Say what you will about FAU coach Lane Kiffin, there aren’t many people as qualified to discuss both the Tennessee and Alabama football programs. After all, he’s worked for both programs in some capacity recently.

During a very transparent radio interview Monday afternoon with Knoxville radio host Tony Basilio, Kiffin shared several thoughts on his time at Tennessee.

Among the most interesting things said, the current FAU coach expressed his belief that the NCAA rulebook was too thick. He claims most coaches don’t know each and every rule, which leads to minor violations, such as calling a recruit before or after a designated quiet period.

Kiffin also asked Tennessee fans to be patient with Butch Jones, noting that he still has time to turn things around in Knoxville.

That particular comment made Basilio laugh, “I don’t think so,” he said.

Before wrapping up the interview, Kiffin made one last point on Tennessee’s program. While Alabama football appears to be an unstoppable juggernaut and Tennessee football, at times, appears clueless, Kiffin noted that the reverse was true not that long ago.

All it took was for the Tide to hire the right man and things changed drastically in a hurry.

The Crimson Tide had the pieces in place to become elite and so does Tennessee in Kiffin’s mind. Not only can that happen, the FAU coach believes it will happen.

“Tennessee has everything that Alabama has to be successful. It will happen.”

Lane Kiffin on the radio with @TonyBasilio: "Tennessee has everything that Alabama has to be successful. It will happen" — SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) October 30, 2017

Pretty bold statement from Kiffin. Was this his attempt to get his name in the running for a possible opening in Knoxville? Who knows, but it’s interesting to hear the former Tennessee coach talk so positively about a program whose fans once hated him so much.

At this point, it’s fair to ask if Kiffin would be a more attractive option for the Vols for the 2018 season over current coach Butch Jones.