Kickoff Zone College Football Blog

As just about everyone is aware of by now, Mike Garrett has been relieved of his duties as athletic director at the Universirsity of Southern California, replaced by former USC QB and Rhodes Scholar Pat Haden.

Haden is a very impressive hire who has a sterling reputation and resume.  Pete Fiutak had this to say about Haden’s character:

Pat Haden, a man of impeccable character, immense success both on and off the field, and with the high profile needed for a position of this type. If anyone can quickly restore the glory to the program (and it can be restored in a hiccup at a place with everything that USC has going for it), it’s the Rhodes Scholar who embodies everything a school could ever ask for out of a former star athlete.

The university has now washed its hands of Reggie Bush, even returning his Heisman Trophy on display and purging his image from their campus.  However, Fiutak raises a very interesting point- in that USC has a definite “PR problem” at the moment, and yet have Lane Kiffin as their head football coach. 

No reports indicate that Kiffin has done anything wrong since taking over the football program; nor was he directly responsible for the Reggie Bush saga.  Although he was on the staff during Bush’s years, that blame ultimately falls on their former RB coach and Pete Carroll. 

The thing is… if a school has a PR problem and is desperate to clean up its image within the media and college football fans… how do you do that with Lane Kiffin as your head coach and Ed “Wild Boy” Orgeron as your recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach?  Obviously they aren’t going to terminate Kiffin, but he is going to have to keep his mouth in check and follow the book when it comes to the NCAA, and avoid the useless secondary recruiting violations he became famous for in his time at the University of Tennessee.

Tags: College Football, Hot Seat, Infractions, Lane Kiffin, Law, Live Update, NCAA, Trojans, USC, bcs, dismissal, pac 10, recap, rumor mill, violations by Tommy
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Originally, I was going to post Part 3 of the ongoing series of articles about coaches who need to win in 2010, but I will put that off until tomorrow to bring you the latest news from the recruiting trail, as National Signing Day is less than a week away.

At least two schools are in a battle to lock down Da’Rick Rogers, a 5 star prospect from Calhoun, GA and the #2 rated WR in the country (according to Rivals.com).  Rogers had been committed to UGA, but with the commitment of his high school quarterback (Nash Nance) to the University of Tennessee, speculation is running wild that Rogers may soon follow.  ESPN’s Bruce Feldman believes that Rogers will end up in Orange come fall.

Speaking of which, Calhoun High School QB Nash Nance has indeed switched his commitment from Vanderbilt to the University of TN.

Texas RB Lache Seastruck has committed to the University of Oregon, according to Duck Sports Authority.  Rivals ranks Seastruck as the #3 RB and the #26 overall player in the country. 

While the Vols may pick up one 5 star reciever, they are set to lose another.  Markeith Ambles (McDonough, GA) has reopened his recruiting and visited the University of Southern California last weekend.  Also in play for his services is the University of North Carolina.  Ambles is the #3 ranked WR in the nation and #24 overall.  Most analysts feel that he may follow Kiffin to USC.

Offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson (St. Paul, MN), Rivals #2 ranked overall prospect in the country,  has yet to make any announcement on where he may play next year.  While his high school has been considered a Notre Dame pipeline, Bruce Feldman thinks Henderson will likely end up playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes next fall.  Also in the running are Southern Cal, Florida, the University of Miami, and Notre Dame.

Tags: NCAA, Rankings, Recruiting, Trojans, USC, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee, Vols by Tommy
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The coaches in today’s post are not considered to be on the hot seat  at the moment, nor is a poor 2010 season going to necessarily find them out of a job.  However, a championship caliber season would ease a lot of pressure on them at the moment.

Rich Rodriguez- Michigan

Coach Rodriguez goes into the 2010 season with a lot on the line.  Changing an offensive system that has been in place for many years takes time.  The University of Michigan did not have the right type of players in the system who could adapt to an offensive scheme like the spread.  I have no doubt in Rodriguez’s ability as a coach or a recruiter, but the question that still remains is whether or not he can change a long established mindset.  After 2 years and an 8-16 record, this should be a make or break year for Rodriguez and the Wolverines.

