Lane Kiffin to USC

[Arizona's Finest]

I think this is a very good short term solution and a long term bomb waiting to go off

kiffin is nothing if not ambitious - he no doubt wants back in the NFL game

he has also shown that he's willing to play a little fast and loose with his program and will be operating under a much brighter light in USC

right now they have an established network of boosters and friends of the program - people who need to be managed and kept in line

i'm not sure if kiffin is savvy enough to do it and do it well

I see him doing anything and all things to maintain recruits and continue the success - grabbing an NFL job and leaving USC holding the bag on a lot of things

This I could see.

 

[Renz]

Steve Hartman made a good comparison today. Kiffin is the Paris Hilton of head coaches. He's a "big name", but nobody knows exactly why.

Kiffin took the Raiders job that nobody else wanted (and went 5-15) then he spends one season at Tennessee and goes 7-5.

 

[clif]

Steve Hartman made a good comparison today. Kiffin is the Paris Hilton of head coaches. He's a "big name", but nobody knows exactly why.

Kiffin took the Raiders job that nobody else wanted (and went 5-15) then he spends one season at Tennessee and goes 7-5.

He got the job because he is a clone (so says the experts) of Pete Carroll. He will fall ass backwards into 8 wins and if he out recruits and out schemes the rest of the PAC in a couple games he is in the BCS championship conversation damn near every year. We all know him and his staff can recruit.

 

[overseascardfan]

FWIW, in my 40 years USC has only had one coach who failed to recruit SoCal well, and that was Tollner. Soft head coach with a soft staff. Tollner's disinterest in recruiting is what set up ASU's first Rose Bowl run and gave UW and Oregon a foothold into the LA market. Even Larry Smith, who Mao can tell you couldn't help but start crying when someone put a camera in his face, recruited fairly well and set up Robo II.

Exactly. The only way USC is going to be effected recruiting wise is if the NCAA takes away schollies. It's SoCal, beaches, honeys, Hollywood, famous alumni / connections, national television exposure, good school and their football team just came off a pretty successful decade by the way. WR Kyle Prater (No. 2 Rivals 100) has re-affirmed his committment after considering opening it up once Pete Cool jumped ship. UT on the other hand has lost a couple of high profile recruits and could lose more unless they get someone quick.

 

[Gaddabout]

Exactly. The only way USC is going to be effected recruiting wise is if the NCAA takes away schollies. It's SoCal, beaches, honeys, Hollywood, famous alumni / connections, national television exposure, good school and their football team just came off a pretty successful decade by the way. WR Kyle Prater (No. 2 Rivals 100) has re-affirmed his committment after considering opening it up once Pete Cool jumped ship. UT on the other hand has lost a couple of high profile recruits and could lose more unless they get someone quick.

The flip side of that is USC spent the 90s proving strong recruiting classes don't coach themselves and it only takes a couple of years at the training table and in intense weight training for those secondary and tertiary recruits to catch up to lazy 5-star athletes.

My point being Lane's ability to recruit won't be the measure by which he's judged. He will be judged by conference championships and national championships. Nine-win seasons is to USC what 6-win seasons is to pretty much every other coach in the country: A path to the hot seat.

Like I said, I think he'll buy himself some grace just by what Carroll left in the cupboard, but I know a LOT of USC fans who are just looking for cracks to exploit.

 

[Russ Smith]

So today we're told that Ed Orgeron denies trying to poach recruits to USC. He says yes we called them but only to answer any questions their parents or they may have about what's happening, we weren't trying to get them to USC.

And the father of a UT recruit last name Willis says that's totally untrue, he was told his son should NOT go to UT and SHOULD go with them to USC. He said he told the caller Lane Kiffin lied to us, if I can't trust you at UT, I can't trust you at USC so we're not going to USC.

There really ought to be a rule that says there's some sort of cooling off period where a signed recruit can't decide to follow a coach who leaves until that period is over. I don't know what the right amount of time is, but I know it's not a matter of hours because coaches are just praying on shocked kids emotions by pouncing and trying to get them to change their minds.

