After a full three days of interviews, including two full days focused on Pete Carroll’s football program, the NCAA has wrapped up it’s investigation of the USC athletic program. And while an investigation of this duration is virtually unheard of, the worst news for the Trojans football program appears to be coming from leaked reports popping up over the last several hours.
USC may very well pay the price for the trend, as the NCAA will in all likelihood look to set an example of the Trojans, leveling some rather harsh penalties and probation. It isn’t as if we didn’t see it coming; Pete Carroll jumping ship the way he did pretty well tipped us all off.
One official directly connected to the investigation was directly quoted as saying that the only matter for discussion at this point is the severity of the sanctions. It is all but assured that the Trojans will lose a significant number of scholarships and bowl eligibility for as many as two years, and will not be appearing on television. Read full story at Sportales
Stories and photos are coming out, such as the one above showing Lane Kiffin out drinking with Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, and Kiffin’s brother-in-law David Reaves at a local Knoxville bar, where witnesses say Kiffin was getting cozy with the ladies.
Highlights: Clemson defensive coordinator Kevin Steele is not headed to Knoxville to join Volunteer coaching staff despite yesterdays rumors.
Clemson defensive coordinator Kevin Steele had an offer to return to his alma mater, but reports from South Carolina on Tuesday night indicated the former Vols linebacker and assistant coach would stay with the Tigers.
He got his start in coaching in 1981 as a graduate assistant under Majors. The following year he was promoted to an outside linebackers position. He then became recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach at New Mexico State for the 1983 season.
The University of Tennessee football team still doesn’t have a defensive coordinator, but whoever takes the job will have to cope without another of last season’s best players.
Junior cornerback Dennis Rogan was on the NFL’s list of early draft entrants, meaning his college career is finished.
Rogan, a versatile defensive back and return specialist from Knoxville, would have been a key piece for new head coach Derek Dooley’s first UT defense. The 5-foot-10 Rogan could play any spot in the secondary, and he made decisive plays in several Volunteers’ games the past three seasons.
Former Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin called Rogan “one of the most underrated players” in the Southeastern Conference.
The Bleacher Report: Lane Kiffin Scandal Coming: Booze, Ladies, Car Wrecks, NCAA Violations
UT junior tight end Luke Stocker also flirted with the draft but opted to return for a final season. He confirmed the news on his Twitter page. Read full story here
Highlights: Clemson defensive coordinator Kevin Steele headed to Knoxville to join Volunteer coaching staff!
Kevin Steele will leave the Clemson University football staff to become defensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee, his alma mater.
A native of Dillon, leaves Clemson after one season.
This will be his third tour of duty with the Volunteers.
He joined Coach Dabo Swinney’s staff after serving two seasons as associate head coach and head coach of the defense at the University of Alabama.
Steele has 24 years of college experience at the FBS level and four years in the NFL. He has worked under former national championship coaches Tom Osborne, Nick Saban, Bobby Bowden and Johnny Majors in his career as a full-time assistant coaching career that dates to 1982.
He got his start in coaching in 1981 as a graduate assistant under Majors. The following year he was promoted to an outside linebackers position. He then became recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach at New Mexico State for the 1983 season.
Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley announced Sunday the additions of two former assistants to his new staff.
Terry Joseph and Eric Russell, both of whom worked under Dooley during his three seasons at Louisiana Tech, have agreed to join Dooley at UT.
Former quarterbacks coach David Reaves, offensive line coach James Cregg and wide receivers coach Kippy Brown parted ways with Tennessee on Saturday. Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron followed Lane Kiffin to Southern California.
Karma says what goes around comes around. Lane Kiffin, his last-second adios to Tennessee, and the bad vibes surrounding the move may already have landed back on the coach courtesy of reports leaking from the NCAA.
Stories and photos are coming out, such as the one above showing Lane Kiffin out drinking with Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, and Kiffin’s brother-in-law David Reaves at a local Knoxville bar, where witnesses say Kiffin was getting cozy with the ladies.
There is also a hushed up story of a car allegedly wrecked by Kiffin, under the influence, with some young ladies in the car. Now that may become public, as well.
Allegedly, Lane Kiffin had female co-eds in a rental car loaned to him through the UT program. Lane Kiffin crashed the car, while possibly intoxicated, and left the scene of the accident by scurrying off with a neighbor who came to his rescue—leaving the ladies to take the fall. The story goes on to say that someone dropped the loaner car off, which suffered extensive damage. Now the Knoxville car dealership (Lexus) wants their money, since Kiffin plans on jumping ship and neither he nor the school has paid up. Read full story here
Kiffin may have jumped into the USC bed without realizing it was a frying pan. Should USC be hit severely with across the board sanctions as expected by the NCAA, could Kiffin have hitched his star to an anchor?
When news broke of Lane Kiffin going to USC, the first thought by Trojans fans wasn’t, “Great hire.” On the contrary, the first thought was, “Can we get Chow back?” Read full story here
As stupid as Kiffin has been with all his other dealings except for actually landing jobs, could he have jumped at the USC job without fully realizing just how deep the doo doo is in Los Angeles concerning NCAA matters? Read full story at the Bleacher Report
Kiffin was the Trojans’ OC when USC lost to UCLA in 2006, and lost their bid to a BCS Championship game as well. Since then, USC has never been the same, losing games to Stanford, Oregon, and Oregon State before finally dropping four conference games last year.
