Tenn. head coach Lane Kiffin bolts for USC

[PullMyFinger]

Man, the hiring system is so messed up in college. Its pretty bad in the NFL, but college is a joke.

 

[Chief]

Wow. Who does Tennessee go for now?

Skip Holtz?

 

[Danny White]

From Pat Forde, ESPN.com... pretty harsh stuff.

At this rate, Lane Kiffin is an 8-5 season at USC away from a $50 million contract to coach Peyton Manning and the Colts.

Seriously, why not? Why wouldn't he just keep rising up the coaching ranks on the basis of nothing much at all? If a 31-year-old with no head-coaching experience can get the Oakland Raiders job, and a guy who got fired from that job after losing 15 of 20 games can get the Tennessee job, and a guy who went 7-6 in a reckless first season in Knoxville can get the USC job … is there any rung of the sport to which Kiffin cannot climb?

I mean, what if he actually does something impressive as a coach? Win a conference title and they might just fast-track him into the Hall of Fame.

Paris Hilton has paid more dues than Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin comes across as a guy who was born on third base and acts as if he hit a triple -- but given the way people have thrown good jobs and big money at him, it's hard to blame him for thinking he's the next Knute Rockne.

USC is the latest enabler. Perhaps feeling the flutter of desperation after reportedly being stiff-armed by Mike Riley, Jack Del Rio, Jeff Fisher and Steve Sarkisian, the school had to go to someone it knew would say yes -- especially if that someone has ties to the Pete Carroll glory days.

Kiffin is that guy. His jilting of Tennessee and all the players he and his Orange Pride hostesses sweet-talked into becoming Volunteers is distasteful. The school gave him a big break, and he broke athletic director Mike Hamilton's ankles sprinting out of town in just over a year. Once again, loyalty is for suckers in the realm of college coaching.

That said, Kiffin is taking a better job.

Who wouldn't prefer coaching the flagship school in the Pacific-10 to coaching what is no better than the fourth- or fifth-best program in the murderous SEC? Who wouldn't prefer the recruiting backyard of Southern California to East Tennessee? Who wouldn't prefer the beach to the boonies?

But just because Kiffin might want the USC job doesn't mean USC is beholden to give it to him. What's to love about Lane?

His career head-coaching record is 12-21.

He's already 0-1 against USC's biggest rival, UCLA.

His signature win was a loss -- a two-point defeat at eventual national champion Alabama. Other than that, the best thing the Volunteers did in 2009 was thumping the worst Georgia team in a decade.

His team was de-pantsed in the Chick-fil-A Bowl by Virginia Tech, and de-pantsed in Oxford by an underachieving Mississippi.

And that's just the on-field stuff. Off the field is where he's really raised doubts, and raised the ire of SEC commissioner Mike Slive. Kiffin has specialized in stupidity.

He knows the periodic table of the elements better than the NCAA rule manual -- that much became obvious after erroneously accusing Florida's Urban Meyer of cheating, and the string of secondary violations the Volunteers committed on his watch. Blithely commenting that he takes NCAA enforcement scrutiny of his program as "a compliment" only reinforced the notion that the guy doesn't get it when it comes to compliance.

Which, when it comes to USC, would seemingly be a concern. The school has a date next month with the NCAA Committee on Infractions to answer allegations of violations in both the football and men's basketball programs. Think the committee will be impressed by USC's new commitment to piety by trotting out Lane Kiffin?

So there is a lot to question about this hire, and about the meteoric rise of mediocre Lane Kiffin. But who knows? Maybe this will be where he actually earns his station.

Kiffin is quickly assembling another all-star coaching staff, which was his signature achievement at Tennessee. He's bringing dad Monte as his defensive coordinator and Ed Orgeron as his recruiting coordinator, plus possibly adding former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow to the ensemble.

And Kiffin knows the turf. He was recruiting coordinator there before, when the Trojans were signing a constellation of stars on an annual basis. He should be able to sign plenty of A-list talent.

Plus, it's USC. Even if the program gets slapped by the NCAA -- which might have factored into Carroll's leaving, and rejections from other candidates -- it will not stay down for long.

Actually, it won't stay down for long if Lane Kiffin is the right guy. Maybe this time he'll stay in one place long enough to determine whether he can actually coach.

Pat Forde is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at ESPN4D@aol.com.

 

[jcollins28]

Listening to Cowterd wax poetic about Lame Kitten this morning was disturbing. he actually said "Fight On" to end his serenade of Lame. I always knew that the Trojans ranked right up their with Duke for getting love from ESPN but that was ridiculous.

 

[Chief]

From Pat Forde, ESPN.com... pretty harsh stuff.

Forde ripped Nick Saban to shreds when Saban left the Dolphins to go to Alabama after repeated denials. Then, Forde was singing Saban's praises after the title game a few days ago, calling it "a great hire" by Alabama.

When one of these coaches makes a controversial move like this, Pat Forde comes full speed with guns a blazin'.