I've actually seen USC fans on a USC board say this makes them look very bad, even they see that it's taking a school who's already in the headlines for the wrong reasons and making them look even worse. But I won't be surprised if they wind up with a better recruiting class over this.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

So it takes all of 48 hours for Kiffin to backtrack on his "clean, disciplined program" statement? Again, this will all end very badly for the Trojans.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I just dont' get how this is any different then Turner Gill leaving Buffalo for Kansas, Brian Kelly from Cinncy to ND, or any of the other hundreds of coaching moves.

It's really not. It just higher profile and people don't like Lane. Where I really think this stems from is the Pro SEC media (like ESPN who has had 4 different writers kill Kiffin in print) getting butt hurt that someone would leave one of their storied programs for the Pac - 10.

 

[Gaddabout]

It's really not. It just higher profile and people don't like Lane. Where I really think this stems from is the Pro SEC media (like ESPN who has had 4 different writers kill Kiffin in print) getting butt hurt that someone would leave one of their storied programs for the Pac - 10.

Bah. The entire LA media cabal had burned Kiffin in effigy before his planed touched the ground in that morning's paper. This isn't an SEC/ESPN conspiracy. This is Lane Kiffin being called out for being a careerist and trading on his name and connections. This guy has never actually built anything on his own, but he parades around like he invented football. It would be different if, for example, he had unprecedented success at Bowling Green and Utah before jumping into the big time.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Bah. The entire LA media cabal had burned Kiffin in effigy before his planed touched the ground in that morning's paper. This isn't an SEC/ESPN conspiracy. This is Lane Kiffin being called out for being a careerist and trading on his name and connections. This guy has never actually built anything on his own, but he parades around like he invented football. It would be different if, for example, he had unprecedented success at Bowling Green and Utah before jumping into the big time.

He knows how to recruit, knows how to run an offense, and knows how to build a staff. That is all proven. Plus he knows USC.

I know alot of people want a stellar overall record before hiring someone but Carroll was a mediocre NFL HC before getting the job. Del Rio was considered a favorite and he is a middle of the road NFL coach. What did Randy Shannon ever do to warrant a job like UM? What did Jimbo Fisher do to deserve FSU?

You don't always have guys at your disposal who are winners everywhere they went to bring in. Especially at SC where guys who know the program and its excellence have only been around since Pete or are 75 years old and from the 70's. It's natural they picked one of his top assistants during that success. ANd its not like he was running Middle Tennessee state. He was at UT and in the NFL prior to that.

I mean people would have been raving if they had brought back Sarkasian and hes gone what, 4-7? And even then you are taking a chance with guys like Kelly and Meyer because the question is, CAN they repeat the same thing in a bigger fish bowl.

I don't know Lane Kiffin but neither do you. I love how everyone wants to talk about how smug he is like they are part of his inner circle, but you know who he reminds me of? Phil Mickelson. Beautiful wife, easy to smile, charming but for some reason people just HATE him because he has made it. That analogy isn't perfect but I think people (used) to view Lefty through the same prism.

Any job hire is a gamble. I don't see why this was such a bad one. Especially with what was available. I would have MUCH rather have had a young go getter like Kiffin who is proven with offense, assembling a staff, and the all important recruiting rather then Herm Freaking Edwards or Del Rio like others were mentioning.

If either Gad or Mao have an idea of a better choice I would be interested in hearing it. Because I just don't see it.

 

[Gaddabout]

He knows how to recruit, knows how to run an offense, and knows how to build a staff. That is all proven. Plus he knows USC.

Recruiting: I'll give him that. He spent five years at USC and was pretty good.

Staff: He doesn't know how to build a staff. He knows staffing. He's connected, because his father is perhaps the most connected assistant coach on the planet. He originally got the USC job because Carroll was a Monte Kiffin disciple.

USC: Of course he does. That's not saying much. Robo knew USC even better.

I know alot of people want a stellar overall record before hiring someone but Carroll was a mediocre NFL HC before getting the job. Del Rio was considered a favorite and he is a middle of the road NFL coach. What did Randy Shannon ever do to warrant a job like UM? What did Jimbo Fisher do to deserve FSU?

Kidding, right?

Shannon spent 15 years in Miami learning the ropes before getting the big job. He earned it.

Jimbo Fisher has spent the last 20 years in the south building the reputation as a top notch coordinator and recruiter. If he hadn't been such an excellent coordinator, he might have been given a head job earlier. But people paid him to stay in place and it cost him some advancement.

