Word on the street today is that Lane Kiffin has reached an agreement with Tennessee to become their new head coach and an official announcement will come on Monday. Important thing to note is that Kiffin's father, Monte Kiffin, is also expected to head to Tennessee with Lane to coach as well. Monte is of course well known for being a defensive coordinator whiz with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In all honesty, this is a pretty sweet hire for Tennessee in its entirety. As an Oakland Raiders fan, I don't necessarily hold Kiffin in exceptionally high regard, although that's because he didn't exactly get to do much during his time in Oakland, but if he brings his dad with him to Knoxville, that'll more than make up for any deficiencies Lane has as a head coach.

This also answers the question of what was going to happen to Kiffin? Some people thought his tenure with the Raiders might hurt his chances of being able to get another coaching gig. So much for that thought.

However, it'll be interesting to see how well he does. Tennessee is an absolute disaster right now. They have no quarterback, they'll be losing running back Arian Foster after this season, and their defense couldn't even beat Wyoming. I mean, it's beyond a mess there, it's an utter catastrophe.

Kiffin was also known as being a bit icy and cold while head coach of the Raiders, which may not translate well to the college game. Although that said, he did have the support of most of the players during the drawn out firing initiated by Al Davis. 

There's obviously a question of how much pull Kiffin will have in terms of recruiting too. Yes, people know who he is, but just because people know who you are doesn't mean you'll pull top notch recruits, which is what Tennessee desperately needs at this point in time. But you have to figure that a guy who used to be the offensive coordinator for USC will certainly be an appealing figure to a number of offensive recruits.

I'd say I'm cautiously optimistic that Kiffin can at least make this team relevant in the SEC again within a few years, partly because his father will turn their defense into an absolute force. However, it's hard to imagine Tennessee competing with Alabama, Florida, or LSU any time real soon.

The problem is that we just don't know how good of a coach Kiffin really is. He never really got a chance in Oakland, so he's a bit of mystery. His dad will be a great crutch, but as we all know, there are no gaurantees in coaching.

Plus, we'll see how patient Vols fans are, particularly after having witnessed how Nick Saban turned Alabama into the #1 team in the land in only a season and a half. You know expectations will be high for Kiffin, and if he doesn't meet them, things could get even worse for Kiffin than when he was with the Raiders. Just ask Phil Fulmer.

Tennessee could announce deal with Kiffin on Monday [ESPN]