Kiffin on a boat of his own (This is a archive article written by Adam Krohn, writer for The Daily Citizen, Dalton Georgia we make no claims or take no credit for it’s content) Read full story here
A major surprise today as Lane Kiffin reportedly will be named head coach of USC football. Kiffin is a former USC offensive coordinator who had coached the University of Tennessee this past year. Read full story here
Adam Krohn: Kiffin on a boat of his own (This is a archive article written by Adam Krohn, writer for The Daily Citizen, Dalton Georgia we make no claims or take no credit for it’s content)
Sure, the new University of Tennessee coach comes across as cocky, overconfident and someone who talks a big game with no credentials to back it up, but so what? Did you see the Volunteers play last year? There hasn’t been much to hype up in Knoxville for the last few years.
So the 34-year-old Kiffin is creating some hot-air hoopla by blowing smoke. He has told everyone his team is going to beat Florida. He has called Urban Meyer a cheater.
At times it appeared he didn’t know the rules of recruiting. And he allegedly told a recruit that chose another school over the Vols he’ll be “pumping gas for a living.”
Now, is this the most conventional way to put your program on the map? No. Most coaches prefer to be humble and let their record speak for itself. But Kiffin has placed himself in a different boat. In his mind, he doesn’t have two or three years to wait for the Volunteers to post a Top 10 finish. So he’s forcing the issue.
All the major media outlets, who crave sensationalistic story lines to fuel the 24/7 news feed, need someone like Kiffin to create drama and generate debates. Even before coaching his first game at Tennessee, Kiffin has already gained the undivided attention of the national media.
For instance, at Tuesday’s annual SEC spring meetings, attended by all league coaches, Kiffin was the center of attention.
Forget that Florida had just won its second BCS championship in three years. Forget that a Houston Nutt-led Ole Miss team turned its program around with a 9-4 record (5-3 in the SEC) after four straight losing seasons and no conference wins in 2007. Forget that Vanderbilt won its first bowl game in over 2,000 years. And forget that Georgia failed to live up to its preseason No. 1 ranking and finished the regular season with a loss to Georgia Tech.
All anyone attending the league meetings in Destin, Fla., wanted to know was what Kiffin would say next. With the media already wrapped around his finger, he chose to say nothing. And that was still a story.
Kiffin’s approach to running a college program is getting results far more important than grabbing the media’s ear. Recruits are buying into what Kiffin is selling. Kiffin landed a top 10 recruiting class in Year 1, headed by the top prospect in the nation, running back Bryce Brown.
Longtime NFL coordinator Monte Kiffin — Lane’s father — created a name for himself by building a defense in Tampa Bay that was the Buccaneers’ staple for over a decade. He takes over a Volunteers defense that finished 2008 tied for first in the SEC with Alabama in total defense.
Never mind Kiffin’s mouth, he’s on the fast track toward pointing the program in a winning direction with the pieces he already has in place.
But why is Kiffin pushing the envelope so hard? Why does he appear to be so impatient? The answer isn’t because he’s a young hot-head.
The answer is because he’s auditioning for another job. If and when Southern California coach Pete Carroll steps down from his post, Kiffin wants to be the first in line to replace him in my opinion.
There’s nothing about Kiffin that screams “Life-long Volunteer.” Besides a second chance to put himself on the map (he had no chance with the Raiders), there’s nothing in Knoxville for Kiffin.
He doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life in a town full of orange No. 16 jerseys, with half the fan base still bitter over the firing of Phillip Fulmer.
So the sooner he can generate a buzz, the sooner he can get recruits and the sooner he can start winning, the sooner he can realize his ultimate goal. He’s already accomplished generating a buzz and getting recruits.
Now all he has to do is win games in one of the nation’s toughest conferences. Read more at The Daily Citizen
Adam Krohn: Why are Vols fans surprised?
Why is everyone in Knoxville acting so stunned that Lane Kiffin bolted for the University of Southern California? It should have been obvious to anyone who followed college football that as soon as Pete Carroll left the Trojans, Kiffin — if given the opportunity — would leave Tennessee and return to the place where he helped put together one of the greatest runs in college football history. Read full story here
Toby Gerhart rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns and No. 25 Stanford emphatically followed up its 2007 upset at the Coliseum by beating No. 11 Southern California on Saturday 55-21, the most points ever allowed by the Trojans.
The loss was the Trojans’ worst since a 51-0 defeat at home against Notre Dame in 1966 and essentially ended USC’s seven-year run as Pac-10 champions.
Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score for the Cardinal (7-3, 6-2 Pac-10), who followed up their surprising rout of Oregon last week with a strong start and a big finish at the Coliseum, where the Trojans (7-3, 4-3) haven’t lost to any other opponent since 2001, going 47-2. Read full Associated Press article here
Associated Content: Tennessee football players were arrested today, just 24 hours after Lane Kiffin bragged that no Tennessee football players were arrested on his watch. But three Tennessee football players were not only arrested, but charged with armed robbery. Read full story here