Jack Del Rio was an All-American at USC and spent 11 solid years in the NFL as a starter. He worked his way up as a coach and put together one of the best NFL defenses this decade in Carolina before getting the Jacksonville job. He produced only the second winning team in Jacksonville's short history, breaking a 5-year drought, before depth and injuries crippled them the past couple of seasons.

Those guys ARE qualified and earned their spots. For that matter, Pete Carroll was recognized as one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL before getting his head coaching job.

You don't always have guys at your disposal who are winners everywhere they went to bring in -- and I would suspect Sarkisian had more to do with keeping that offense humming than Kiffin. Especially at SC where guys who know the program and its excellence have only been around since Pete or are 75 years old and from the 70's. It's natural they picked one of his top assistants during that success. ANd its not like he was running Middle Tennessee state. He was at UT and in the NFL prior to that.

He was in the NFL for not even two seasons and UT for one. He got both of the those jobs because he spent one full season taking over an offense Chow had built. Again, Kiffin has never built anything on his own. The two times he's been given the opportunity to do so -- both as a head coach -- he's fled for another job.

I mean people would have been raving if they had brought back Sarkasian and hes gone what, 4-7? And even then you are taking a chance with guys like Kelly and Meyer because the question is, CAN they repeat the same thing in a bigger fish bowl.

Who would be raving? Sarkisian isn't much more qualified than Kiffin, though he can say he was first a Chow guy -- he learned it as a QB under Chow at BYU.

I don't know Lane Kiffin but neither do you. I love how everyone wants to talk about how smug he is like they are part of his inner circle, but you know who he reminds me of? Phil Mickelson. Beautiful wife, easy to smile, charming but for some reason people just HATE him because he has made it. That analogy isn't perfect but I think people (used) to view Lefty through the same prism.

That's insanity. Lane Kiffin's smugness is well documented on video, audio, and in print. Just his tenure at UT he was so smug the SEC had to make a rule named in his honor to keep coaches from going over the top in saying things about other SEC coaches. Look it up. It's called the Kiffin rule. He was like Spurrier's evil spawn. Spurrier was funny and somehwat caustic. Kiffin was just flat immature and naive, completely out of his element in the lead position. He operated very much like a kid who had been promoted much too quickly.

Any job hire is a gamble. I don't see why this was such a bad one. Especially with what was available. I would have MUCH rather have had a young go getter like Kiffin who is proven with offense, assembling a staff, and the all important recruiting rather then Herm Freaking Edwards or Del Rio like others were mentioning.

I would love to hear who Gad or Mao would have felt is a better choice cuz I just don't see it.

USC never contacted:

- Gary Patterson
- Hudson Houck
- Kyle Wittingham
- Butch Davis

That's four names off the top of my head that would have made more sense than Lane Kiffin. But reality is I'm enjoying this. As an ASU fan I'll take whatever lumps come the next year or two as Carroll's organizational mastery lingers, but I will enjoy watching Lane mismanage this program into the ground and his superstar staff flees to a safe distance until it's just him and his dad.

This one has Robo III written all over it, only Kiffin is capable of opening the gates wide open for the NCAA to barge in. At least Robo was clean.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

USC never contacted:

- Gary Patterson
- Hudson Houck
- Kyle Wittingham
- Butch Davis

That's four names off the top of my head that would have made more sense than Lane Kiffin. But reality is I'm enjoying this. As an ASU fan I'll take whatever lumps come the next year or two as Carroll's organizational mastery lingers, but I will enjoy watching Lane mismanage this program into the ground and his superstar staff flees to a safe distance until it's just him and his dad.

Thanks for taking this one for me - there was a lot of inaccuracies there most notably the complete overrating of Kiffin's control over the offense during his tenure at USC. That was Chow and then Sarkisian's show, not Kiffin's.

I'll add to your list and only keep it West Coast guys. I'd rather my school hire the following than Lane Kiffin and all would reasonably have gone to USC:

Jeff Tedford (would probably say yes)
Bronco Mendenhall (would never work but is still a better coach)
Dewayne Walker (would jump at it and would've landed Chow)

Hell, I think I'd rather have Mike Stoops who everyone knows I am no fan of.

This is Kevin O'Neill with more hair, a hotter wife, and NCAA violations. Like KO, there's a reason (or hundreds more accurately) why everyone hates Lane Kiffin and it's certainly not jealousy as Finest thinks.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Here we go!

