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13 January 2010
How pumped is Mark McGwire right now? The guy admits doing steroids, surprising no one, and is expecting to be in the news for days (if not weeks). Then, Lane Kiffin bolts Tennessee for USC. Guess where McGwire played college baseball? You guessed it! USC! Wonder if McGwire ponied up some of the cash for Kiffin's buyout to get his name out of the news? It's not out of the question. People are acting as if Kiffin is a terrorist or something. Everyone needs to calm down. Kiffin didn't do anything wrong.
- Nothing any college coach does should surprise you. It's the nature of the beast. Coaches leave all the time with years left on their contracts. In the same regard, coaches are often fired with years left on their contract. It's just a wild profession. We all look up to these guys as if they have it made, but I don't know anyone with 100,000 people watching while they try and work. Kiffin isn't the first, or last, guy to bail on a contract. Don't make him the martyr for a flawed system.
- USC is a better job than Tennessee. It's easier to win in the Pac-10, there's no question. Tennessee has Florida, Georgia and Alabama on the schedule every year. USC has Notre Dame and UCLA. Who would you rather play on your way to the National Title game? Not only is the schedule great, but the school is mere miles from the beach which I hear recruits enjoy. Plus, USC has Matt Barkley at QB for the next two seasons (if not three). At the same position, UT has a lot of questions marks. USC is the only premier school in their region. Tennessee is one of a handful of schools in the Southeast that consider themselves premier. Recruiting battles are a lot easier to win at USC than they are at UT.
- If you burned something last night because a football coach left, you need a hobby. Seriously? He's a guy who led your team to a 7-6 record last season? I'd be more pissed about his dad leaving than anything.
- USC is Lane Kiffin's dream job. All of us have jobs that we would take no matter what, no matter when. Well, Kiffin just happened to be offered his after only one year at Tennessee. Whether he wants to admit it or not, Lane Kiffin wants to be Pete Carroll. He talks and acts like Pete. He will run USC just like Carroll did. Also, if you are saying that you wouldn't take your dream job and leave people at your old job high and dry, you're kidding yourself.
- If Tennessee is as good a job as USC, they should have no problem hiring a new coach. UT fans keep asking how Kiffin could leave Tennessee? Aren't you saying that your job is a great job when you ask that question? If the UT job is so great, coaches will be coming out of the woodwork to take it.
- Kiffin, like Carroll, will leave USC for the NFL. No matter how much Pete Carroll won at USC, he could never shake how bad he was in the NFL. There's a reason he was rumored for NFL jobs every offseason. When Kiffin starts winning at USC, you'll hear the same rumors. Coaches are ego-maniacs, it's part of the deal. They are wired to hate failure. Lane Kiffin will probably be back in the NFL before he turns 40.
For the record, Chris Petersen is a fool if he doesn't take the Tennessee job. Boise State may be ranked in the top-5 next season, but they're still not ever playing in a BCS Title Game. If Petersen doesn't take it, I vote for Grubby. Make JYeary the recruiting coordinator. Hell, even I'd go down there and coach the WRs or something. And yes, I look great in orange.
