I have to say I find this very surprising. Kiffin for all his publicity is still very unproven and seems to be a lightning rod for chaos and controversy. It seems likely that USC will be taking some serious sanctions so perhaps Kiffin is the best they could hope for, and perhaps Kiffin is the only one cavalier enough to not care.
Supposedly his dad will be tagging along for a second time. Presumably the USC defense will continue to be very stiff. Bad times for Tennessee though, they are getting rode hard and put away wet in this fiasco.
Wow. I’d pulled for USC in the past, but Kiffin and this program deserve each other. He’s an arrogant jerk and he seemed to be on his way to breaking some NCAA rules at Tennessee, so I guess this is a big step up for him.
Is he going to sing “Rocky Top” after beating Florida?
Interesting. Kiffen really didn’t have much of a chance for greatness in the SEC with Saban, and (sort-of)Meyer around. But I am kind of surprised that arrogant ass realized it. Now he can be a big fish in the little pond of the Pac-10.
I bet Tennessee open the wallet really freakin wide now to pull in someone with a name to save face.
Maybe they’ll Poach Rodriguez from Michigan, and we can snag Harbaugh.
That is not as crazy as it sounds. Harbaugh is destined for Michigan, and Stanford can’t keep him forever. Rich Rod doesn’t seem to be all that firmly entrenched, either. I don’t think there’d be hard feelings anywhere. (Except Stanford, but who cares about them?)
Bad move by Kiffin. Not only is he accepting a demotion to a largely overrated program, he’s pretty much admitting he can’t cut it in the SEC. Really hoping the NCAA lays down heavy sanctions on USC. That would serve Kiffin right.
Tennessee is getting screwed here. He was only there a year, and now he’s taking several of his staff with him. Tennessee has to name an interim coach right as recruiting season is about to heat up.
He’s not leaving the SEC - he’s leaving Tennessee. He’s not joining another conference - he’s joining USC. It’s ridiculous to look at it only at the conference level. If the coach at Vanderbilt were offered the USC job, he’d crap his pants.
Oh yeah? How many consecutive SEC/BCS titles do they have? Most years, how many teams that matter do they have? In both cases, the answer is “less than the SEC”.
I went to grad school at UT , there isn’t much in Knoxville beyond UT. On the plus side around 95% of the people there are UT fans compared to LA where you also have fans of UCLA, Cal, plus fans of the pro teams in various sports.
USC is not just a PAC 10 school, they are a long time national power. They are not Oregon State, Wash State, Arizona, etc.
It’s really bizarre to say he’s taking a lesser job.
Well, the SEC is clearly #1 in getting teams on probation. In fact right now Alabama FB is still on probation. It did not impact their ability to be in the BCS but it’s still probation.
Rumors are that David Cutcliffe may be heading back to Knoxville to fill the job on a more permanent basis, which would be a mistake IMO. True, he’s a Fulmer guy, but he bombed as a head coach in the SEC to the point he came back as Fulmer’s OC because it was the only job he could get.
