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Article published Dec 1, 2008 UT to introduce Kiffin as coach
The Associated Press
KNOXVILLE — Lane Kiffin will become Tennessee's head football coach only two days after Phillip Fulmer closed out his 17 years with the Vols in a win over Kentucky on Saturday.
Kiffin, the former Oakland Raiders coach, will be introduced at a 2 p.m. news conference today.
"We have had unbelievable interest from great coaches," athletic director Mike Hamilton said Sunday. "When it was all said and done, we felt like Lane Kiffin was a perfect fit for Tennessee. He's energetic, charismatic, consumed with recruiting and has had a lifelong love affair with football."
Kiffin, 33, replaces Fulmer, who was forced out after 17 seasons as Vols coach. Fulmer won a national championship in 1998 and two Southeastern Conference titles but had two losing seasons in the last five years, including a 5-7 mark this year.
Kiffin was the youngest coach in the NFL's modern history when hired to lead the Raiders in January 2007, at age 31, after spending two seasons as Southern California's recruiting and offensive coordinator.
The former backup Fresno State quarterback had a rocky relationship with Oakland owner Al Davis, who fired him Sept. 30 for what he said was insubordination. Kiffin had posted a 5-15 record with the Raiders.
Kiffin is charged with making the storied Tennesseee program competitive in the SEC once again and returning it to national prominence. Like Fulmer, Kiffin takes over the Vols with no prior college football head coaching experience.
He spent 10 seasons as an assistant coach with USC, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Colorado State and Fresno State.
Kiffin reportedly spent Sunday working to build his staff and making contact with top recruits.
Kiffin's father, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, is expected to join his son at Tennessee.
Though Tennessee officials tried to keep Kiffin's hiring quiet until after Fulmer coached his last game, word of it leaked on Friday, the day before Fulmer closed his career with a 28-10 win over Kentucky.
That win extended the nation's longest active winning streak by one team over another to 24 games and helped the Vols (5-7, 3-5) avoid becoming the first team in program history to lose eight games in a season.
In his final press conference following the game, Fulmer deftly issued a challenge to his Tennessee coaching successor.
"To me he ought to win every football game next year. How's that for pressure on the new guy?" he said with a grin.
Fulmer, a Blount County resident, said he plans to take some time to relax, though he might be interested in the Clemson coaching job should it not be offered to interim coach Dabo Swinney.
"(Tennessee) is a very special place and it would take a special place for me to go to, but being unemployed right now, I'm interested in those kinds of jobs because that's a special place," Fulmer said of Clemson.
The Mississippi State head coaching job is also open, after Sylvester Croom was dismissed following his fifth year at the helm.
Fulmer said he plans to reflect a bit and take some time to spend with his family, who he acknowledges has paid a huge price for his commitment to coaching.