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Pat Dye Field => War Damn Eagle => Topic started by: Mr. Sensible on January 14, 2010, 09:48:20 AM
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http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/usc/la-sp-plaschke-usc13-2010jan13,0,1888002.column (http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/usc/la-sp-plaschke-usc13-2010jan13,0,1888002.column)
Lane Kiffin: a lightweight for USC's heavyweight program
The former Tennessee coach is a poor choice by Trojans A.D. Mike Garrett.
Bill Plaschke
What was Mike Garrett thinking?
This question, of course, is based on the large and dangerous assumption that he was actually thinking.
On the contrary, in handing his heavyweight USC football team to lightweight Lane Kiffin on Tuesday, Garrett has seemingly lost his mind.
The USC athletic director's few remaining defenders have always deflected criticism toward Garrett by claiming he is a true Trojan.
This is who a true Trojan hires?
A program that defines itself by victories over UCLA just signed a guy who was out coached by UCLA's Rick Neuheisel just four months ago, Kiffin's Tennessee team losing to the Bruins in Knoxville.
I haven't yet talked to Neuheisel, but I can guess his two-word reaction to this move.
"Thank you."
This is who a true Trojan hires?
A program that defines itself in consistency of leadership just acquired a guy who walks out of a Tennessee program after only one season.
If he's not staying in football's best conference for one of its best contracts -- more than $2 million a year -- then how much chance does USC have of keeping him long? Volunteers students and fans were so angry at Kiffin's sudden betrayal, they marched on his goodbye news conference Tuesday night and showered him with obscenities.
Once they calm down and remember that he led them to only a 7-6 record with nearly as many minor NCAA infractions as big plays, I'm sure those Tennessee folks will also have a two-word reaction.
"Thank y'all."
This is who a true Trojan hires?
A program that covets an NFL pedigree just added a guy who was 5-15 with the Oakland Raiders in his only NFL head-coaching experience.
How bad was that experience? Al Davis ended it by calling him a "flat-out" liar.
Yeah, that bad.
This is who a true Trojan hires?
A program that thrives on the big play just hitched its future to a guy who was holding the controls during this team's worst play in many years.
It was the Rose Bowl after the 2005 season, the Trojans needed one first down to clinch the win and national title against Texas, it was fourth and two, remember?
USC called a running play with LenDale White plowing straight ahead while Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush incredibly watched from the sidelines. White was stopped, Texas took the ball and eventually a game, the dynasty's downfall began.
The offensive coordinator for that play? Your new USC head coach, Lane Kiffin.
What was Mike Garrett thinking?
Other than, why not hire a 34-year-old former Trojans errand boy who won't challenge my power or ego?
I mentioned about 86 names of potential candidates in my Tuesday column, but I purposely did not mention Kiffin even though I covered him and liked him during his six seasons here on Pete Carroll's staff.
He wasn't big enough. His star wasn't bright enough. Maybe one day, but not this day, not now, and especially not after his recent past.
When protected by Carroll's buoyant presence, Kiffin was a smart young assistant. But after he set out on his own, he seemingly devolved into a spoiled kid.
He couldn't command the Raiders' respect. He struggled to bring the Volunteers credibility. He led the Southeastern Conference in smack talk, even accusing Florida's Urban Meyer of cheating, but while his team nearly beat Alabama, it couldn't match his hype, on or off the field.
On Kiffin's watch, one of his star freshman recruits pleaded guilty to attempted robbery. On Kiffin's watch, the NCAA began an investigation into the role of Tennessee hostesses in luring players.
"I was able to watch him closely when he was an assistant with us and what I saw was a bright, creative young coach who I thought would make an excellent head coach here," Garrett said in a statement issued upon the hire.
You liked him when he was at USC, cool. But have you followed his career since then? Don't answer that.
In giving Kiffin much-needed support, the Trojans are also bringing in Kiffin's legendary father, defensive guru Monte Kiffin, while bringing back former Trojans assistant Ed Orgeron and possibly even stealing Norm Chow back from UCLA.
