Tennessee football: 5 people who should NOT replace Vols coach Butch Jones

COLLEGE STATION, TX - OCTOBER 08: Former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Peyton Manning walks across the field prior to the start of their game against the Texas A
COLLEGE STATION, TX - OCTOBER 08: Former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Peyton Manning walks across the field prior to the start of their game against the Texas A /
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Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images
Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images /

Yes, Lane Kiffin’s name has been thrown out there a bit. Clay Travis said last November he would ‘100 percent’ hire Kiffin and bring him back to Knoxville. It would certainly be a gutsy move considering what happened.

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Remember, Kiffin bolted Tennessee football in the middle of the night to take the USC Trojans job after one underwhelming 7-6 season. In the process, he left Derek Dooley an empty cupboard and a series of recruiting violations. It was not a good memory for Vols fans anywhere.

However, that’s not the only reason we are speaking out against this hire. If Kiffin had resurrected his career and proven himself elsewhere, we’d say he’s worth the risk of rehiring. And Vols fans would forgive him in a heartbeat.

But he hasn’t.

Now, to be fair, USC prematurely fired him considering the mess he inherited there. And he looked great as Alabama’s offensive coordinator for three years.

This year, however, has already changed things. Kiffin does not look that great at Florida Atlantic so far. They lost to the Buffalo Bulls two weeks ago. And his team got blown out by the Navy Midshipmen to open the season.

Meanwhile, the Tide’s offense actually looks better without him through five games this season.

As a result, Kiffin does not have the cache he had last November. Add that in with the fact that he clearly has baggage, lots of which he would bring to Knoxville, and Tennessee football should not look at him at all right now.