Lane Kiffin hires former Tennessee QB Tee Martin for LSU staff, per report

Lane Kiffin has hired former Tennessee national champion quarterback Tee Martin to his new LSU coaching staff, according to a report on March 18 by NFL insider Jordan Schultz.

Martin will be an offensive analyst after serving on the Baltimore Ravens staff since 2021, most recently as quarterbacks coach. He was a Vols assistant coach in 2019-20 under Jeremy Pruitt, and he was UT's quarterback on the 1998 national title team.

Who's to say whether Kiffin is trolling UT fans by hiring an iconic player? After all, there's a statue of Martin in the shadow of Neyland Stadium. And Martin likely will help coach quarterback Sam Leavitt, who Kiffin swiped from the transfer portal as Leavitt finished his recruiting visit to Tennessee.

But perhaps Kiffin is simply adding an experienced coach with whom he's familiar. In 2012, Kiffin hired Martin at Southern Cal, where he remained seven seasons under three head coaches. Martin then returned to his alma mater for a brief stint on the Vols staff.

It adds another layer of intrigue to Tennessee's Nov. 21 home game against LSU. Not only will Kiffin return to a raucous crowd, but Martin will accompany him.

In 2021, UT unveiled the statue of Martin, along with three other Black trailblazers in Vols football history. Martin led UT to an undefeated season, SEC title and BCS national championship in 1998. He was the first Black quarterback in the SEC to win a national title.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: LSU football, Lane Kiffin hire Tee Martin, former Tennessee QB, per report