Kiffin already going after a kid that was dropped during his recruitment by Oklahoma, Georgia, USC, and Florida amongst others for "personal problems" (that's a nice way in recruiting-speak of saying the kid is either illiterate or a veteran criminal). Two days, two incidents that scream "lack of institutional control."

http://www.insidesocal.com/usc/archives/2010/01/recruiting-flip.html

 

[Russ Smith]

I just dont' get how this is any different then Turner Gill leaving Buffalo for Kansas, Brian Kelly from Cinncy to ND, or any of the other hundreds of coaching moves.

It's really not. It just higher profile and people don't like Lane. Where I really think this stems from is the Pro SEC media (like ESPN who has had 4 different writers kill Kiffin in print) getting butt hurt that someone would leave one of their storied programs for the Pac - 10.

To me it's strictly timing, if he did this a month ago, even a few weeks ago, it'd be different. But to leave the day before many of your recruits are due to start classes, and then try to persuade said recruits to follow you to USC, is just wrong to me.

I realize he couldn't leave earlier because Carroll hadn't left USC, but he could have left without trying to steal recruits. I don't blame Calipari one bit for going from Memphis to UK. I don't blame Bob Huggins one bit for leaving K State to West Virginia. My objection in both those situations was the coaches behavior upon leaving. Calipari dismantled the Memphis recruiting class and took many with him, and ran off UK players to make room. Huggins tried to poach the best recruits from K State and only backed off when their administration said they were going to file a formal complaint of recruiting violations if he didn't stop.

People always say kids commit to a coach not a school but when these kids are on their recruiting trip the coach isn't selling himself he's selling the school.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

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[Dback Jon]

 

[boisesuns]

Wah!!!! Someone loses a coach. I've been through that a few times as a Boise State fan. I think Petersen will stay around for a while. He said "No thanks" to Tennessee, and from what i've heard at least listened to USC (And didn't do much else).

It's hard to say how USC is going to do. I think they will always be competitive and have talent, but i'm also not sold on kiffin's coaching abilities yet.

 

[Southpaw]

I wish some school would take Randy Shannon away.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Maybe the typo speaks to the education you get in TN...

It should be Tiger Woods'

 

[Gaddabout]

I wish some school would take Randy Shannon away.

Really? They get better every year and he's improving as a game day coach. Too bad he's going to lose Whipple to South Florida though. In my heart of hearts I was hoping ASU would get some mysterious windfall of money and lure him back to Phoenix, but I knew that was a pipe dream. He's going to be a head coach -- a year earlier than I thought.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

shannon is painful as a game day coach - absolutely painful

love his recruiting and the fact that he is reclaiming south florida

he should be nothing more than a figure head on the sideline though

 

[Southpaw]

On a national comparison scale, the ACC is horribly weak. To be mediocre middle of the pack, in the ACC , and get outcoached does not tag one with the title of good coach. I am not sure great recruiting is a description that is deserved. He is down to one QB, no TEs, minimal LBs, horrible offensive line and the "new" recruits are clueless on the field. No one seems to be knocking on Shannon's door, trying to lure him away to their school.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Really? They get better every year and he's improving as a game day coach. Too bad he's going to lose Whipple to South Florida though. In my heart of hearts I was hoping ASU would get some mysterious windfall of money and lure him back to Phoenix, but I knew that was a pipe dream. He's going to be a head coach -- a year earlier than I thought.

Uhhh didn't Skip Holtz take the USF job close to a week ago?

 

[Arizona's Finest]

On a national comparison scale, the ACC is horribly weak. To be mediocre middle of the pack, in the ACC , and get outcoached does not tag one with the title of good coach. I am not sure great recruiting is a description that is deserved. He is down to one QB, no TEs, minimal LBs, horrible offensive line and the "new" recruits are clueless on the field. No one seems to be knocking on Shannon's door, trying to lure him away to their school.

They are definitely not recruiting this past year like they should.

But if it makes you feel better I have Miami going to the BCS next year and even playing in the Championship game as a dark horse depending on how things break.

I love Jacory Harris. But if they did lose Whipple thats a big problem.

 

[Gaddabout]

Uhhh didn't Skip Holtz take the USF job close to a week ago?

My bad. Totally missed that one.