His brief tenure as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator undone by his head coach’s firing, Dave Clawson made the following statement on his way out the door last November:
“The first thing the next head coach here needs to do is name B.J. Coleman his starting quarterback.”
(And to think some of us spent much of the 2008 season believing Clawson was the president of the Jonathan Crompton Fan Club.)
Now fast forward a few months to last Saturday’s Orange and White game. At the close of his first spring, new UT football coach Lane Kiffin strongly hinted that Coleman was proving to be far better in games than practice, a supposed explanation for why the redshirt sophomore remained behind Crompton on the depth chart despite superior statistics in public scrimmages.
Asked at Tuesday night’s Big Orange Caravan event if he’d ever coached another quarterback with that trait, Kiffin replied, “Matt Leinart,” who just happened to win the 2004 Heisman Trophy while at Southern Cal.
This is not to say that Kiffin should have named Coleman his starting quarterback before Santa Claus came to town. Nor is it to suggest that given a chance, B.J. could have accomplished what Peyton Manning didn’t by winning the Heisman.
But with Thursday’s stunning news that Coleman is leaving the UT program over lack of playing time and some rather immature behavior by Kiffin, a troubling question is no doubt vexing Volniacs throughout the Big Orange Nation:
If Coleman’s former offensive coordinator believes he should have started 12 games this past season instead of none, if Kiffin sees at least glimpes of Leinart in the McCallie School graduate, then why, oh, why will Rocky Top no longer be home, sweet home to No. 18?
To be fair, it is never easy working with other folks’ kids. Not for babysitters. Not for kindergarten teachers. Not for big-time college football coaches forced to deal with a former coach’s recruits.
Coleman did not sign with Kiffin; nor did Kiffin recruit Coleman. They were forced upon each other when the Vols fired Phillip Fulmer.
It is also worth noting that whether or not this judgment is fair, both the previous staff — or at least the former head coach — and the new regime kept Crompton above Coleman on the depth chart. To characterize this slight as nothing more than blind prejudice is to strain credibility.
Whatever coaches like in their quarterbacks during practice, Crompton apparently showed more of it to two different staffs.
But to watch Coleman in last year’s celebrated junior varsity performance against Hargrave Military Academy or in the 20-10 win at Vanderbilt — his only meaningful SEC action — was to understand that his biggest strength may be that intangible gift of inspiration.
With Coleman on the field at Vanderbilt, the Vols had more pep in their step, much as they did during the 2009 Orange and White game.
Yes, he throws a beautiful ball. Yes, he’s strong and tough and bright. But when Coleman gushed, “We get to play SEC football for the Tennessee Vols. What could be better than that?” you got the feeling that he had his teammates feeling the same thing.
Now he’ll tranfer that enthusiasm elsewhere — to UT-Chattanooga perhaps? — and Kiffin will be left to deal with the fallout of a two-time Tennessee Mr. Football walking away from Home State U., at least partly because Lane was twice too lame to keep scheduled appointments with Coleman to discuss the frustrated quarterback’s future.
For Coleman those slights were the last straw in filing for divorce. For Kiffin they may signal the end of his honeymoon with the Big Orange Nation.
Mark Wiedmer started work at the Chattanooga News-Free Press on Valentine’s Day of 1983. At the time, he had to get an advance from his boss to buy a Valentine gift for his wife. Mark was hired as a graphic artist but quickly moved to sports, where he oversaw prep football for a time, won the “Pick’ em” box in 1985 and took over the UTC basketball beat the following year. By 1990, he was ...
I think "divorce" is the right label to paste on this situation. No one here really looked his best. While we rightly hold the head coach to a higher standard of maturity than his players (to whatever extent maturity is measured by appointment keeping and press conferences), B.J.'s day-of comments to his hometown newspaper paint him more a crestfallen youngster than future champion.
Kiffin is many things, but stupid doesn't seem to be one of them. We should not forget that Crompton was on the USC radar at the same time as Mark Sanchez, and (like it or not) possesses physical tools superior to anyone on the roster. No player thrived in Clawson's offense last year, and Crompton should be given a pass for his errors, pardon the pun.
For all that, I think B.J. had an amazing spring and possesses an unteachable moxie. I would love to seem him come to the new-and-hopefully-improved UTC and write a Joe Flacco story for his hometown.
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Anthony Jr.
Wait... you mean that Dave Clawson, offensive genius that he is... thought Coleman should be the starter?
WE'VE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE!
I think you're kidding yourself (and your readers) if you think this ends Kiffin's honeymoon. Read the responses to the news of BJ leaving, and the majority of fans seem to be saying, see ya; don't let the door hit you on the way out.
The argument that the coaching staff wants to make it more appealing to potential recruits by getting rid of the sophomore and starting the senior doesn't hold water. This year is an audition for Kiffin's offensive system in the eyes of all big time qb's. This offense needs to succeed, or at least show marked improvement this year, and you do that by putting the guy who you feel gives you the best chance of that, regardless of what class that guy is in. If this year's offense looks like last year's offense, it won't matter who the qb is; no top recruit will want to put himself in that position.
Wow, did the Coleman family discover Chattanooga? CTFP has been all over this kid's sack. He's not that good. Get over it. Phil recruited him, so what. Phil wasted a lot of good scholarships and Kiffin isn't making the same mistakes. He didn't sign a QB this year cause there were no good ones left. We'll make due with what we have till next year. Kiffin made a promise to honor the scholarships of all CPF's recruits but he never said he had to play them or make their life easy. If they don't fit and want to move on, then good luck to them. Move on BJ, you've made your decision. No take backs kid
Man, you guys are drinking some serious BJ Kool-Aid. Alot of the readers are wrong about Fulmer being the recruiter of BJ. It was Cutcliffe who saw potential in BJ and he was only lightly recruited by anyone else. I hate to think that Dave Clawson the offensive coordinator, could never convince Fulmer to start BJ or even move him up the depth chart. There was never any rumblings at all last year in Knoxville about starting BJ until after Jon and Nick flopped. Only then did people in Knoxville start saying "what the hell, give this other kid a try."
Bottom line is, Kiffin gets a pass this year, because of crappy cards he was dealt. He gets a pass next year if he recruits a top notch QB for 2010, because we know, Nick isnt going to take us anywhere (and neither would BJ). We are waiting 2 years right now for a new leader to emerge from the 2010 recruiting class. No one in Knoxville wants to pin their hopes on a QB that got passed over by 2 half assed quarterbacks (Crompton & Stephens), 2 head coaches (Fulmer & Kiffin), 2 offensive coordinators (Clawson & Chaney), and a quarterback coach (Reaves.)
Come on Chatt, isnt that Kool-Aid just a little bitter?
Now that I think about it, I'm getting more and more disgusted by this, Wiedmer (plus it may have to do with the fact that I'm actually stuck at home on a Friday night).
Seriously, I don't remember you writing article after article about how Dennis Franchione screwed the late Victor Ellis out of his starting job his senior year. Victor was one of the classiest individuals I have ever met, and you guys weren't out there bashing Fran at every opportunity. Not to mention the fact that Victor was already an established SEC talent on the college playing field, UNLIKE COLEMAN.
Going back further, I don't remember you guys criticizing golden boy Ralph Potter when he screwed a number of rising seniors out of their starting positions when he took the job at McCallie. And yet, ole Ralph gets a pass while Lane gets a fail.
Don't be such a hypocrite.
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