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Tee Martin: Lane Kiffin was never a Tennessee guy

Tee Martin was a four-year letterman and two-year starting quarterback at Tennessee from 1996-99. He led the Volunteers to the 1998 national title, the school's first national championship since 1951. Martin currently is the quarterbacks coach at New Mexico.

For those involved in the Tennessee program, for those fans who live for Tennessee football, we're embarrassed, shocked and hurt by what has happened. We're a unique set of college football fans. We're a close group who live for our team and our university.

Frankly, I'm embarrassed by the timing of it all. Lane Kiffin was hired to do a job for the University of Tennessee. He wanted everyone to buy into what he was selling, and then he left after one year.

The former players I talk to, we all share the same sentiments: Tennessee is a first-class program, we've been doing the right thing for years and we're better than this. Over the past year, we've been in and out of the news with the way the program has been run, and now it culminates with this.

Right now, to stop the bleeding a give Tennessee some stability, maybe the logical answer -- considering we're three weeks from national signing day, would be to hire Phil Fulmer in some capacity. At some point, he should be involved in this situation somehow. He knows the players on the team, he knows the players they were recruiting, recruited them when they were sophomores and juniors, and he can go in there and save this recruiting class.

Coach Fulmer knows the problems, and has the answers to what has been going on. The most immediate and pressing need is to save the recruiting class. If Tennessee loses out on this recruiting class, it's something that can impact the program for years. After the class is saved, we can move on to make the permanent hire. The next coach needs to be someone within the Tennessee family, or someone who has knowledge and connections of how we do things at Tennessee.

When the decision was made to fire Coach Fulmer, it was cut and dry and there were a lot of emotions involved. We fired a lifer to hire a guy we thought would be another lifer, and he left after one year. We were led to believe that Lane Kiffin was going to be the next Phillip Fulmer, but he left a year later.

The next coach is going to have to be there for a while. If Coach Fulmer is there in some capacity, it will allow the new coach to get off on the right track. The way Lane was hired, he didn't have anyone to show him the Tennessee way. The next guy could be a great coach, but he has to have an understanding of the way we do things at Tennessee.

Lane is a West Coast guy. I don't think he was ever at Tennessee 100 percent. He used to coach at USC, he knows the players USC recruits and he is familiar with the high school coaches there in Los Angeles. So it doesn't really surprise me that he would leave for USC. It's the timing of it.

Usually how it works is, after you've proven yourself at one place, you go to another. I thought he could leave Tennessee for USC at some point, but not after one season.

Read more: http://aol.sportingn...t#ixzz1oO1TUIHD

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Tee Martin: Lane Kiffin was never a Tennessee guy

Tee Martin was a four-year letterman and two-year starting quarterback at Tennessee from 1996-99. He led the Volunteers to the 1998 national title, the school's first national championship since 1951. Martin currently is the quarterbacks coach at New Mexico.

For those involved in the Tennessee program, for those fans who live for Tennessee football, we're embarrassed, shocked and hurt by what has happened. We?re a unique set of college football fans. We're a close group who live for our team and our university.

Frankly, I'm embarrassed by the timing of it all. Lane Kiffin was hired to do a job for the University of Tennessee. He wanted everyone to buy into what he was selling, and then he left after one year.

The former players I talk to, we all share the same sentiments: Tennessee is a first-class program, we've been doing the right thing for years and we're better than this. Over the past year, we've been in and out of the news with the way the program has been run, and now it culminates with this.

Right now, to stop the bleeding a give Tennessee some stability, maybe the logical answer -- considering we?re three weeks from national signing day?would be to hire Phil Fulmer in some capacity. At some point, he should be involved in this situation somehow. He knows the players on the team, he knows the players they were recruiting?he recruited them when they were sophomores and juniors?and he can go in there and save this recruiting class.

Coach Fulmer knows the problems, and has the answers to what has been going on. The most immediate and pressing need is to save the recruiting class. If Tennessee loses out on this recruiting class, it's something that can impact the program for years. After the class is saved, we can move on to make the permanent hire. The next coach needs to be someone within the Tennessee family, or someone who has knowledge and connections of how we do things at Tennessee.

When the decision was made to fire Coach Fulmer, it was cut and dry and there were a lot of emotions involved. We fired a lifer to hire a guy we thought would be another lifer, and he left after one year. We were led to believe that Lane Kiffin was going to be the next Phillip Fulmer, but he left a year later.

The next coach is going to have to be there for a while. If Coach Fulmer is there in some capacity, it will allow the new coach to get off on the right track. The way Lane was hired, he didn?t have anyone to show him the Tennessee way. The next guy could be a great coach, but he has to have an understanding of the way we do things at Tennessee.

Lane is a West Coast guy. I don?t think he was ever at Tennessee 100 percent. He used to coach at USC, he knows the players USC recruits and he is familiar with the high school coaches there in Los Angeles. So it doesn?t really surprise me that he would leave for USC. It?s the timing of it.

Usually how it works is, after you?ve proven yourself at one place, you go to another. I thought he could leave Tennessee for USC at some point, but not after one season.

Read more: http://aol.sportingn...t#ixzz1oO1TUIHD

Tee Agree's that Los Angeles is better as well.
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