Losing Doesn’t Pay the Bills: Lane Kiffin Gets the Midnight Kiss of Death

After midnight Sunday morning Athletic Director Pat Haden pulled coach Lane Kiffin off the team bus in a dark corner of the LAX parking lot. Everybody on the bus knew what was coming next.

Maybe he should have worried just a little.

In August Coach Kiffin decided that when it comes to choosing a starting quarterback, the best decision is no decision.

He stated that “we anticipate” playing both Max Wittek and Cody Kessler in the Trojans’ opener at Hawaii. “We look at it as a great thing. We’ve got two guys that we feel great about. We don’t feel like we have to limit our offense with either one.” Personally I am still trying to figure this statement.

I listened to ESPN for 4 hours Sunday morning and a couple callers had negative statements on the way Hayden handled the situation. Personally I think Hayden did it the right way. No need in sending somebody home to bite their nails. Most of the callers also agreed with Hayden.

The loss dropped the Trojans to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in Conference.

Kiffin, who succeeded Pete Carroll as coach, had been under fire since the end of last season, when the Trojans fell from being ranked No. 1 to finishing with a record of 7-6. USC has lost 7 of its last 11 games.

They have Notre Dame, Stanford (No. 5), and UCLA on the remaining schedule. The only good thing about the schedule is that they don’t have to play Oregon (No. 2).

The NCAA hit USC with some of the most severe penalties in college football history months after Kiffin was hired. The penalties were related to former Trojans running back Reggie Bush and included a two year bowl ban and the loss of 30 scholarships over three years.

Kiffin held closed practices and it is not known whether these were related to the penalties. It is known, however, this did not add to his charm with the press.

Kiffin had to fill the shoes of not only Carroll but also John McKay and John Robinson among a whole string of greats. Of course, these guys all rank right up there with UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.

The 62 points Arizona State scored Saturday night matched a high given up by the Trojans against Oregon last season.

The Trojans showed signs of a blossoming offense Saturday but their defense gave up 62 points. The college game, in general, has blossomed and is wide open, flamboyant, and more dazzling. This is very evident when you compare it with the 3 yards and a cloud of dust style of Ohio State’s great coach Woody Hayes.

(Kay Martin is an author and a CityWatch contributor. His new book, Along for the Ride, is now available.He can be reached at [email protected])

-cw