Kiffin watch: if you talk fast, maybe nobody pays attention to what you’re saying.

Besides Clay Travis, nobody was a bigger winner at SEC Media Days than Junior.  No overt gaffs, no recruiting violations, a good quip or two…

New Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin visited Tebow when he was Southern Cal’s national recruiter, but he knew early on his chances were slim.

“He had a Florida Gators mailbox right there as you pulled into his farm,” Kiffin said. “I should have known we weren’t getting him at that point.”

… and suddenly the press isn’t so harsh.  In fact, while we don’t know if he coaches like Pete Carroll, it seems that you can close your eyes and he sounds like Carroll.

But for those who’ve seen Pete Carroll press conferences, Kiffin talks in much the same choppy manner that his old boss does.  It’s as if he’s so excited that he’s trying to get as many points out as quickly as he can.  Carroll gives off that same vibe.

Mmmm… dreamy.

But it’s still the same old contents in a new package.

“Do I love every single thing that I’ve done for my seven months? No, I haven’t loved having to do it,” Kiffin said. “But it needed to be done to get to where we wanted to be.”

What a trooper!

He’s sticking with that it’s-all-part-of-the-plan shtick.  Except when he isn’t, of course.

As David Ching points out, it’s still the same old Laner.

… The first-year Tennessee head coach insists that the commotion he has created since his hiring in November was worth it since it pushed his new Volunteers program into the national spotlight. That it’s OK to publicly blast fellow SEC coaches, criticize a recruit’s grandmother when the recruit signs with another school, gain attention for a spate of minor recruiting violations – “we probably weren’t as educated as some other schools on the rules,” Kiffin explained Friday, “we” being the collection of mercenaries and ex-NFL assistants who now comprise his 10-man staff – simply because it generates media attention.

Oh, and that whole “he’s got your backs, kids” thing Junior’s got the troops buying into?  Well, maybe there’s a little backtracking to do in the face of the Mighty Gators.

… I have great respect for Florida, what they’ve done there. I would think Florida is not worried one bit about us. We’re 5 7, they’re the powerful Gators. We’re just trying to play in the same conference as them.

That’s certainly a, um, different song than the one he was singing at the start.

When Tennessee linebacker Rico McCoy heard Lane Kiffin say he wanted to sing “Rocky Top” after beating Florida this fall, he was a little intrigued.

But after offseason workouts began and spring practice started with a bang, McCoy has a simple message for his new coach: Say whatever you want.

“I was like, ‘Oooh, coach is talking trash,’ ” McCoy said. “But after we started the workouts, I’m like, ‘Hell yeah, coach.’ I know we’re going to be in the best shape, and we’re going to have the best coaching. Say whatever you want. We’re going to play ball. I feel like we ought to be able to beat anybody.”

You may want to check on that again, Rico.  Your coach wants to be liked now.