But even this is weird.
Chow left the Trojans after the 2004 season partly because Carroll was giving some of his responsibilities to the kid Kiffin. They can work together after that?
Orgeron is the real deal, a main cog in the rebuilding of the Trojans culture. But his tough-guy ways worked best in contrast to Carroll's nurturing ways. Will he resonate as much when backed by a head coach who has not yet been around long enough to nurture?
The Trojans needed to replace Carroll quickly, but did they need to move so quickly that they compromised their future?
Word is, they were turned down by Mike Riley, Jack Del Rio and Jeff Fisher. Couldn't Garrett haven't taken a few more days and made a few more calls?
Much as he did with Carroll, Garrett is risking his USC career on this hire.
But this is different. The program now commands national respect with the expectations that demand a national presence.
At first glance, Lane Kiffin has neither.
bill.plaschke@latimes.com
twitter.com/billplaschke
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times
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Nobody wants to hear this but.....
The parallels between Garrett and Jacobs, Kiffin and Chizik are eerie.
Take this article, replace the names and jiggle a few stats and it is almost exactly what I would have said 13 months ago.
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Reads to me more like LA Times Columnist Bill Plaschke Hates Mike Garrett.
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Reads to me more like LA Times Columnist Bill Plaschke Hates Mike Garrett.
No Jenny, you are wrong. Any parallel that is semi-negative can be related to Chizik and the current coaching staff...
Let me help, Let's start with WWII. That one is easy, Hitler = Jay Jacobs, Goebel = Chizik, and the Holocaust = what he is doing to the Auburn football program.
Example 2: Pocahontas. John Smith = Chizik, Jay Jacobs = Pocahontas, and the Evil Settlers = his football staff. I can 't believe I didn't see this earlier....
We are so fucked...unless we teach them how to farm corn...I think.
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Reads to me more like LA Times Columnist Bill Plaschke TigersX Member Kaos Hates Mike Garrett Jay Jacobs.
You are so right Wench...
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Reads to me like Plaschke is a moron...just like he usually is on Around the Horn on ESPN.
I'll give him the entire second half of this article. But all of his "This is who a true Trojan hires?" stuff is weak, weak....at best.
A program that defines itself by victories over UCLA just signed a guy who was out coached by UCLA's Rick Neuheisel just four months ago, Kiffin's Tennessee team losing to the Bruins in Knoxville.
So that loss defines Kiffin's Tennessee program? So can we also say that Kiffin is better than Saban....I mean, after all, he did come within two points of beating Alabama....on the road, with far less talent. You're right, that's stupid to say....just as stupid as saying losing to UCLA means anything too. A UCLA team that beat Washington by 1 point and went 3-6 in the Pac 10? And does he not remember Carroll knocking himself out of the national title game by LOSING to UCLA 13-9 the last game of 2006? A 7-6 UCLA.
If he's not staying in football's best conference for one of its best contracts -- more than $2 million a year -- then how much chance does USC have of keeping him long? Volunteers students and fans were so angry at Kiffin's sudden betrayal, they marched on his goodbye news conference Tuesday night and showered him with obscenities.
$2 million is one of the conferences best contracts? You get that just for being in the league, period....that's minimum wage area in the SEC. And while everyone continues to blast him for leaving after one year....what would someone suggest he do? His dream job came open and offered him the job...do we seriously expect him to say "well, I've only been here one year, I better stay for 3 more, hope the next USC coach fails, and hope they call me back"? That's stupid. If Plasche took a job at The Atlanta Journal, was there one year, but got a call from the Boston Globe, offering him more money....would he stay just to stay? Hell no, he'd take the better job and the more money...that's what people do...all people, everywhere.
A program that thrives on the big play just hitched its future to a guy who was holding the controls during this team's worst play in many years.
It was the Rose Bowl after the 2005 season, the Trojans needed one first down to clinch the win and national title against Texas, it was fourth and two, remember?
USC called a running play with LenDale White plowing straight ahead while Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush incredibly watched from the sidelines. White was stopped, Texas took the ball and eventually a game, the dynasty's downfall began.
