WDKD: What Did Kiffin Do?

In the City of Angels, there are many Gods.

You have the Kobe sports God, the Milo Ventimiglia brat pack God, the Lindsay Lohan train wreck God and the Miley Cyrus pop star God.

In a South Central Los Angeles oasis, there is one man who will forever be worshipped as a football God, and it's not Pete Carroll.

It's Norm Chow. All hail.

No measurement of disdain can be estimated on how USC fans feel about Chow's current job—the UCLA Bruins' offensive coordinator. In Trojans fans' eyes, he is scheming for the devil, and against his congregation. 

He belongs back at USC, they cry, hands pointed upward at the Heavens. At his pulpit on the sidelines, preaching and teaching from his playbook bible.

And short of USC parting the Pacific Ocean and its wallet wide open, this isn't going to happen.

When news broke of Lane Kiffin going to USC, the first thought by Trojans fans wasn't, "Great hire." On the contrary, the first thought was, "Can we get Chow back?"

When Shelley Smith reported that Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron would be coming to USC as well, the cardinal and gold faithful raised their glasses in a toast. But the clinking of the glasses sounded hallow. What about Chow?

Only when Smith said that Chow was coming did the entire Trojan fan base smile smugly and toast, "The bitch is back."

Pete Carroll and Jeremy Bates became an instant afterthought and the rootin' tootin' gang back from years' past was now back. Where it belonged.

The other Pac-10 teams, once laughing at the news of the Kiffin hire, were now circling their wagons and bracing for the onslaught of the Trojans. It was a nightmare of gargantuan proportions. After a one year hiatus from USC, the conference faced the reality of a new era. A new dynasty. From the same old school.

Less than two hours after Smith announced Chow to USC, the celebration turned to slight concern. According to ESPN, negotiations were on-going and there was no deal. Shelley Smith dartboards started popping up in garages.

News of Chow's flight landing in Los Angeles gave Trojans fans a slightly cocky attitude—the Savior was coming to his flock. No matter what UCLA did to sweeten the pot, USC would make it sweeter, right?

But then the cautious jubilation became sullied as the clock struck twelve. Chow hadn't been contacted yet. By the next day, the grim reality set in. Chow was staying at UCLA. Smith was officially the scorn of Trojan Nation. 

Revelation.

When Chow went on local radio's Petros and Money , the whole non-story unfolded. Chow was never offered by USC. Lane Kiffin merely left a voice mail on Chow's phone.

That's it???? The Good Samaritan bell ringer puts more pressure on Wal-Mart Christmas shoppers than Kiffin put on Chow.

Trojans fans had been lured into a false sense of euphoria and now the inevitable was obvious—Kiffin might be calling the plays.

Despite a solid recruiting staff—Orgeron is the best D-line coach in the country and a beast of a recruiter—the concerns remain. Kiffin's play calling skills were a thorn in Trojans fans' sides when he first took over Norm Chow's position in 2005. After all, who wouldn't succeed with all that talent?

Kiffin was the Trojans' OC when USC lost to UCLA in 2006, and lost their bid to a BCS Championship game as well. Since then, USC has never been the same, losing games to Stanford, Oregon, and Oregon State before finally dropping four conference games last year.

To be sure, if USC had landed Chow, this coaching staff could have rivaled any elite school in the country, and then some. It could have been the best.

Chow was the secret sauce. The magic fairy dust. The cherry on the hot fudge sundae.

But as of now, it looks like a chocolate mousse baking in the oven after someone opened the oven door too early—not nearly as pretty as anticipated, but will probably taste alright.

So what happened? Why didn't Kiffin try to nab Chow, the 2002 Broyles Award winner for the best assistant coach in the country?

It wasn't the dough—USC could have easily offered seven figures to Chow, who had said for him to leave would require NFL-like money. According to BruinsNation.com, Chow is in his final year of a "$250,000 base salary, a $140,000 talent fee and a $250,000 retention bonus April 1st." That's $640,000, which USC could have easily doubled.

Was it Garrett who missed this opportunity?

USC AD Mike Garrett has said he is not in charge of recruiting Kiffin's staff and that Kiffin is in control.

That leaves Lane Kiffin.

It is Kiffin's ego that has presumably got in the way of courting Chow. One voicemail left on Chow's phone seems to indicate that he reached out to Chow in a half-hearted way to appease Trojans fans and fill the bandwagon, but had no real interest in getting a coach who would reap most of the praise for great offensive play calling.

Just as Pete Carroll's former defensive coordinators were never given full credit for fielding an NFL-like defense due to Carroll's prowess and control in defensive scheming, Kiffin would always be seen as Chow's puppet on offense.

Kiffin subconsciously sabotaged the program by not checking his ego at Heritage Hall. That's what Kiffin did.

While mattresses burn in Knoxville, Kiffin is standing at the door of hell. Either make a stand and prove all doubters wrong, or take the giant step into the inferno.

This job will prove if Kiffin was the right hire. Most pundits believe the defense will be superb due to his dad, Monte, in control of the defense. If he hires the offensive equivalent of Monte Kiffin in Norm Chow, just how does he prove he deserves any accolades other than being able to delegate and hire well?

Rock, meet hard place.

Kiffin, after failing in Oakland and achieving moderate success in Knoxville, is out to prove that his resume—while impressive on job titles but short on substance and tenure—will someday land him a BCS Championship and future NFL head coaching gig.

Kiffin has to either hire a great offensive coordinator or orchestrate brilliant calls on the sidelines himself. One or the other.

Hire a great coordinator, and realistically speaking, Kiffin is just a paper title head coach. Hire a mid-level coordinator and teach him the ropes while calling a solid game, and he might just win over the doubters.

Kiffin will most likely seek out a young offensive coordinator who is looking for a big-time college gig and upward movement fast. A coach who doesn't mind standing in the shadows, holding a clipboard, and sporadically talking into headphones while on the sidelines. 

And one who has an iron stomach starting in mid-February.

The NCAA awaits.