Fansided

25 worst college football coaching hires in history

By Nicholas Ian Allen

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 1: Head coach Mike Price of the Washington State University Cougars manages the game from the sidelines during the 89th Rose Bowl game against University of Oklahoma Sooners at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2003 in Pasadena, California. Oklahoma defeated Washington St. 34-14. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 1: Head coach Mike Price of the Washington State University Cougars manages the game from the sidelines during the 89th Rose Bowl game against University of Oklahoma Sooners at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2003 in Pasadena, California. Oklahoma defeated Washington St. 34-14. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /
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KNOXVILLE, TN – OCTOBER 31: Head coach Lane Kiffen of the Tennessee Volunteers watches against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium on October 31, 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN – OCTOBER 31: Head coach Lane Kiffen of the Tennessee Volunteers watches against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium on October 31, 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

10. Lane Kiffin, Tennessee

  • Hired: November 2008
  • Left: January 2010
  • Record at Tennessee: 7-6 (.538)
  • Career head coaching record: 35-21 (.625)

Tennessee football just hasn’t been the same since the Vols fired Phillip Fulmer in 2010 and replaced him with Lane Kiffin. Fulmer won eight or more games in each of his first 12 seasons as head coach, posted a 152-52 record, posted eight double-digit winning seasons in 17 years and led the Vols to the 1998 national championship.

Kiffin was 7-6 in one season in Knoxville. Since his departure for USC, the Vols have had four losing campaigns and have yet to win 10 games in a season.

Some argue Fulmer should never have been fired. Nevertheless, on paper, the move to hire Kiffin made sense for Tennessee. The son of defensive coaching legend Monte Kiffin, Lane Kiffin earned a reputation as an offensive whiz and top recruiter as an assistant at USC.

While coaching alongside Pete Carroll, Kiffin was a major piece of two national championship squads, which earned him a surprising opportunity to become the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2007 at the age of 31. Things didn’t work out in Oakland, and Kiffin was fired four games into the 2008 season with a 5-15 record. Later that year, Tennessee came calling and the 33-year-old became the youngest coach in FBS.

The Vols improved from 5-7 to 7-6, but Kiffin made headlines for accusing then-Florida head coach Urban Meyer of a recruiting violation, while simultaneously committing a conference violation himself by mentioning a recruit’s name.

When Carroll left the Trojans for the Seattle Seahawks in January 2010, less than a month before National Signing Day, Kiffin jumped to replace him, and Tennessee tabbed Derek Dooley, who was later fired after three consecutive losing seasons.

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