Lane Kiffin: the anti-Dabo
posted by LW, Wednesday, January 13, 2010
You can say what you want about Dabo Swinney, but I don't think we'll ever be sitting here saying he's a total weasel.
Who knows what the future holds under Swinney. He could end up being a great one, leading Clemson to the glory that's eluded it for way too long. Or he could end up being Tommy Bowden Two, routinely coming up just short.
But at least we can say we always know where the guy stands.
I don't think it's an outrage that Lane Kiffin bolted for Southern Cal after a mere year at Tennessee (or 14 months, as he said about nine times during last night's brief press conference). You can certainly see why Volunteer fans would like to pillage the guys' dwelling and gouge his eyes out. But objectively looking at it, it's freaking Southern Cal.
Nevertheless, Kiffin never seemed any more genuine than a telemarketer during his short stay in Knoxville.
I remember watching his introductory press conference and being shocked at Kiffin's superficiality. Even the passion he used in talking some smack to Florida seemed painfully contrived.
Contrast that with Swinney's introductory press conference, one of the more profound and poignant moments I've witnessed in 12 years of writing about sports for a living. No one in the room, or watching on TV, doubted that those were real tears falling down his face as he looked at his mother and exulted in the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.
Fast-forward to last night's brief press conference in Knoxville, where Kiffin tried to unsuccessfully sell the hogwash that the program is better than when he took over, and that he's successfully developed players while downing his cup of coffee on the way to the next big thing.
Again, no major qualms with Kiffin taking one of the top two or three jobs in college football.
But if the guy has a shred of dignity or respect for the people who had enough faith and trust to hire him and all his shady antics, then can't he offer a more substantial and heartfelt explanation? Can't he at least spend 10 more minutes taking some questions?
Even if you still have some questions about Swinney as a coach, you feel pretty confident he's not a weasel like Kiffin.
Speaking of Tennessee fans, looks like they weren't in a particularly good mood last night. Nothing like showing your frustration by trying to tear down an ugly statue downtown.
More on that here.
My friend Travis Haney, who covers South Carolina for The Post and Courier, is a Tennessee grad. And he says Vol Nation should be happy that Junior is headed to the West Coast.
But are the Trojans pumped about Lane's charioted return? Or are they more jazzed about having Monte Kiffin, Coach O and possibly Norm Chow? Clearly, it's the latter. It's the same smokescreen Kiffin fired up when he arrived in Knoxville.
He found a bunch of guys who knew a lot about football, and then he himself took the form of a gameshow host, yucking it up on camera and in prospects' homes.
He had little regard for those in the league that had won championships. He had little regard for the rulebook. He had little regard for the SEC's commissioner.
Those folks are celebrating tonight, because he's out of their hair and a country away.
And Tennessee's alumni should be toasting, as well.
Yes, it's a mess right now. But, believe me, it would've been a bigger mess by the time he was done tearing apart the program by recklessness.
So Ed Orgeron's first order of business on the way out is recruiting Tennessee's mid-term freshmen.
"We told them [the freshmen] in the meeting that it's their option," Walls told Volquest.com. "If they want to go, go. But we're a family here. You don't sign with no school for no coach. And just like they left us, they'll leave you all too. ... And we heard Coach O in the background calling enrollees and telling them that they got an offer to USC. He couldn't even address us. He couldn't even call us first.
"Freshmen put [Orgeron] on speakerphone. I called him five times, and he wouldn't pick up. But he's calling them. They put him on speakerphone and said all of them got offers to USC."
Stay classy, guys.
John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel says hiring Kiffin was the worst possible move at the worst time.
The Vols have lost 13 games in the last two years. The young, enthusiastic head coach who offered so much promise is checking out after one year on a rebuilding job that will take years. Next year's schedule is one of UT's toughest ever. The signing date for recruits is less than a month away.
And, oh by the way, the NCAA has expressed an official interest in UT football.
Wonder if Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis has gotten a phone call from UT athletic director Mike Hamilton yet? They suddenly have something in common. Both wish they had never seen Lane Kiffin.
When Kiffin was hired, he characterized UT as one of the premier coaching jobs in the country. He left it looking like a stepping-stone job.
He also left it under NCAA investigation.
L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke wonders what USC AD Mike Garrett was thinking.
On the contrary, in handing his heavyweight USC football team to lightweight Lane Kiffin on Tuesday, Garrett has seemingly lost his mind.
The USC athletic director's few remaining defenders have always deflected criticism toward Garrett by claiming he is a true Trojan.
This is who a true Trojan hires?
A program that defines itself by victories over UCLA just signed a guy who was out coached by UCLA's Rick Neuheisel just four months ago, Kiffin's Tennessee team losing to the Bruins in Knoxville.
I haven't yet talked to Neuheisel, but I can guess his two-word reaction to this move.
