Why did Monte Kiffin say a lot of people want him on the first bus to Tennessee?

Joe isn’t quite sure what to make of a quote by recently departed Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Kiffin talked to many media outlets following Sunday’s horrific loss to the Raiders, the culmination of the Bucs’ four-week defensive collapse. In what was either a self-deprecating moment, a cocky statement about how much University of Tennessee fans want him, or a revelation of some hidden turmoil between Monte and Jon Gruden and/or others, Kiffin told the Knoxville News Sentinel he is certain that a lot of people want to see him leave Tampa immediately.

“The hardest thing right now is you can’t come back with these players,” Kiffin said. “We’ve always fixed it. I just want to go back and start again – these last four weeks. But you can’t do that.

“You have to move on. That’s life. All I can say is I’ll always love the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I’m sure there’s a lot of people that are wishing that Kiff takes the first bus to Tennessee.”

Without knowing Monte’s personality, it’s hard to speculate why he would say people want him to take the first bus out of town. It’s a little bizarre. Perhaps there’s more to Monte leaving than what appears.