Hey, Lane Kiffin Shows on GameDay he Might have a Future as a TV Analyst
It's uncertain whether Lane Kiffin will get another head coaching gig after getting canned by USC two weeks ago, even though college and pro sports seem to reward coaching failures.
But in the meantime, Kiffin might just be able to tide himself over as a rather decent TV analyst.
In his second segment on ESPN's College GameDay show from Seattle, Kiffin appeared far more comfortable than he did during his rather lame and unexciting one-on-one interview with Chris Fowler.
Standing out on a swath of fake football field along with regular GameDay analyst David Pollack and contributing reporter Tom Rinaldi, Kiffin was asked his thoughts on the up-tempo styles expected from Oregon and Washington in this afternoon's big Pac-12 showdown.
But in a touch of irony, rather than talk about the teams' offenses, the coach notorious for his lack of interest in in-game defense focused instead on what he called the "hurry-up defense" that the Ducks and Huskies will likely have to play today.
He called Washington linebacker Shaq Thompson "the best defensive player on the field" and noted how important it will be for the Huskies sophomore to quickly determine whether to pursue Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota or electric tailback De'Anthony Thomas on the read option.
(Side note: Thompson, from Sacramento, Calif., was offered a scholarship by USC but never visited the school)
Kiffin then used Rinaldi, Pollack and himself as props to describe Thompson's conundrum, which was where Kiffin also showed off some nice wit.
Playing the role of Mariota (while Rinaldi was DAT and Pollack was Thompson), Kiffin began to show how Mariota and Thomas would come together on the read option...then quickly called out Rinaldi for his poor hand placement in preparation for a handoff.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!," Kiffin said, re-arranging Rinaldi/Thomas' arms. "You've got to have your inside elbow up!"
Had he said "not so fast, my friend," we might have found a much-needed replacement for Lee Corso.
