Photo: footloosiety, Flickr Creative CommonsLane Kiffin bailed on Tennessee's football program after just a year as head coach so he could take the job at USC that Pete Carroll left when he returned to the NFL. Here's what I assume was Kiffin's thought process:
"Let's see, I'm getting a larger paycheck, get to leave east Tennessee for southern California, and I get to take one of the best defensive coordinators in the business, my dad, into a conference that couldn't manage to beat a single decent team during the bowls this year and was owned by the Mountain West Conference. They'll think I'm a god on the West Coast. Besides, everyone in the South hates me now, just because I said a few things about a few other coaches to start the season. Seems like a slam dunk to me."
Personally, I'd take the Appalachians and eastern Tennessee over Los Angeles any day, but Kiffin looks like a douche and I always assume that douches like places like Los Angeles and Las Vegas. If he'd taken a job in the Bay Area or north on the Pacific coast, I'd probably understand his decision a little better.
This is what I assume was the thought process of the decision makers at USC:
"..."
Seriously, why would USC have gone with Kiffin? Sure, the Vols won as many as they lost in the toughest conference in college football, even after playing both Alabama and Florida, but the guy's unproven. He sucked at Oakland in his first head coaching job, although everyone sucks at Oakland, at least during the latter half of my lifetime. He's never managed to finish two seasons in the same place as a head coach and he's never left a job without people hating him.
Sure USC, just go ahead and pretend that you haven't just killed your program for at least four years. You'll have a good defense, though. Monte, the dad, is a great defensive coach wherever he goes. Congratulations Oregon, the conference is now yours (unless Oregon State or Stanford can beat you for it. I wouldn't worry about Washington or Washington State quite yet.)
6 comments:
I don't really care that Kiffin left; he's an asshat and was an embarrassment to my alma mater. I'm more ashamed of the UT students who rioted outside the sports complex. It's really sad that students get so riled up about a game but don't care about real issues.
That really had nothing to do with your post, but since I don't care about the coaching swap, a tangential rant seemed the way to go.
In my experience, people get jobs because they know people. I suppose Kiffin got the job because he knew the right people.
Courtney: Does the place one attended grad school count as an alma mater? I'd always heard it used more for where one attended undergrad. People seem to have less allegiance to their grad schools.
I'm actually curious. I don't think I going to consider GSU my alma mater when I get my masters from there just because I don't feel any connection. Then again, I probably won't have once set foot on campus there when I finish.
I'm far less emotionally attached to UT than I am to BC, but I do have a degree from UT, therefore it too is my alma mater. It's not really a question of "considering" it -- if you graduated from a place, that's what it is.
From dictionary.com:
a school, college, or university at which one has studied and, usually, from which one has graduated.
Courtney, I wasn't really criticizing. I genuinely was curious if most people used it that way. I've had people look at me funny when I used it to talk about my high school with that terminology, so I don't have a solid understanding of the word.
It does seem that the connotation (especially considering the mater=mother part) would suggest that it'd be the place you most identify with, but it does seem to be the shortest way to say college I received a degree from.
But like I said, I'm not really sure what it refers to exactly, so I don't consider my input here to be all that authoritative.
Oh god, I've been enjoying this story. For so many reasons. I hate USC. AND UT. It's been so much fun. I am a bit underwhelmed, however, that they hired a Dooley. That should be considered heresy. I hope Vince disowned him.
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