Lane Kiffin Goes West: The USC Roller Coaster Ride Nears an End

First of all, I want all Tennessee Volunteer fans to know that I really empathize with you.  USC and all Trojan fans have been in the very same position as you are now for the last four days.

We watched our top recruits who were about to sign up for classes yesterday stand aside, refusing to commit until the dust from the Pete Carroll resignation cleared.  There was even talk that some of our players might transfer.

On top of this, there is the pending hearing on possible NCAA violations.  How would USC ever get a credible coach to follow in the wake of Carroll's success under those circumstances?

But at least the possible violations incurred by Lane Kiffin at Tennessee are relatively minor and shouldn't cause any real problem in securing a new head coach.

So I know how you feel, Volunteer fans, but hang in there.  Things will look brighter in a few days.  There are a lot of good candidates out there.

As for me, I went to bed well after midnight last night thinking that Jack Del Rio would be the next Trojan coach.  It had to be.  A contract was sent.

OK, so Del Rio it is, and I finally nodded off with visions of Del Rio and his black leather jacket prowling the USC sidelines.  He wasn't my first choice or even my second.  But, ah!  The roller coaster ride of the past few days was finally coming to an end.

I woke up this morning wondering if Del Rio could talk Ed Orgeron into leaving Tennessee and joining his staff at USC.  Then I turned on the sports news, and the roller coaster was slowly clanking toward one of those mountain high drop-offs.  

I could feel my stomach plunge as I heard the news that Del Rio was staying with the Jags.  What is going on here?  Someone sent out a contract before the guy even decided to take the job.  Before he even found out whether or not he still had a job worth $15 million with the Jags?  Who's running the search at USC?  Mickey Mouse?

I wanted the latest news about who was next in line.  Real news, not rumors.  I didn't know whether I should check the USC boards, ESPN, the L.A. Daily News, or Disneyland.

The cast of characters that were being named almost seemed like a fantasy fashioned at Walt Disney Studios.  Dungy?  Oh, really?  Herm Edwards?  Come on now.  Chris Petersen?  Yeah right, he's really going to leave Boise and come to this crazy town.

So I did what I always do when the pressure is too much to take.  I went to the park and worked out for a couple of hours.  Nothing but squirrels and crows and tall pines.  No sports reporters, no ESPN updates, and above all, no Scott Wolf.

When I got back and turned on my computer, I discovered that the roller coaster we USC fans have been riding had finally crashed.  Mike Garrett had chosen Lane Kiffin, of all people.

I immediately flashed back to that BCS title game. Fourth and Two Lane Kiffin, no fullback, and Reggie Bush on the sidelines.  Where the hell was Norm Chow?

Desperation!  That could be the only answer.  Everyone who was anyone had turned down Garrett and the trustees.  Kiffin was the only man left standing.  Fourth and Two Lane Kiffin.  Oakland Raiders Lane Kiffin.  Tennessee recruiting violations Lane Kiffin.

What happened to Garrett, who bleeds cardinal and gold?  Had he lost his mind?  Doesn't he know this will get us probation for sure?

Yes, but it will also keep our recruits.  He had to do it.  You can live through probation to play another day.  But you can't play another day or live through probation without recruits.

And Kiffin was bringing a recruiting mastermind along with him: Ed Orgeron, Tennessee's defensive line coach, not to mention Lane Kiffin's father, Monte Kiffin, a defensive mastermind.  

So, two masterminds is pretty good, and Kiffin and Orgeron can lock down the recruits.  Hmm, Garrett might just have something.

Then the news came that USC had spoken earlier in the day with Norm Chow to come on as the offensive coordinator.  Are you kidding me?  Three masterminds!  This is too good to be true.

While Pete Carroll took linebacker coach Ken Norton Jr. with him to Seattle, USC has other great possibilities, like former Trojans Junior Seau, Chris Claiborne or Willie McGinnest. 

All of a sudden, what was an absolute nightmare just a few hours ago was turning into a Dream Team, a staff of the finest coaching masterminds anywhere in college football.

Well, I have had enough of the emotional roller coaster for one day.  I'm going to pop into the shower and get to bed early tonight with visions of a full recruiting class and a wide open offense dancing in my head.

I might even swear off college football until National Signing Day.  Really?  Who am I kidding?

One last thing before I catch some Zs.  Dat Nguyen, former Texas A&M and Dallas Cowboy linebacker is the new linebackers coach - and a damn good one!