The offensive coordinator for that play? Your new USC head coach, Lane Kiffin.
This has got to be the worst part. He should be embarrassed. Did he even watch that game? Bush was having no success in the running game, especially after his head was all screwed up due to his idiotic lateral. White, however, was more difficult for Texas to handle. Most of Bush's yards came in the passing game, just like in the NFL. White rushed for 124 yards and was far, far more productive between the tackles than Bush...just like the NFL. If you're going for 4th and 1.5, that was the obvious choice.
White had carried the ball 12 times for 80 yards and two TDs in the second half. Bush had carried the ball TWO times in the second half...for a reason. One carry was for a long TD run on a sweep (on a drive in which Leinart threw 4 times and White carried it 3 times for 29 yards). The other carry was for no gain. They were riding Leinart and White to 28 second half points, compared to just 10 in the first half when Bush got 11 of his 13 carries.
Again Plaschke....did you even watch the game? Hell, did you watch the whole season?
I'll give him everything else about Kiffin being a "spoiled kid", but his other examples....all moronic in my opinion.
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No Jenny, you are wrong. Any parallel that is semi-negative can be related to Chizik and the current coaching staff...
Let me help, Let's start with WWII. That one is easy, Hitler = Jay Jacobs, Goebel = Chizik, and the Holocaust = what he is doing to the Auburn football program.
Example 2: Pocahontas. John Smith = Chizik, Jay Jacobs = Pocahontas, and the Evil Settlers = his football staff. I can 't believe I didn't see this earlier....
We are so fucked...unless we teach them how to farm corn...I think.
Okay, back up and punt.
Did I say it sounds like what would be written today? No, I said it reads like what would have been written 13 months ago.
You can't deny the argument that was made that Jay Jacobs is a "true Auburn man" just because he claims to have once blocked for Bo Jackson. (I've yet to find evidence that this is actually true).
I was just struck by how similar some of the arguments were to what we saw when Chizik was hired. Beginning and end. Nothing about Pocohontas, General Custer, Mr. Edsel or Colonel Pickett.
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Okay, back up and punt.
Did I say it sounds like what would be written today? No, I said it reads like what would have been written 13 months ago.
You can't deny the argument that was made that Jay Jacobs is a "true Auburn man" just because he claims to have once blocked for Bo Jackson. (I've yet to find evidence that this is actually true).
I was just struck by how similar some of the arguments were to what we saw when Chizik was hired. Beginning and end. Nothing about Pocohontas, General Custer, Mr. Edsel or Colonel Pickett.
I just think that comparing Chizik to Kiffin is like apples to oranges.
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I just think that comparing Chizik to Kiffin is like apples to oranges.
I like apples....and oranges. I could eat a peach for hours.
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I just think that comparing Chizik to Kiffin is like apples to oranges.
Nobody did.
The context of this article, however, does draw a direct parallel to how Chizik and Jacobs were perceived at the outset. From the "This is who a true Auburn man hires?" to "A program that defines itself in consistency of leadership just acquired a guy who bailed on Iowa State after two failed campaigns" it's very, very similar in tone.
That's all.
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Nobody did.
The context of this article, however, does draw a direct parallel to how Chizik and Jacobs were perceived at the outset. From the "This is who a true Auburn man hires?" to "A program that defines itself in consistency of leadership just acquired a guy who bailed on Iowa State after two failed campaigns" it's very, very similar in tone.
That's all.
I agree with your parallel, but only someone who was looking for a negative comparison would have seen that. I was not crazy about the Chizik hire at first either, but when I read that article about Kiffin, all I thought was "That Garrett guy is one stupid SOB." No immediate recognition of similarities.
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I agree with your parallel, but only someone who was looking for a negative comparison would have seen that. I was not crazy about the Chizik hire at first either, but when I read that article about Kiffin, all I thought was "That Garrett guy is one stupid SOB." No immediate recognition of similarities.
I wasn't "looking" for anything.
