Lane Kiffin on short leash at USC

One year from today Lane Kiffin will not be the head coach at Southern California USC. Just call it a hunch. But with Pat Haden as the new sheriff at Heritage Hall, and with his old receiver J.K. McKay (among others) keeping an “eye” on the football program, you have to wonder how long the Boy Wonder is going to put up with the New World Order. Haden has already sent Reggie Bush’s Heisman back and will eventually have to send back the 2004 BCS championship trophy and the Football Writer’s Grantland Rice national championship trophy. Haden has made it clear there will be zero tolerance for shenanigans. Not sure Lane can do zero tolerance. – CBS Sports

Titans sue Kffin, USC

The Tennessee Titans are suing Southern California and coach Lane Kiffin for “maliciously” luring away assistant running backs coach Kennedy Pola a week before training camp opens. Tennessee Football Inc., the company that owns the Titans, filed the lawsuit Monday in Davidson County Chancery Court against both the university and Kiffin. The lawsuit accuses Southern California and Kiffin of violating Pola’s contract that required him to have written permission to discuss a job with anyone other than the Titans. Tennessee hired Pola as running backs coach in February only to lose him Saturday to Southern California as the Trojans’ new offensive coordinator and running backs coach. – SI.com

Does Pat Haden spell trouble for Lane Kiffin at USC?

With the announcement that NBC Notre Dame analyst Pat Haden will return to USC to become the school’s new athletic director, head coach Lane Kiffin’s tenure in Los Angeles doesn’t look to be longterm. So in comes Pat Haden, who will right the ship and keep it tight. But can Kiffin work in that type of environment? Let’s be honest, Kiffin is young and brash. He has his own way of doing things. He believes that he is the program. – National Football Post

Kiffin welcomes Haden at USC AD

Fresh off a vacation, USC coach Lane Kiffin was back in Heritage Hall on Tuesday afternoon. Soon after, the first-year coach released a statement on the hiring of athletic director Pat Haden. Here’s what the 35-year-old coach said: “I’ve known Pat Haden for a long time and my congratulations go out to him. I know he’ll do a wonderful job as our athletic director. He’s been such a vital part of the USC fabric for so long, he’ll be able to contribute immensely to our athletic department. I know the entire Trojan Family will readily welcome him.” It’s important to note that Haden was reported to be on the committee — made up of members of USC’s Board of Trustees — that helped former athletic director Mike Garrett make the decision to hire Kiffin. – ESPN.com

USC appeals penalties, accepts 2010 bowl ban

Southern California, penalized earlier this month for a lack of institutional control, on Friday filed an appeal with the NCAA asking that certain findings of the Committee on Infractions be overturned and some of the penalties be reduced. The USC football program was given a two-year bowl ban, four years’ probation, loss of scholarships and forfeits of an entire year’s games for improper benefits to Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush dating to the Trojans’ 2004 national championship. USC is asking that the two-year postseason ban in football be reduced to one year, and that the scholarship penalties in football for the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years be reduced to five rather than 10 each year. “We are hopeful that the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee will agree with our position on appeal, and reduce the penalties,” said Todd Dickey, USC’s senior vice president for administration. – ESPN

USC Slammed by NCAA

The USC football program was almost put out of business yesterday. The loss of 30 scholarships over three years, with a cap of only 15 a year, is huge. The NCAA wanted to send a message. And it did. And of course all the parties involved–Pete Carroll, Reggie Bush–are shocked, SHOCKED, that these sort of penalties could be handed down. The NCAA didn’t give USC the death penalty, but it was close. And by the way: After what happened yesterday with the football and men’s basketball programs at USC, how in the world does athletics director Mike Garrett keep his job? – Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Assistant coaches’ salaries spiking in football

Trickle down economics are alive and well in college football. With many contracts being negotiated or finalized, nearly a dozen schools in the NCAA’s 120-school Football Bowl Subdivision have made deals under which they will be spending at least 38% more on their offensive or defensive coordinator in 2010 than they did in 2009. These increases come a year after four assistants — Tennessee’s Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron, Texas’ Will Muschamp and Washington’s Nick Holt — joined Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher in having deals worth at least $600,000 a year. (Kiffin and Orgeron have moved to Southern California, and Fisher has become Florida State’s head coach.) They also come amid continuing financial distress within higher education. – USA Today

USC adds special teams coach from Fresno State

USC announced Thursday that Fresno State assistant coach John Baxter was hired as the Trojans’ special teams and associate head coach. Baxter, 46, spent the past 13 seasons at Fresno State and was one of Bulldogs coach Pat Hill’s original assistants. Fresno State kicker Kevin Goessling made 15 of 16 field goals last season, including a school- record 15 in a row. “Hiring John Baxter is something that I thought could probably never happen,” USC coach Lane Kiffin said. “Having him here will be huge for our team on and off the field. “He put together a 13-year run of special teams at Fresno State that were better than any in the country.” Fresno State blocked 83 kicks during Baxter’s tenure and leads the nation with 48 blocked kicks since 2002. – LA Daily News

Lane Kiffin confused by Vols’ AD’s comments

Former Tennessee Coach Lane Kiffin is confused by Vols athletic director Mike Hamilton’s parting comments about him not being a “cultural fit” during his 14-month stay on campus. “I don’t think at the end of day that has anything to do with whether you score points or whether you win games. Where you’re from? I don’t know. That’s just my opinion. Is Nick Saban from Alabama? Is Urban Meyer from Florida? Those are two of the best coaches in the country. So I don’t think that really means anything.” – Knoxville News-Sentinel

Reggie Bush: I’ve done everything I can for USC

While USC officials sat with NCAA investigators Thursday, former Trojan star Reggie bush was taking in the Olympics in Vancouver. “There are attorneys, there are lawsuits, there are all those things that keep you from being able to talk,” Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, said during a promotional stop at a sponsor’s office in Vancouver, adding, “I’ve tried to do everything I can, on my part, to help USC out.” When asked for details about how he helped USC, Bush said, “I can’t really speak on that because of pending things, but I’ve done everything I can and I will defend ‘SC until the day I die. . . . That’s just because I felt USC was so good to me. . . . I am USC and I represent USC.” USC representatives spent more than eight hours in a hotel ballroom fielding questions from the 10-member infractions committee. The hearing, scheduled to continue through Saturday, is the culmination of a nearly four-year investigation that included allegations that Bush and former Trojans basketball player O.J. Mayo received extra benefits while competing for the Trojans. – Los Angeles Times

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