KNOXVILLE — At 2:45 Monday afternoon, University of Tennessee students Joe Rebrovick, Daniel Clark, Doug Mack, Trey Coates and Morris Hite were watching a video feed of Lane Kiffin’s introduction as the school’s new football coach when their Hess dormitory resident adviser had an idea.

“I told them they needed to take off their shirts, write ‘L-A-N-E-!’ across their chests, then go over to Neyland Stadium and welcome Coach Kiffin in style,” said Cody Tarpley.

Never mind that an icy wind was howling as snowflakes danced in the air. The dawn of a new era in Big Orange football needed a special welcoming committee. So each of the Frozen Five painted one letter of Kiffin’s first name on his bare chest — Monteagle resident Hite became the exclamation point — and headed for Neyland.

Once there, their bold behavior finally convinced the 33-year-old Kiffin to leave the warmth of the Wolf-Kaplan Center to meet the quivering quintet screaming his name.

“I appreciate you guys coming out,” the new coach said as he high-fived the Frozen Five through a chain-link fence.

Almost in unison, the students responded, “We appreciate you coming to UT.”

Then, as Kiffin and his wife Layla — still movie star-gorgeous despite being eight-and-a-half months pregnant — climbed into a university car headed for the airport, one of the five shouted, “Al Davis is going to feel really dumb after next year!”

Davis, of course, is the man who made all of this possible. The taciturn Oakland Raiders owner ran off Kiffin four games into the 2008 NFL season, opening the door for the boy genius to return to the college game, where he first made a name for himself as a recruiter and wide receivers coach at Southern Cal.

When Phillip Fulmer couldn’t stop the Volunteers from losing six of their first nine games, UT athletic director Mike Hamilton decided to give Kiffin a call. When that interview went well three weeks ago, Hamilton called back.

“Can you fly to Dallas tonight?” the AD asked.

When Kiffin arrived, Hamilton expected the two to share a quick greeting, then have a more serious conversation the next morning.

“Instead, we talked for two and a half hours,” the AD said. “It just felt right.”

Three days later, Hamilton offered him the job and Kiffin accepted. Seen as almost as important as the new head coach is the new staff he hopes to bring with him, including, apparently, his father, Monte, the long-respected defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Neither Kiffin nor Hamilton would name names Monday, but Hamilton called the expected bump in assistants’ salaries to be “significant.”

He later added, “There’s no doubt that if he lands his first wave (preferred assistants), it will have an impact. Everybody in college football will ask, ‘How did they put that staff together?’”

Kiffin clearly views one of his first jobs to be keeping the Big Orange family together after Fulmer’s firing.

Though he said he hasn’t spoken to his predecessor yet, Kiffin was quick to note, “It was tearful for me to watch him at the end of that (Kentucky) game. I view this guy as a legend. I’m extremely honored to follow Coach Fulmer.”

He also wasted no time putting to rest any rumors that this was a brief break in his quest to return to the NFL.

“My agent won’t want me to say this, but I’m not going back to the NFL,” Kiffin said, smiling.

And lest anyone think he isn’t about to instill the same precision and discipline that has marked the rise of SEC championship game participants Alabama and Florida under Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, respectively, consider this line from Kiffin:

“We spent 41 minutes together (with the returning players) last night with me talking and explaining the plan here, explaining what’s going to happen, and our expectation level and the accountability they need to have.”

Not 40 minutes. Not 45 minutes. Exactly 41 minutes. Could Saban or Meyer have said it better?

“Just look at what he did at USC,” said Vols linebacker Nick Reveiz. “He’s helped win national championships at the college level and been a head coach in the NFL. What can get better than that?”

What can get better than this if you’re a Volniac? After spending 36 hours in Knoxville meeting his new employers and players, Kiffin headed straight for Memphis to recruit highly touted wideout Marlon Brown of Harding Academy.

“No one,” Kiffin said, “is going to outwork us.”

Similar hard work by Meyer and Saban netted huge second seasons at Florida (where Meyer won a national title) and Alabama (currently No. 1).

The Frozen Five expect Kiffin to equal such success in his first year.

“Eric Berry will be a junior,” Mack said. “I’m predicting 14-0.”

That wouldn’t just make Davis feel really dumb. That would make Hamilton a genius.

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