 

[Danny White]

Forde ripped Nick Saban to shreds when Saban left the Dolphins to go to Alabama after repeated denials. Then, Forde was singing Saban's praises after the title game a few days ago, calling it "a great hire" by Alabama.

When one of these coaches makes a controversial move like this, Pat Forde comes full speed with guns a blazin'.

Still doesn't change the fact that Kiffen, by all appearances, is a "Summer's Eve."

 

[DallasCowpoke]

I don't get why anyone would fault Kiffin for taking the USC job? I don't care whether he's been at Tenn 1 year or 10, ANYBODY would be foolish to pass that up.

And spare me the "loyalty" excuse. Players come into a university, free-ride, redshirt, then play for two years and bolt for the paycheck. Loyalty my horses south end!

On the opposite end, if Kiffin had stayed at Tenn, then gone 6-6 or worse over the next few years, do you think the university would loyally keep him around?

 

[Maikeru-sama]

I personally think it sucks from the standpoint that despite being under contract, Coaches are free to come go as they please but players have to wait 1 year if they transfer to another school.

 

[Yeagermeister]

I personally think it sucks from the standpoint that despite being under contract, Coaches are free to come go as they please but players have to wait 1 year if they transfer to another school.

Players can apply for a hardship waiver but they are rarely given out. Elliot Williams was able to transfer from Duke to Memphis and not miss a year because his mother is sick.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

I personally think it sucks from the standpoint that despite being under contract, Coaches are free to come go as they please but players have to wait 1 year if they transfer to another school.

Coaches aren't "transferring" to anywhere, they're taking a job. Universities break THEIR contract's with coaches all the time. How come it's ok for them to do so, but not the same as when the tables are turned?

It's called "headhunting" in the corporate world, it goes on daily.

Unless universities require a coach, who's purely an employee of that institution, to sign a "non-compete", trying to dictate when and where that PAID individual can go to work is ridiculous.

 

[DFWJC]

Chow is not going anywhere. Just another attempt by Lame Kiffen to confuse recruits. Kiffen uses the media and lies constantly.

Don't be so sure....

 

[DFWJC]

Skip Holtz?

Hope not....for the Pirates sake. But rumors are putting Skip at USF anyway. He turned down Cincy and Syracuse already last season. But he will leave--his family loves it in Greenville but being in a non-BCS conference makes it tough to recruit.

Of course if Tenn were to offer, that would be a huge upgrade and he would jump. I don't even see USC as much of an upgrade from Tennessee--but it is one, but not by much.

 

[Rampage]

college football is a dirty game

 

[dbair1967]

Listening to Cowterd wax poetic about Lame Kitten this morning was disturbing. he actually said "Fight On" to end his serenade of Lame. I always knew that the Trojans ranked right up their with Duke for getting love from ESPN but that was ridiculous.

Doug Gottlieb spent the afternoon just ripping Lane Kiffin to death, so apparently he didnt get that ESPN must love USC no matter what memo.

 

[kristie]

i hate lane kiffin!!

 

[Maikeru-sama]

Did I say it was wrong for a Coach to take another job?

I stated that it is unfair for the Athletes to have to sit out a year, if they want to go to a another School.

And whether people want to admit it or not, playing football at a high profile School is a "job".

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Forde ripped Nick Saban to shreds when Saban left the Dolphins to go to Alabama after repeated denials. Then, Forde was singing Saban's praises after the title game a few days ago, calling it "a great hire" by Alabama.

When one of these coaches makes a controversial move like this, Pat Forde comes full speed with guns a blazin'.

And?

Was he wrong about either thing?

No.

Nick Saban deserved to be blasted for the way he did Miami. He did them, just like he did LSU, with BS about not leaving and all that jazz only to bolt.

That being said, even though it was a crappy way to do things, it was still a great hire by Alabama. Saban, jerk or not, is a great college coach and it made sense for Alabama.

I mean it's not like Alabama has any loyalty to the Miami Dolphins or the NFL.

It's a great hire by Alabama but a dirty way to go about it by Nick Saban.

 

[Doomsday101]

Frankly I don't get Kiffin, he has not won any where as a HC. He was lousy in Oakland and his Tenn team looked bad. He keeps getting big time jobs yet has never produced a winner. I guess there is allot to having a known last name

 

[Concord]

Frankly I don't get Kiffin, he has not won any where as a HC. He was lousy in Oakland and his Tenn team looked bad. He keeps getting big time jobs yet has never produced a winner. I guess there is allot to having a known last name

I'm with you.

Yeah the guy looked great as USC OC...who wouldn't with the talent they had.

Now we'll see how good he is when ALL the responsibility is on him.

So far when it has been as it was in Oakland and Tennessee...he hasn't been that impressive.

It's not hard to look good as a Coordinator when you have major talent.

Too bad Weis didn't have Tom Brady go with him to ND.

 

[jcollins28]

Don't be so sure....

No I'm pretty sure Chow is not going to USC. Chow and Kiffen do not like each other. Chow felt like he was being forced out of USC by Kiffen. Kiffen is a master at selling lies to the media and this was simply that to try and confuse USC recruits into thinking something that just was not true.