moneyed Tigers boosters want to throw considerable cash at Lane Kiffin to replace recently resigned coach Tommy Bowden.

The trick is the offer will be a package deal: Lane has to bring his father Monte with him.

One of the reasons the school negotiated an early release for Bowden earlier this week was so the program could get a headstart on acquiring a top candidate.

Okay, the last part makes total sense (although I heard that Bowden rolled early because he likes the idea of getting paid several million dollars to quit a job he was going to get fired from anyway.) But I don't know if I agree/believe the notion that Clemson would offer Lane the job only if he can get his dad to come aboard.

Hell, half the reason -- according to Al Davis' press conference -- that there was so much disagreement was that Lane wanted him to work in Oakland in the first place. Still, getting both Kiffins (or just one at this point) would have to be considered a coup for the Tigers.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have re-signed their most important free agent, six weeks before the NFL's free agency period begins.

Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, the mastermind behind the "Tampa 2" defense, has reached an agreement on a contract extension to remain with the Buccaneers, ESPN.com is reporting.

Kiffin, whose contract would have expired at the end of this month, was set to be a hot candidate for several vacant assistant jobs. There were even reports that he would join the staff of his son, Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin, although that was apparently not a serious option.

According to ESPN, the new contract will pay Kiffin $2 million a year, making him one of the highest-paid assistant coaches in the NFL, although still quite a bit behind the highest-paid, Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. The 67-year-old Kiffin has had several opportunities to leave Tampa, but he now appears set to finish his career there.