And, in Kiffin's words, he's "just getting started."

Mike Hamilton wanted to make a big splash with this hiring, and the Tennessee athletic director sounded confident that he did.

"It's tough to describe how excited I am about the future of Tennessee football," Hamilton said. "I think we're on the verge of something very special."

Kiffin tried walking a fine line between honoring the Volunteers' storied past -- specifically referencing his predecessor, Phillip Fulmer -- and stating his desire to move the program forward.

"I'm not trying to be him," Kiffin said of Fulmer. "But I do respect him and the unbelievable job he did here. There's nothing we can win here that he didn't win before."

Kiffin was the youngest head coach in NFL history (31) when the Oakland Raiders hired him in January 2007, and now he's the SEC's youngest head coach. He was born May 9, 1975, three years after Fulmer graduated from UT.

But he was born into a prominent football family.

His father, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, is considered by many as one of the game's best defensive minds. He's also reportedly the Vols' next defensive coordinator, according to several sources -- including UT players.

Both Kiffins called the reports "speculation," but they didn't deny them. Neither did Vols defensive end Gerald Williams.

"Me and some of the guys were watching the Bucs game yesterday ... and we were thinking, 'Man, this isn't going to be bad at all,'" Williams said.

Regardless, Lane Kiffin is aware that many consider his age an issue.

"The past three levels I've gone to, I've been the youngest guy at those levels," Kiffin said. "Then to go and be a head coach in the NFL and to deal with the personalities of the NFL, the players and deal with a completely dysfunctional (Oakland) franchise when you get there -- that wasn't a joke -- you can't go to school and learn crisis management like going there.

"Usually you're young and inexperienced or old and experienced. I'm very fortunate, the way I look at it."

Kiffin on Saturday signed a "memorandum of understanding" with UT for an incentive-laden, five-year contract with an average base salary of $2.375 million per season.

That base is far from his financial ceiling, though. He will earn an additional $40,000 for a non-BCS bowl game appearance; $40,000 for splitting an SEC Eastern Division championship; $50,000 for being SEC coach of the year; $50,000 for being national coach of the year; $80,000 for playing in the SEC championship game; $120,000 for winning the SEC championship; $120,000 for a BCS bowl appearance; $160,000 for a BCS championship game appearance; $160,000 for a No. 1 ranking in the final Associated Press or USA Today poll; or $280,000 for winning the BCS championship game.

The memorandum stated that Kiffin would also be eligible for a $40,000 annual bonus for his team finishing with an NCAA Academic Progress Report score higher than 925.

Kiffin would owe UT $1 million if he left next season, and that figure decreases by $200,000 every year, according to the memorandum.

UT would owe him $7.5 million if it terminated his contract during the next two seasons. That figure decreases to $6.25 million in 2011 and $5 million in 2013.

"You have to spend money to make money, and football money is what drives our department," Hamilton said.

Kiffin coordinated the University of Southern California's potent offenses in 2005 and 2006. He also was the recruiting coordinator.

"When you look at it, he was Southern Cal's offense and Southern Cal's recruiting," UT president John Petersen said of Kiffin. "That's a pretty impressive resume, and he's a pretty impressive guy.

"I think Mike hit another home run with this hire."

Coach Robert Neyland was also 33 years old when he arrived at UT in 1926, and Kiffin has a regimented schedule that would probably impress the general.

Kiffin said his Sunday night meeting with the returning Vols lasted exactly 41 minutes. When told by a sports information official that he had "about 10 minutes" between two live national television interviews -- not the seven minutes originally scheduled -- Kiffin half-jokingly looked at a clock and said, "You guys are killing me here."

He and his wife have two daughters, with a son due in January, and he said he'd prefer the 17th move of his short life to stick.

"I plan on staying here for a long time," Kiffin said. "My kids are young. I don't want to move them."

Fulmer was 152-52 in 16-plus seasons at UT. His team won 10 games last season and led in the fourth quarter of the SEC championship game. He signed an extension through 2015 in the summer.

"I think the bar here is extremely high, and I love it," Kiffin said. "If the bar wasn't there, I wouldn't want to be here."

Kiffin dismissed any notion that UT was no longer one of college football's premier places. He said the program's facilities were "better than anything I've ever seen, and I've been a lot of places."

He said the idea of not taking a job because of the strength of a school's conference "would never enter into the way I think. ... I don't know how to think like that, but I do know this: We're playing in the best conference in football, in the SEC. To me, there's no comparison.

"The other 'big' jobs out there, I interviewed for them this year ... but there was no way you could compare any of those jobs to this job."

Kiffin mentioned a large number of All-Americans he recruited during his six years at USC and said the list could go "on and on."

He even sent a joking jab at Florida coach Urban Meyer.

"I'm really looking forward to embracing some of the great traditions at the University of Tennessee," Kiffin said. "The Vol Walk. Running through the 'T.' Singing 'Rocky Top' all night long next year after we beat Florida, that's going to be a blast. So get ready.

"That line was Mike's idea by the way. All right, Urban?"

-- wrucker@timesfreepress.com

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