For the second time since taking over at Tennessee, head coach Lane Kiffin has been publicly reprimanded by the SEC.
The first time was for accusing Urban Meyer of cheating in the recruitment of a prospect both schools were going after. This time, it was for directing criticisms at SEC officials following the Vols’ loss to Alabama.
Following the game, Kiffin questioned exactly why Terrence Cody wasn’t flagged after the defensive lineman blocked the potential game-winning field goal and removed his helmet in celebration.
Kiffin said that he had spoken he had spoken with the SEC’s coordinator of officials and the commissioner Mike Slive about the non-call, but didn’t expect anything to come of it.
“I’m sure we’ll get one of those letters that mean nothing, that Bobby (Petrino) got last week, but Florida and Alabama live on,” he said.
That’s the statement that landed Kiffin in hot water with the commish and led to his rebuke. And which could lead to a suspension if he fails to keep his opinions to himself in the future.
“Coach Kiffin has violated the Southeastern Conference Code of Ethics,” Slive said. “SEC Bylaw 10.5.4 clearly states that coaches, players and support personnel shall refrain from all public criticism of officials.
“This is the second reprimand for Coach Kiffin in this calendar year. Coach Kiffin is on notice that for any further violations of SEC policies will subject him to additional penalties including suspension.”
Yeah, good luck getting Kiffin to shut up. You might as well tell him not to breathe while you’re at it.
Lane,
The clock was full of zeroes and your team had lost when the helmet came off. Keep improving but you know ya’ll had no business being in that game Saturday. Bama’s coaches and the fumble kept ya’ll alive when you should have been buried and dead. Try to get to 6 wins so you head west to Nashville for your bowl game.
Oh please! There is one reason Tennesee lost and it’s called Daniel Lincoln. Cody could have been eating a hotdog on the sideline and those kicks still would have hit the offensive line in the back of the head.
‘Bama “yall” are a bunch of chumps and got caught with your pants down. Good luck vs LSU.
It’s too bad Lane is such a Cry Baby, I think he will be a good fit for the Vols, a bunch of whiney little babies headed by the biggest cry baby of all.
Wait… the SEC has ethics?
Don’t they have to routinely suspend their refs for bad calls and blatant favoritism? Ha ha!
Who cares about this league. Next.
Kiffin outcoached Meyer and Saban IMO. I watched both games and though he took a much lesser talented team and hung with them. He’s mouthy, but apparently knows how to coach. Maybe his mouth won’t be the death of him.
Big deal.
Tennessee outplayed Alabama in that game. The reason Bama won? 4-for-4 on FGs including a couple of long ones. The reason Tennessee lost? 1-for-4 on FGs in a game that was decided by 2 points.
AutumnWind999,
When all the smoke clears, and the silliness is over, you nailed it. That was the bottom line.
I think they lost because Terrence Cody is a beast who they could not stop, not because officials did their job during the game and then stopped officiating after the game was over.
According to ESPN, the penalty would have had no effect on the game. It happened after the kick was blocked. Alabama gets the ball and is assessed a 15 yard penalty – game over.
dfly52, you are wrong. The penalty in question is a personal foul and would have been a 15 yard penalty, a first down, and a re-kick for the Vols.
It really would have been bullshit though. Even though the ball was technically still live, the clock had hit zero and Bama had won it on the field. Football is an emotional game and this was an emotional moment.
I have been spreading a rumor that I created in which The University of Alabama has decided, in view of their expertise in soccer style kicking, and further in view of their failure at all other phases of football, to become a soccer team instead. Football is obviously not their sport anymore, so it just makes sense. And that Off Color Red (that I refer to as “pinkie-red”) will be perfect for their newly chosen, main sport, aka SOCCER.
According to Southeastern Conference spokesman Charles Bloom, a penalty could not have been called because this kind of infraction would have to be assessed on the next play, and there was no next play since time ran out. Said Bloom in an e-mail to USA TODAY:
BBQ – See below explaination from the SEC:
“The foul for taking helmet off is a live-ball foul treated as a dead-ball foul. That is, if it happens on a play where time does not expire, then the penalty is enforced on the following play. However since the clock ran out on that play, then there is no next play so there is no penalty to mark off.”
Also, Alabama recovered the ball, so the Volunteers would not have had the ball on the next play anyway and would not have had the chance for another field goal try.
you are both wrong.
this penalty happened after the play – it would be alabama’s ball, first down at the spot of the kick. The 15 yard personal foul penalty would be assessed to alabama’s offense, pushing them back closer to the goalline, but this would have no real outcome on the game.
it doesn’t even matter if it was 3rd down – the penalty happened after the play, and once you kick a ball, you lose the rest of your downs. If you kick on 3rd down and it goes wide or gets blocked, you don’t get another shot. If it was 4th down and the same thing happened, any personal fouls that occur AFTER the kick are assessed to the other team’s offense.
the bottom line is tennessee should have made some of those field goals earlier in the game.
dfly52:
Keep in mind that I am a huge Bama fan and that I believe that the no call in this particular situation was the right thing to do… however, what ever happened to the rule that the game cannot end in a defensive penalty?
This would result in one untimed play.
I laugh at all the Tennessee fans griping about calls and a so called “conspiracy” to keep both Alabama & Florida undefeated.
I’ve been reading all the Teneessee blogs bringing up calls that go against them (Gaffney) but gloss over calls that benefited them, like the flag on the Gator wide receiver who was given a penalty eventhough the ref was standing there reaching for his flag before the Gator retaliated but nailed Florida for an unsportsmanlike penalty, which won the game for them. Florida gets all the calls huh…try going back and review the horrible call against Florida vs Auburn on a non fumble against Leak which cost Florida an undefeated team and almost kept them out of the NC game.
There is no doubt the officiating has been horrendous for years in the SEC. I could list many calls that went against Florida over the years. EVERY team in the SEC has benefitted from bad calls, including Tennessee’s hold on Jones in the same game.
My question is for Layla. The SEC explained why it would not have been a re-kick for Tennessee. Why doesn’t he know the rules? Let’s see since he has become coach this is now the 3rd incident where he flat out didn’t know the rule. That’s incromprehensible to me how an SEC coach, and I use that term loosely for Layla, doesn’t know the rule book from front to back.
Listen, this latest comment is not going to help his “supposedly” master plan to attract recruits. Once other coaches start breaking down how this loose cannon doesn’t know rules or can’t control himself they will sign with other schools. And if he plays this loose with rules, how long before illegal recruiting starts appearing, not long in my estimation. Good luck VOL fans, you refuse to chastise Layla when she does something wrong, so you are enabling her….you reap what you SOW!!!!
dfly52 you are the first person that I have seen that has it correct. A game cannot end with a defensive penalty.
Correct ruling would have been personal foul 15 yard penalty, giving the Vol’s another a try at a field goal.
However, that probably would have cost Alabama a win, and a-hole Sabin some of his ego.
snyder, you’re incorrect.
there is no way, shape, or form the vols would have had a chance to re-kick. the penalty is a dead-ball foul, happened after the play.