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Although it now appears that Buccanners head coach Jon Gruden won’t be heading to Knoxville, Tennessee, one of Gruden’s top assistants could be.
In conjunction with reports that former Raiders coach Lane Kiffin will be the next coach of the Vols, rumors are intensifying that he’ll hire his father, Monte, to run the defense.
There were rumors a year ago that Lane Kiffin wanted to bring his dad to Oakland. Though the rumors were denied at the time, Raiders owner Al Davis gave credence to talk of a possible Kiffin kin arrangement during his epic September press conference announcing the chapter-and-verse details regarding Kiffin’s termination for cause.
Monte Kiffin , 68, joined the Bucs in 1996, when Tony Dungy became head coach.
If Kiffin leaves, he could possibly be replaced by Lions coach Rod Marinelli, who likely will be fired after the season ends. If not sooner.
November 28th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Lane Kiffin to UT… I called it like a month ago
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
November 28th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Well, you got ths right for the most part. Monte will leave and go run the defense at Tennessee for his son (wierd?) and Marinelli will be running hte Defense in Tampa next year.
But Marinelli won’t be fired by the Lions before the end of the season. They don’t have anyone to run the team in his absence, no one has any head coaching experience on the staff, it is a wash. They are just as bad with him as they are without him. Besides, he deserves to have to stay and watch the mess he created.
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Rating: 1.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
November 28th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Come on really Florio. stop pissing Buc fans off with this bull. No way does Marinelli return. tampa would promote from within.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
November 28th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
That’s good news for Lane Kiffin and I wish him well. It is a relief to know that coaching for Al Davis doesn’t destroy one’s future opportunity for coaching football at any level. Who would want to coach the Raiders? Or for that matter, who would want to coach the Bengals?
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Rating: 3.75 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
November 28th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
um no..raheem morris will be the next buc’s d-coordinator
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 12:05 am
This will be a sad day in Tampa. The only reason Gruden still has a job in this city is because of the continutiy this defense has enjoyed for the last 12 years. If Monte Kiffin does leave I wish him well. I don’t know if Kiffin’s defensive scheme will fit with young college kids who at a maximum only have 5 years to learn the scheme. Pops Kiffin hasn’t coached at the college level since 1982. He will be one year shy of 70 this coming February so I don’t know how much longer he will be coaching at any level. I’ve met the man on a couple of occasions and he doesn’t seem like the type to retire. Maybe this will give him another outlet for his craft.
Anyone out there notice that the defensive scheme he is most famous for isn’t exactly used here all that often… I’ve noticed a lot more cover 3 and more blitzing than has been used in the past.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Oh my god, I would LOVE to be my dad’s boss.
“Did you even SEE that fullback lining up at tight end?” “Blitz? Where are your brains, in your ass?” “I found this pot in your locker, let me guess, you’re just holding it for Warren Sapp.”
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Rating: 4.2 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Love me daddy….
Make your own name Lame..Stand on your own feet.
Without the pre-written excuses.
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 12:19 am
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Kiffin is nearly as invaluable as Gruden! I hope like heck this doesn’t play out!
As for Marinelli, he was a heck of a defensive line coach, but I don’t know about him becoming coordinator. Maybe. Keep your eye on Raheem Morris, our secondary coach. The Bucs are very high on him.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Please tell me you’ve got a better source for this than the wishlist some hack from Knoxville threw together on short notice.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Kiffin signed a multi-year extension in January though, so how do the Vols get him if he’s still under contract? The Bucs have never released a coach from contract before, and the Vols can’t much send them draft picks as compensation either…
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 1:05 am
apeck: Marinelli created nothing. No coach could win with this team that Matt Millen assembled.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 1:19 am
Monte isn’t going to UT. I don’t see why he’d follow his son. Makes very little sense to me. But I’m glad to have Lane here, I think he’ll do well.
Go Vols!
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Good thing you pursued that “Gruden to Tennessee” angle Florio. Really paid off. It was such needed, informative reporting.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 1:44 am
BuckFutter
AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…nice.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 4:31 am
Come to Green Bay, Monte! We’ve got the worst coordinator in the league right now.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 7:48 am
That can work, it’s called a “Pittsburgh arrangement”. Get a young face in there and call him coach but have the old guy defensive coordinator really running the team.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 8:09 am
Gee… I wonder what Lane Kiffin will do when his teams in Knoxville start losing. Is he going to insult the dean of the university, the athletic director, and also his defensive coordinator? That’s what he did in Oakland when things didn’t work out for him.
Kiffin’s a loser. He tanked games on purpose to get fired from Oakland, so he could get a college job. I read an article where a few Raider players who are Tenn. alums (Gibril Wilson and another player) were upset that Kiffin was going there because they didnt think he was a good coach. Just a spoiled brat who is now calling daddy to help him.
He should send Al Davis a X-mas card thanking him for everything he has. Otherwise he’d still be behind Sarkisian at USC.
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Rating: 1.55 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 9:26 am
I don’t know about Marinelli as a coordinator, either. In Detroit, he got ‘em playing hard, but he never got ‘em winning anything. He couldn’t wait to run off Shaun Rogers, who most observers thought was potentially the Lions best player.
When he finally assembled “His guys” they were one of the league’s worst D’s. ‘Ol Monte wants to end his career working for his son? that makes little sense either.
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 10:07 am
No way does Monte take any job with the Vols. These SAME rumors followed him when Lane took over at Oakland. There’s no traction here.
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November 29th, 2008 at 11:25 am
gruden to tennessee. lane to tampa. tampa takes a lot of raider rejects then wins with them.
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November 29th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Florio, are you sure Gruden isn’t going to Tenn?
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November 29th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Monte stays in Tampa where he is considered a demi-god and
Lane struggles in Tenn against Spurrier, Meyer, Sabin, and the other
SEC powers. Even UGA and LSU with Richt and Miles. So Lane has his
work cut out to make it to another contract.
But…MONTE STAY IN TAMPA!
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November 29th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Swervin is on the money…
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
November 29th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
It aint gonna happen.
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