Perfect Fit for USC Trojans Spells Trouble for Notre Dame Football

Wow.

That is all an observer can say after USC athletic director Michael Garrett announced the hiring of Lane Kiffin as head coach of the Trojans football team.

The position was made available after head coach Pete Carroll left his job of nine years to travel north and fulfill his fantasy of returning to the league of giant egos and salaries in Seattle.

With Carroll out, the Trojans search for a new head ball coach spanned far and wide across the nation, with names with USC ties popping up such as Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio, Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher, and Oregon State's head coach Mike Riley.

USC was able to settle on their former offensive coordinator who just finished up his first season at Tennessee with a 7-6 record.

Kiffin agreed to travel west to his old coaching grounds along with his super crew of college football coaches.

Getting the band back together

Kiffin was an offensive coordinator for Pete Carroll for most of the new millennium before he left his comfy So-Cal digs to become the youngest head coach in NFL history when he agreed to take over the Oakland Raiders for the 2008-2009 season.

He was fired during his second season by the NFL's version of Darth Vader, Al Davis, for reasons that are still unknown except that Kiffin was trying to win too many football games.

Kiffin was then pegged to lead the Tennessee Volunteers football team that had seen its share of highs under former coach Phil Fulmer during a national title run in the late 90s and Peyton Manning era.

Tennessee had fallen on hard times and looked to the brash young offensive coordinator from the west to take the head coaching position at Rocky Top. Kiffin responded by putting together one of college football's best recruiting classes and forming a staff of all-star coaches.

Former Ole Miss head coach and New Orleans Saints assistant Ed Orgeron joined Kiffin in Knoxville to take up the same position he held at USC as head recruiting coordinator.

Orgeron was able to stockpile Pete Carroll's Trojans from 2001-2006 with Heisman Trophy winners Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. The former USC coordinator was able to bring in a top flight recruiting class in successive seasons during his 14-month tenure as Kiffin's lead recruiter.

Lane Kiffin was also able to lure his father, Monte Kiffin, from the pro ranks. The elder Kiffin is known for his Tampa 2-coverage defense that has stifled offenses in the "No Fun League" and even brought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a Super Bowl victory.

Kiffin's defense was one of the best in the land in 2009, with All-American safety Eric Berry leading the way.

Lane Kiffin will bring his father and Orgeron with him as he looks to rekindle the magic that the Trojans had while the younger Kiffin and Orgeron were assistants under Pete Carroll. The trio are looking to pick up the dynasty that fell off track a bit, with a 9-4 season this past year.

The Pac-10 should be on full alert because the Trojans will be back on track with Kiffin at the helm.

Ben's Take

S***!

Just when I think USC has fallen off just a bit, with a sub-par season and their head coach leaving, they come back and kick me right in the mommy-daddy button.

F***!

I mean, come on. This is not fair. My Irish have been through four coaches since the last time Notre Dame won the coveted Jeweled Shillelagh in the annual rivalry game with SC.

This was our time to shine.

We have a new innovative offensive coach Brian Kelly, formerly of Cincinnati, and the team has shown signs of turning it around. This was supposed to be the time when the Irish were able to wake up the echoes and Touchdown Jesus was supposed to take over as America's most prominent symbol of Christianity.

And just like that, a smooth kick to the mid-section and the Irish are sprawled out on the canvas gasping for air.

Damnit!

I think this is a great hire for USC. I like Lane Kiffin. I like the way he coaches, I like the way he recruits, I like the way he conducts his program, and I like the way he talks trash. Kiffin does not pull any punches and will say whatever he feels will drum up support or cause a controversy with his program.

Kiffin has an ego, but that is what has put him over the top in his young coaching career. He believes in his abilities, which is conveyed by his mannerisms and overall male chauvinism. Young players are drawn to him and want to play for a coach that will not back down and believes in winning as much as the players.

People may call Kiffin a narcissistic, me-first coach. His quick getaway from Tennessee does nothing to dispel this as his early exit resembles more of Heath Ledger's Joker bank robbery escape in the beginning of The Dark Knight then it does the departure befitting of a coach moving on to a bigger and better coaching opportunity.

Tennessee is no longer the national perennial power that it once was. Tennessee held up as a collegiate power because of their ability to recruit nationwide as opposed to just a regional territory. Their previous coach, Philip Fulmer, was able to draw players from California to Maine, as he was one of the first coaches to look outside his region for players.

Fulmer was forced to go global with his recruiting because Tennessee is not exactly a hot bed for football talent. Let's just say football talent in Tennessee is comparable to the number of tanning salons in Anchorage, Alaska.

But once coaches like Mack Brown at Texas, Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, and Pete Carroll of USC became head coaches, the national recruiting game became the common thing in college football. Players from Colorado were going to LSU, linebackers from New Jersey were heading to Southern California, and regional recruiting was for lower tier programs.

Tennessee had fallen off the map recruiting wise, and their demise was evident with their play on the field. Their record in SEC play was reminiscent of the WWE's John Cena's career: All sizzle and hype but still much to be desired. They were talked up to be able to being capable of playing with the big dogs, but the Volunteers were never able reach their height of the late nineties.

At 31, Kiffin took over a floundering Raiders team and led them to five wins, even though he only coached three quarters of the year before being prematurely dismissed.

His status as a coach remained in limbo as he waited for the right opportunity to present itself. When Tennessee came calling, the young offensive coach saw the chance to resurrect a proverbial Frankenstein.

Tennessee had the central location, die hard fan base, recruiting capabilities, affluent sponsors, and the pedigree and heritage to foster future titles. The Volunteers were a sleeping giant waiting for the jolt from a genius to give it life.