"Thank you."
Also in the L.A. Times, Chris Dufresne gives his take.
Exit question: Can you go on probation while you're on probation?
You bet, and in the worst way. If USC football is sanctioned for major violations this spring, and then commits a second major within five years of that violation, it is subject to receiving the NCAA's death penalty, which could shut down the program for at least a year.
Not to say that's going to happen -- we're just going over the ground rules.
The fascinating news today is that Kiffin is back in L.A., he's bringing back "that old gang of mine" from the Carroll regime, and the NCAA infractions committee is meeting in February.
Maybe it can roll the USC and Tennessee investigations into one case.
In the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg, an update on Tennessee commits Brandon Willis and Corey Miller.
Oh, almost forgot ... there's a fairly big basketball game tonight in Clemson.
Paul Strelow of The State has a cool story on the Booker brothers.
On the day he had every right to mail it in after receiving the news he was laid off, Strelow instead sojourned into the sticks of Whitmire to find out more about the Bookers.
The State doesn't deserve that kind of legwork from someone they just kicked to the curb.
Robbi Pickeral of the Raleigh/Charlotte papers touches on the brotherly love throughout the ACC.
In The Post and Courier, Oliver Purnell says the Tar Heels are still kicking.
In the Greenville News/State, Scott Keepfer writes about the Tigers' desire to defend their home court.
In the Independent-Mail, the Tigers are squarely focused on ending the Tar Heels' domination in this series.
Looks like Marcus Ginyard's ankle is progressing well.
More on the Tar Heels in the Winston-Salem Journal, including this from Roy Williams:
"I think Booker is one of the best players in college basketball period, not just the ACC," Williams said. "We know we're going to a tough place to play a tough team."
Full disclosure: I don't think I'd heard of Scott Wood until last night, when he lit up Florida State for 31 points in Tallahassee.
Entertaining game in Winston-Salem last night between Wake Forest and Maryland.
This story says the Terps wasted a big night from Greivis Vasquez in the overtime defeat, but to me Vasquez hurt the Terps as much as he helped them.
As dazzling as he can be while shooting from outside, breaking down defenses and making circus passes, he can also single-handedly short-circuit possessions with ill-advised shots and passes.
His line: 30 points on 9-of-27 shooting (4-of-12 from 3) with seven assists and six turnovers.
Vasquez's feast-or-famine style has to have cut a few years off of Gary Williams' life.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
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You can say what you want about Dabo Swinney, but I don't think we'll ever be sitting here saying he's a total weasel.
Who knows what the future holds under Swinney. He could end up being a great one, leading Clemson to the glory that's eluded it for way too long. Or he could end up being Tommy Bowden Two, routinely coming up just short.
But at least we can say we always know where the guy stands.
I don't think it's an outrage that Lane Kiffin bolted for Southern Cal after a mere year at Tennessee (or 14 months, as he said about nine times during last night's brief press conference). You can certainly see why Volunteer fans would like to pillage the guys' dwelling and gouge his eyes out. But objectively looking at it, it's freaking Southern Cal.
Nevertheless, Kiffin never seemed any more genuine than a telemarketer during his short stay in Knoxville.
I remember watching his introductory press conference and being shocked at Kiffin's superficiality. Even the passion he used in talking some smack to Florida seemed painfully contrived.
Contrast that with Swinney's introductory press conference, one of the more profound and poignant moments I've witnessed in 12 years of writing about sports for a living. No one in the room, or watching on TV, doubted that those were real tears falling down his face as he looked at his mother and exulted in the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.
Fast-forward to last night's brief press conference in Knoxville, where Kiffin tried to unsuccessfully sell the hogwash that the program is better than when he took over, and that he's successfully developed players while downing his cup of coffee on the way to the next big thing.
Again, no major qualms with Kiffin taking one of the top two or three jobs in college football.
But if the guy has a shred of dignity or respect for the people who had enough faith and trust to hire him and all his shady antics, then can't he offer a more substantial and heartfelt explanation? Can't he at least spend 10 more minutes taking some questions?
Even if you still have some questions about Swinney as a coach, you feel pretty confident he's not a weasel like Kiffin.
Speaking of Tennessee fans, looks like they weren't in a particularly good mood last night. Nothing like showing your frustration by trying to tear down an ugly statue downtown.
More on that here.
My friend Travis Haney, who covers South Carolina for The Post and Courier, is a Tennessee grad. And he says Vol Nation should be happy that Junior is headed to the West Coast.
But are the Trojans pumped about Lane's charioted return? Or are they more jazzed about having Monte Kiffin, Coach O and possibly Norm Chow? Clearly, it's the latter. It's the same smokescreen Kiffin fired up when he arrived in Knoxville.
