Ed Orgeron predicts what would have happened at Tennessee had Lane Kiffin not left

Telling the story of Lane Kiffin is impossible without mentioning his stop at Tennessee. In fact, it might be one of the more important aspects of his career. Kiffin spent just one season in Knoxville before heading back to Los Angeles to coach USC. Fans certainly have not forgotten the move, even if jokes are made about the move nowadays.

But what if Kiffin never left Tennessee? Well, On3’s Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman asked somebody who was on his staff during the 2009 season, Ed Orgeron. While things might have been crazy, Orgeron believes success would have come for the Volunteers.

“We would have won the SEC for sure,” Orgeron said via Andy & Ari On3. “He was doing a great job. He was bringing great players in there. Look, I love Knoxville. What a football town, what a great stadium. And the recruiting that we were doing and the staff that he had was phenomenal. Now, it would’ve been like the Wild, Wild West. There were a lot of things going on. But Lane is a great coach and I’m glad he’s doing well.”

Kiffin went 7-5 during his first year at Tennessee before dropping a bowl game. Wins against Georgia and a ranked South Carolina stand out before closing out the regular season with rivalry wins over Vanderbilt and Kentucky. This was fresh off a losing season under Phillip Fulmer, the final year for the legendary head coach.

Orgeron served as the associate head coach, defensive line coach, and recruiting coordinator. His ability to bring talent into a program is well-known — just look at his time at LSU. Doing the same at Tennessee is something Orgeron appears confident they would have been able to do.

Winning the SEC puts you in elite company on Rocky Top. The last time they went to Atlanta was in 2007. Go back even further to find their last SEC Championship was 1998, the same year as the national championship victory. Currently, Josh Heupel is tasked with ending the long drought.

Eventually, Orgeron believes the Vols would have gotten there. Instead, he followed Kiffin out West to become a part of his USC staff. Orgeron eventually became the interim head coach when Lane Kiffin got fired in 2013, starting his journey to Baton Rouge, where an SEC Championship and national title were won. But maybe in a different world, the glory comes wearing orange.