Kiffin Faces The Music At SEC Spring Meetings

For most of Tuesday and Wednesday those of us at the OSG HQ have talking to our sources at the SEC Spring Meetings down in Destin, Florida and sitting back and taking in all the articles and stories from other blogs and newspapers of Lane Kiffin's appearance amongst his SEC head coaching peers. No need to recount Kiffin's actions since getting the Tennessee gig but he's not apologizing for it.

Kiffin says he won't apologize simply because his actions have made Tennessee the most talked about 5-7 team this off-season and top of mind of football recruits around the country. It's no secret that UT has to recruit nationally because the state of Tennessee simply doesn't produce enough Division 1 talent. So in 6 months Kiffin became aggressive in putting Tennessee on the national map during the recruiting season. It paid off with a top 10 class including what many consider the top player in the country running back Bryce Brown.

In the meantime he poked jabs at Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier. According to FOSG Tony Barnhart of the AJC.com, Kiffin and Spurrier rode an elavator together and patched things up.

As for Urban Meyer, he said he would be "professional" in his first face-to-face contact but don't be surprised if ice forms on the walls and both coaches can see their breath. When asked about Meyer, Lane Kiffin reinforced his reputation as the king of the one liners by saying "I don’t have a relationship with Coach Meyer, but I did ask for adjoining (hotel) rooms,” with a laugh. If that were the case, would it surprise you if Urban Meyer left a stinky gift in his bed.

And Nick Saban's comments were typical, thought out, precise and to the point.

“Everybody has to have their own way of handling things and heavens knows I’ve made my share of mistakes with the media,” Saban said. “But we try to represent our organization in a first-class way and do it with loyalty and integrity.”

Our favorite comment comes from Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino who to this date has not been insulted by Kiffin but the two were on the Jacksonville Jaguar coaching staff a few years back.

“I’ve laughed about it, it has put a smile on my face,” Petrino said. “Maybe if we want to quit talking about it, those guys (Meyer and Kiffin) can go jump in that Ultimate Fighting ring. That would sell some tickets.”

That would be awesome. Much better than yesterday's Jose Canseco fiasco.

Photo Courtesy: AP