I remembered the argument postulated here that "you have to trust Jacobs, he's a 'true Auburn man' a fact which gives him more insight than the rest" and saw how easy it would be to insert his name into that article.
Alpha and omega. Looking for nothing.
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Some choose to take the other side of an argument for attention's sake.
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Some choose to take the other side of an argument for attention's sake.
What?
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What?
Careful. There's an aneurysm down that road.
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Some choose to take the other side of an argument for attention's sake.
Well it's popular particularly among radio shows, and among columnists to take the minority view for shock value.
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Careful. There's an aneurysm down that road.
Did I stumble into traffic?
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Well it's popular particularly among radio shows, and among columnists to take the minority view for shock value.
Dammit Bethany, he guessed it.
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People out in LA were wanting the USC AD's head on a stake when he hired Pete Carroll 9 years ago. They cited his losing record with the NYJ and New England.
I'm too lazy to look for the source, so google it yourself, motherfucker.
**Footnote: This post in no way implies that Kiffin is comparable with Carroll**
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Eh, Stallings couldn't win in the NFL either. I remember the moaning in Alabama then.
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Same fucking guy.
For Pete's Sake, USC, Why Did You Do It?
BILL PLASCHKE
December 16, 2000|
BILL PLASCHKE
I'm not mad at Pete Carroll, OK? Let's get that straight.
You can't be mad at a guy who dribbles basketballs down office hallways, who runs fastbreaks into players' arms every time they make big tackles.
You can't be mad at a guy who had the misfortune of working in New York and replacing Bill Parcells in the same lifetime.
You can't be mad at someone who is so excited about coming to your town, he was nearly screaming over the cell phone Friday night, clacking like those bugs in the banyan trees, leaving you breathless in some deserted parking lot along a Louisiana bayou.
I'm not mad at Pete Carroll.
I'm mad at USC for hiring him.
I'm mad that, during its most important times, the most enduring football institution in this city sometimes acts as though it discovered the game only last week.
We should give Carroll a chance. He deserves at least the 20 minutes--OK, OK, it was more like 10--that we gave Paul Hackett.
Carroll made the playoffs two of three years as a head coach in New England. Hackett never was an NFL head coach.
Carroll was rushed into the football fraternity as a defensive coordinator, working with the sort of street kids that USC is trying to recruit. Hackett, an offensive guy, sometimes struggled while relating to those kids.
Carroll has never been a college head coach, while Hackett had already failed at Pittsburgh before arriving here.
So stop with that Pete Carroll-is-Paul Hackett argument, OK?
I'm not mad at Pete Carroll.
But as for USC, well, I'm just, well, you know what I said when I heard they were hiring Carroll?
Maybe you said the same thing.
"Oh, no."
Oh, no, the Trojans did it again.
Oh, no, they hired somebody non-traditional to lead a tradition.
Oh, no, they ignored the idea that their new coach might only be as good as the coaching staff he can bring with him.
Oh, no, they again forgot that this was college football.
Oh, yes, it's going to be six more months of winter.
I'm mad at USC for making their publicity people, the best in the country, continually scramble around to justify their odd decisions.
I'm mad at them for turning even their few remaining reasonable alumni into screaming chat-room freaks.
I guess I'm most mad at Mike Garrett, although maybe there's also irritation with President Steven Sample.
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/16/sports/sp-904 (http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/16/sports/sp-904)
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Same phuking guy.
This is exactly why I started my post with the fact that Plaschke is a moron. I know, I know, it's easy to look back now and see Carroll was a hall of fame college coach, but that doesn't change the fact that Plaschke is a moron.
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This guy appears to be the minority opinion of the USC media.
I don't know if they're intentionally trying to will their way to a self-fulfilling prophecy or what, but it appears to be working. They're actually getting a surge in recruits rather than a dropoff like UT has had. I don't understand it. You'd think any kid with half a brain would look at Lane's past, and realize that Pete was that school, and also see that they were on their way down not only by the NCAA but just in general, which is why Carroll jumped ship.