Rocky Sucession: Kiffin's Clandestine Hiring, Fulmer's Heartache -- NCAA Football FanHouse
Now it is time for Tennessee Volunteer athletic director Mike Hamilton to find his replacement.
The list begins with 30 names. Hamilton has long kept a list of potential replacement football coaches -- an actual physical list of printed names that is fluid and constantly evolving. He edits and revises this list frequently.......
By the time Tennessee interviews him, Hamilton believes that Kiffin has already interviewed with or is a serious head-coaching candidate at Syracuse, Washington, and Clemson. One of Hamilton's associates instructs Kiffin to fly to Atlanta, book a suite with a conference room attached, and wait there until the four Tennessee men arrive for the interview.
That Wednesday night Hamilton speaks with Kiffin for the first time, just to ensure that he's arrived in Atlanta okay. In the meantime, Kiffin has made his first and only error of the interview process. He's sent a FedEx package to Hamilton's home. The package, a collection of articles and notes about him that Kiffin wants Hamilton to see.
The interview is scheduled to last two hours. Instead it lasts four hours.
Kiffin regales the group with a detailed recruiting plan for Tennessee, and with news that his father, Monte, the current Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator, has a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave to coach alongside his son. Hamilton already knows this, having been informed of the clause by Kiffin's agent, Jimmy Sexton, but he's intrigued by the idea of bringing the best NFL defensive coordinator to the SEC.
The next morning, Tuesday November 25th, Kiffin officially interviews a second time for another two and a half hours.
By this time Kiffin has put together a list of potential staff members that he believes he could bring with him to Tennessee. Among the names are Coach Ed Orgeron, formerly the head coach at Ole Miss and currently the defensive line coach with the New Orleans Saints, and his father. Hamilton and the interview team are close to being sold on Kiffin as their hire.
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