The real reason Tennessee fans don't like Kiffin is how and when he left. First, they way he left was classless, literally in the middle of the night. His staff contacted Tennessee early enrollees set to start the next day the night he left instructing them not to go to class, using Tennessee paid cell phones no less. But really at least to me it was when he left. He left after only one year on the job, now based on what happened at USC, there's no doubt in my mind his tenure would have ended with him being fired. At the time, no one would have known that. Leaving a program after one year in mid January was devastating to Tennessee. It hurt recruiting and who's going to leave their job to take the Tennessee job that would be any good. That's exactly what happened Tennessee hired quite possibly the worst coach the SEC has seen in the modern era. Kiffin's decision to leave Tennessee set this program back 5 to 7 years. Only now are the Vols starting to dig out of the debacle that was Lane Kiffin.
Yes it's true we don't like Kiffin, but not for the reasons the national media would have you believe. It's not because he's a good coach, it's how and when he left that ultimately set this program back years that only now is Butch Jones starting to bring back.
