Charlie Klein
Following the departure of Pete Carroll to the Seattle Seahawks, we in the sports media were just waiting for the other shoe to drop. However, this shoe did more than just drop, it exploded when the University of Southern California announced that Lane Kiffin would be their next head football coach.
The most shocking thing about this announcement is that this man has never really succeeded in any head coaching position he has ever held. He was a catastrophic failure during his time with the Oakland Raiders and during his one year in Tennessee managed to say almost any wrongheaded or controversial thing a man in that position could say to the press. Surely there are more qualified coaches out there than Lane Kiffin for one of the best jobs in college football.
This man must possess the secret to liquid luck. Or he has been able to convince everyone that he is secretly a genius, all rude statements aside. In what must be a crushing blow to the Tennessee football program, recruiting whiz Ed Orgeron will be joining Kiffin at USC.
Kiffin's departure comes one year after promising to make Tennessee the "USC of the east." His remarks to the press at Rocky Top were incredibly short. Kiffin stated that the USC job was the only for which he would have left the Volunteers.
On a personal level I understand Lane Kiffin's decision. What makes little sense to me is why USC wanted him above all others to succeed Pete Carroll. I understand the arguments for stability and continuity, but at the same time USC could have gone other directions and still possessed those same qualities. With Lane Kiffin back where he "belongs" it will be an exciting 2010 in Los Angeles.
No comments:
Post a Comment