Derek Dooley- The University of Tennessee

It’s never fun to have a “make or break” season in your first year on the job, but that is exactly what faces the new staff in Knoxville.  Sources have varied in their accounts of who was offered the UT job, and who was considered the department’s top pick.  In reality, it doesn’t matter to most Volunteer fans.  The last month (and in reality the last 5 years) have seen this perennial powerhouse crumble to the status of also ran.  After the Kiffin disaster, Vol fans were hungry for a big name who could come in and immediately get the program back on track.  In that regard, Derek Dooley was a curious choice.  He may very well turn out to be the right man for the job, but he has yet to prove himself on the big stage- and the Volunteer faithful are out of patience.

Lane Kiffin- Southern California 

Well, you knew it would be impossible to mention Derek Dooley’s new job without bringing up Lane Kiffin.  While Dooley has stepped into a difficult situation, Kiffin has stepped into one of the few jobs that most coaches covet, the head coaching position at the University of Southern California.  Along the way, he left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths.  From his constant bickering and chatter to his abrupt departure from the University of Tennessee, Kiffin has built up a long list of people who would love to see him fall on his face.  With a paper thin resume and one of the most prestigious jobs in all of sports, Lane Kiffin must prove right out of the gates that he can back up his talk with victories.  USC has a lot more talent, and 7-6 records are not what the Trojan faithful expect out of their football program.

Conclusion coming tomorrow…

Tags: College Football, Hot Seat, Lane Kiffin, NCAA, Rankings, Rich Rodriguez, Trojans, USC, University of Michigan, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee, Vols, Wolverines by Tommy
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From Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com:

Lane Kiffin was behind the wheel of his leased Lexus in August when, the coach said, he fell asleep and crashed the car, a high-ranking University of Tennessee official confirmed to ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach on Tuesday.

Also, Kiffin told athletic director Mike Hamilton that he had been at the football complex for a late meeting that night and said that he was heading home when he got into the accident, according to the source.

Kiffin walked home from the scene of the wreck, a high-ranking Tennessee source told ESPN’s Dwayne Bray.

Kiffin left Tennessee after only 14 months on the job to become coach at USC. An atmosphere of animosity in Knoxville has led to Internet and blog chatter about his actions during his time working for Tennessee.

Hamilton interviewed Tennessee assistant football coaches to corroborate Kiffin’s whereabouts that night, and one assistant confirmed having seen the coach in the athletic offices at approximately midnight. The accident occurred in the early morning hours. Tennessee officials said the time between Kiffin’s last being seen in the offices and the crash was unaccounted for. The university did not pay for the repairs to the damaged car, according to the source.

Rumors involving a car accident involving Lane Kiffin have been making their way around the state of Tennessee for a while now.  What remains to be seen is whether or not there is more to this story.  As of now, that doesn’t appear to be the case, but considering that it took this long for the story to come out, who knows?

Tags: Lane Kiffin, NCAA, USC, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee, Vols by Jim Gumm
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According to the Wall Street Journal, The University of Tennessee Volunteers will be in for a rude awakening, following the departure of Lane Kiffin to the USC Trojans:

It doesn’t happen often, but when a coach abruptly leaves a major-conference school after one or two seasons—as Mr. Kiffin did this week after a one-year stint with the Volunteers—what happens thereafter is usually ugly. In the most prominent such cases over the past three decades, years of losing ensued.

If one is to go by the examples given in the article (such as Dennis Franchione at Alabama), then Derek Dooley has a tough task ahead of him in re-energizing a program reeling from the departure of it’s head coach after just one season.   With the loss of numerous recruits that followed Kiffin out the door (if not to his new employer), Dooley can at least take solace in the fact that not all of Tennessee’s commitments  have jumped ship.

While several prospects have decommited, Rivals still has Tennessee’s class rated as the 12th best in the nation, and according to the Times Free Press, Ooltewah’s Jaques Smith (the 5th ranked weakside defensive end in the nation) reaffirmed his intentions to be in Orange come fall.

Tags: Derek Dooley, Lane Kiffin, NCAA, Recruiting, Trojans, USC, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee, Vols by Jim Gumm
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