He found a bunch of guys who knew a lot about football, and then he himself took the form of a gameshow host, yucking it up on camera and in prospects' homes.
He had little regard for those in the league that had won championships. He had little regard for the rulebook. He had little regard for the SEC's commissioner.
Those folks are celebrating tonight, because he's out of their hair and a country away.
And Tennessee's alumni should be toasting, as well.
Yes, it's a mess right now. But, believe me, it would've been a bigger mess by the time he was done tearing apart the program by recklessness.
So Ed Orgeron's first order of business on the way out is recruiting Tennessee's mid-term freshmen.
"We told them [the freshmen] in the meeting that it's their option," Walls told Volquest.com. "If they want to go, go. But we're a family here. You don't sign with no school for no coach. And just like they left us, they'll leave you all too. ... And we heard Coach O in the background calling enrollees and telling them that they got an offer to USC. He couldn't even address us. He couldn't even call us first.
"Freshmen put [Orgeron] on speakerphone. I called him five times, and he wouldn't pick up. But he's calling them. They put him on speakerphone and said all of them got offers to USC."
Stay classy, guys.
John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel says hiring Kiffin was the worst possible move at the worst time.
The Vols have lost 13 games in the last two years. The young, enthusiastic head coach who offered so much promise is checking out after one year on a rebuilding job that will take years. Next year's schedule is one of UT's toughest ever. The signing date for recruits is less than a month away.
And, oh by the way, the NCAA has expressed an official interest in UT football.
Wonder if Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis has gotten a phone call from UT athletic director Mike Hamilton yet? They suddenly have something in common. Both wish they had never seen Lane Kiffin.
When Kiffin was hired, he characterized UT as one of the premier coaching jobs in the country. He left it looking like a stepping-stone job.
He also left it under NCAA investigation.
L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke wonders what USC AD Mike Garrett was thinking.
On the contrary, in handing his heavyweight USC football team to lightweight Lane Kiffin on Tuesday, Garrett has seemingly lost his mind.
The USC athletic director's few remaining defenders have always deflected criticism toward Garrett by claiming he is a true Trojan.
This is who a true Trojan hires?
A program that defines itself by victories over UCLA just signed a guy who was out coached by UCLA's Rick Neuheisel just four months ago, Kiffin's Tennessee team losing to the Bruins in Knoxville.
I haven't yet talked to Neuheisel, but I can guess his two-word reaction to this move.
"Thank you."
Also in the L.A. Times, Chris Dufresne gives his take.
Exit question: Can you go on probation while you're on probation?
You bet, and in the worst way. If USC football is sanctioned for major violations this spring, and then commits a second major within five years of that violation, it is subject to receiving the NCAA's death penalty, which could shut down the program for at least a year.
Not to say that's going to happen -- we're just going over the ground rules.
The fascinating news today is that Kiffin is back in L.A., he's bringing back "that old gang of mine" from the Carroll regime, and the NCAA infractions committee is meeting in February.
Maybe it can roll the USC and Tennessee investigations into one case.
In the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg, an update on Tennessee commits Brandon Willis and Corey Miller.
Oh, almost forgot ... there's a fairly big basketball game tonight in Clemson.
Paul Strelow of The State has a cool story on the Booker brothers.
On the day he had every right to mail it in after receiving the news he was laid off, Strelow instead sojourned into the sticks of Whitmire to find out more about the Bookers.
The State doesn't deserve that kind of legwork from someone they just kicked to the curb.
Robbi Pickeral of the Raleigh/Charlotte papers touches on the brotherly love throughout the ACC.
In The Post and Courier, Oliver Purnell says the Tar Heels are still kicking.
In the Greenville News/State, Scott Keepfer writes about the Tigers' desire to defend their home court.
In the Independent-Mail, the Tigers are squarely focused on ending the Tar Heels' domination in this series.
Looks like Marcus Ginyard's ankle is progressing well.
More on the Tar Heels in the Winston-Salem Journal, including this from Roy Williams:
"I think Booker is one of the best players in college basketball period, not just the ACC," Williams said. "We know we're going to a tough place to play a tough team."
Full disclosure: I don't think I'd heard of Scott Wood until last night, when he lit up Florida State for 31 points in Tallahassee.
Entertaining game in Winston-Salem last night between Wake Forest and Maryland.
This story says the Terps wasted a big night from Greivis Vasquez in the overtime defeat, but to me Vasquez hurt the Terps as much as he helped them.
As dazzling as he can be while shooting from outside, breaking down defenses and making circus passes, he can also single-handedly short-circuit possessions with ill-advised shots and passes.
His line: 30 points on 9-of-27 shooting (4-of-12 from 3) with seven assists and six turnovers.
Vasquez's feast-or-famine style has to have cut a few years off of Gary Williams' life.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
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Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.