Kiffin's arrival was that boost to that Tennessee needed to make its ascension back to the top of college football. He was able to take a 5-7 team and stand toe-to-toe with some of the country's top teams in college football's deepest conference.

Wins over Kentucky, Ohio, and Georgia, teams that went bowling in 2009, were signs of Kiffin's effect on Tennessee. He bashed almost every SEC coach and took a particular liking at firing his venom at Florida head coach Urban Meyer during his stint at Tennessee.

Tennessee was relevant again, and it was all because of Kiffin and his staff. They scoured the country and pulled recruits that had already committed elsewhere. Kiffin left no stone unturned and the Volunteers ability to infuse themselves into the national conscience was the most tell tale sign of Kiffin's influence on the university.

He is not the alpha dog of college football, but he is the game's best young coach who is not afraid to take chances. His young Volunteers squad stood toe-to-toe with Meyer's Sugar Bowl winning squad and Nick Saban's national champion Alabama team as well.

Once Carroll left his position at USC to move on to the NFL, it became clear that USC would want another young and cocky coach to head its football team. Other candidates were like the other characters of Lost besides Jack and Locke.

Jack and Locke are two of the most compelling characters on television. They carry multiple episodes, make decisions that evoke the strangest of emotions, and the viewer is always awaiting their next move. When Locke shows up, everyone knows to move to the edge of their seat, because they do not know whether he will kill someone, kill himself, clone himself, or move the whole damn island.

Jack's history and character's persona make every viewer want to follow Jack as he leads the Oceanic survivors off the island. His deep love for Kate, his care for others, his natural leadership skills, and pure intuition lead him to become the leader of all of the stranded characters on the island.

Sure Hurley can carry an episode, as could Oregon State's Mike Riley could carry SC for a season. Kate is a compelling character who draws a ton of attention, as is Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher.

But neither Riley or Fisher are Jack Shepherd or John Locke. Lost needs Locke and Shepherd to carry the show as much as USC needs Kiffin to carry their football team in the twenty-tens.

Neither coach could command the attention and keep USC afloat like Kiffin. Kiffin gets to people one way or another, like Locke. Locke is seen either as a psycho or as a visionary who will lead all of the other characters to the promised land.

If you dislike Kiffin, you probably see him as the crazy coach who could snap at any point or end up dead in a ditch somewhere, a la Locke.

If you happen to like Kiffin, then you probably would follow him to any lengths because you believe in his words and inclinations, a la Locke or Jack.

USC is as Hollywood as they come when it pertains to collegiate football. With the likes of Will Ferrell and Snoop Dogg frequenting practices often, USC is the hip spot in college football.

Kiffin is as Hollywood as coaches can come. USC and Kiffin are a match made in heaven. Like Rocky and Adrian, Bonny and Clyde, Starsky and Hutch, Beckham and Posh, or Phil and Kobe.

USC needs Kiffin as much as Kiffin needs USC. They both boost each other's profile, complement each other's Hollywood-esque appearance, and provide relief to each other's needs.

And this is all God-awful for the Irish.

Notre Dame has not been relevant on the national title scene since way before the turn of the millennium. The Irish have gone through multiple high profile coaches, dozens of top recruiting classes, and millions of alumni donations all in their efforts to reclaim their spot atop the college football totem pole.

The Irish have hired head coaches from rivals that defeated the Irish (Tyrone Willingham), the hottest coach on the market (George O'Leary), and pulled a notable football alumnus to lead the team (Charlie Weis), with all bringing in less than desirable results.

The Irish have turned their program over to an Irish lad, Brian Kelly, who has seen nothing but success in all of his coaching opportunities. I like Kelly and I like what he brings to the Irish. He brings winning, familiarity, offensive explosions, solid recruiting methods (and did I say winning) all to South Bend.

This is all good and dandy, but is Kelly a Locke or a Jack? Is he even a Ben Linus?

He has many solid characteristics but can he carry the Irish through all the scrutiny that comes along with coaching Notre Dame?

Is he a transcendent character?

Does he speak to the younger demographic?

Is his persona truly compelling?

While Kelly is a fine man and has been said to be edgy at times, would you watch a reality show based on his life? Would you want to watch a fifty-year-old man call up recruits, give them his shpeel, rub down his hamstrings, cut off the crusts of his sandwich bread at lunch time, and spend his night watching old game film?

I know I sure as hell wouldn't. I would watch Kiffin's show, and I would probably even pay for it. Between his trash talk, wild mood swings, bending of the rules, and overall outward enthusiasm to reach the mecca of whatever he sets out to do would drive me to switch on Bravo and take in a season of Lane Kiffin: I am Going to Win.

Kiffin is young, brash, provocative, exciting, and a transcending figure that can evoke an emotion out of the most mild mannered soul. And this scares the living s*** out of me.

Kiffin is what every young coach tries to be, but doesn't have the youth or the capacity to do so. Lane was given a chance early because of his father's genius, and he has taken full advantage of it. He wants to win at all costs and his energy is contagious.

When you have the gall to call out the coach of the defending national champs on a weekly basis, then you have the fire to light under any eighteen-year-old.

When you work day and night flying all over the country looking for top recruits, then you have the right mindset to build a dynasty.

When you have the energy and drive to coach, recruit, speak at conventions, shake hands, talk trash, work the phones, induce alumnus to donate, and surround yourself with knowledgeable coaches, then you have the wherewithal to become a champion.

Kiffin is the right guy for USC. God save the Irish.