Past QB Martin says ‘no’ to Vols

Posted: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 7:00 pm

From AP, Staff Reports
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California wide receivers coach Tee Martin said Tuesday that he’ll remain at the school instead of returning to Tennessee to join new Vols coach Butch Jones’ staff.
Martin, the former quarterback who led Tennessee to the 1998 national title, is in his first season on Trojans coach Lane Kiffin’s staff.
“I was very honored to be offered a position on Coach Jones’ Tennessee staff,” Martin said in a statement posted on school’s website. “I truly believe he will do an outstanding job with the Vols program. My decision to remain at USC was the toughest I have ever had to make because Tennessee is such a special place to me.
“At the end of the day, I am a man of my word. I promised Coach Kiffin when I was hired at USC that I had goals I wanted to accomplish here. We still have work to do here to reach those goals. I see a great future at USC with the players on our roster and the recruits we have coming in.
“I have so much love and respect for Tennessee. But at this time, the right decision was to continue at USC and I am looking forward to doing that.”
A second year at USC would equal Martin’s longest tenure at one school since beginning his coaching career in 2006.
He was the passing game coordinator at Morehouse College in 2006, an assistant coach at North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Ga., in 2007, and the offensive coordinator and QB coach at North Atlanta High School in 2008.
Martin moved back into the college ranks in 2009 as the quarterback coach at New Mexico, and then served as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Kentucky in 2010 and 2011 before being hired by Kiffin in 2012.
Tennessee hired Butch Jones, ending a search to replace fired head coach Derek Dooley.
 Kiffin had spent one year as Tennessee’s head coach prior to Dooley’s hiring.

Published in The Messenger 12.12.12