Notre Dame Football Has Invited a Villain into Its Home in Lane Kiffin

Notre Dame Football welcomes the USC Trojans and their infamous head coach Lane Kiffin to town on Saturday.  It’s no secret that Kiffin is the son of NFL defensive coaching legend Monte Kiffin, but how much do Irish fans really know about the Trojan head man?

Born May 9, 1975, in the off-season of football, Kiffin has pursued a career in football in a way that most others care to avoid.  Kiffin has tussled with an NFL owner, nearly played Nero as Knoxville almost burned, and he's broken almost every rule in the book.

Though he's coached as an assistant at multiple programs, it wasn’t until Kiffin left the Trojans for his first head coaching job with the Oakland Raiders that the world began to learn about one of college football's most notorious characters.

So, who is Lane Kiffin…?

Raiders' Al Davis, "He's a Flat-out Liar!"

Hired to lead the Oakland Raiders at age 32, Kiffin had a very brief stint in the NFL as the league’s youngest coach.  He was fired after going 5-15 at the Raiders, with his last game being against the San Diego Chargers where he attempted a 76-yard field goal.  His firing didn’t come without fireworks, though.

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“The decision to remove Kiffin was more about his frequent public criticisms of Davis, his players and even assistant coaches.

Those critiques reached a peak when Kiffin distanced himself from the defense after a blowout loss in the season opener, saying that was under coordinator Rob Ryan and Davis’ control.”

NBC Sports

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As fans have now learned, Kiffin is unable to control his mouth.  It was that lack of restraint an ornery Al Davis resented, especially when Kiffin fought Davis’ decisions. 

Kiffin disagreed about drafting JaMarcus Russell.  He disagreed with retaining Randy Moss.  Finally, Kiffin’s frustration led him to openly blame the owner of team for the program’s downfall.

Davis called Kiffin a "flat-out-liar," sending Kiffin’s next employer, the University of Tennessee, a letter to that effect.

Oakland was only a preview of Kiffin’s immaturity, however.  It wasn’t until he landed in Knoxville that fans saw behind the curtain.

Burning Bridges at Tennessee

Kiffin's stop at Tennessee is when the world learned exactly who college football let in the door.  It almost appeared that Kiffin's arrogant approach was a glimpse at the less public happenings at Pete Carroll's USC.

The Vols welcomed Kiffin as the coach to usher in the next great era of Tennessee football, following in the steps of Johnny Majors and Phil Fulmer.  Kiffin, however, thumbed his nose at Volunteer history, choosing to commit multiple secondary violations and SEC violations in the media, because he believed Tennessee's name needed to be on the front pages of magazines and newspapers.  Kiffin's approach ignored the Volunteer's stalwart history, talented roster, and overall brand name.

As the one-year Kiffin reign carved its path of destruction, it saw a coach who sensationalized SEC rivalries by accusing coaches like Urban Meyer and Mark Richt of cheating on the recruiting trail.  These public accusations were often followed by insincere apologies, as if a child was apologizing because his mother told him to do so.  In reality, the child never realized the wrongful nature of his crime, though he goes through the motions of apologizing, anyway.  Nothing was different about Kiffin's approach, either.

Not long after it was exposed that Kiffin was sending ladies from Tennessee to recruits' football games in an attempt to use sexual allure to secure commitments, Kiffin resigned to take the position vacated by Pete Carroll at USC.

Vols fans were literally enflamed, despite his mediocre 7-5 record, setting small fires to blockade the coach in Neyland Stadium as he told the Volunteer players of his intent.  Meanwhile, his henchmen led by Ed Orgeron were calling recruits, telling them to follow the staff to USC instead of Tennessee.

Kiffin eventually escaped, but not without branding his son "Knox," after Knoxville.  Do you think his son would prefer "Sue"?

Trojan Land!

Kiffin has returned to USC under the control of athletic director Pat Haden who has kept his head coach in line, so far.  When one considers the path of destruction left by Kiffin at his previous two stops, one has to wonder how he was hired in the first place.  It certainly wasn't Pat Haden's choice.  From his statements in the media, however, Haden has made it his priority to keep Kiffin tied to a very short leash.

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“I don’t think we’re going to have a problem with compliance with Lane,” Haden said. “He knows where we’re coming from.”

Orlando Sentinel

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It only makes sense that Haden would keep his dog under leash after the lashing the Trojans program took from the NCAA, and the additional lashing Kiffin had to endure for his actions at Tennessee. 

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"The NCAA enforcement staff alleges that Kiffin 'failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program' at Tennessee and that he 'failed to monitor' the activities of assistant coaches and an athletics administrator."

LA Times

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The beginning of Kiffin's career at USC wasn't without controversy, either.  In violation of a gentleman's agreement not to take coaches from staffs during the season, Kiffin hired Tennessee Titans running backs coach Kennedy Pola away from USC alum Jeff Fisher one week before NFL training camp.  That hire was followed by a lawsuit against Kiffin and USC for tortious interference with a business contract.

Since his rocky start at USC, however, Kiffin has relegated himself to childish remarks since he's been restrained by Haden's strict enforcement of compliance in the Trojans' athletic department.

The Devil Has Come to Town

Kiffin remembers the days of pummeling the Irish, but he wasn't the head coach.  He was merely an assistant.  Now, he's lost once against a team the Trojans despise, and he's looking to do it, again.  Even looking into the face of defeat, which he's done often as a head coach, Kiffin is still offering up a condescending tone towards his opponent.

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“This year’s game has nothing to do with last year,” USC coach Lane Kiffin said. “It was heartbreaking at the time to lose that game and to lose the streak of wins over them when you know how hard the players and coaches in the past had worked to get to that point.”

“They’ve made it, I’m sure, their Super Bowl by putting a bye before it, putting it at night,” Kiffin said. “We’re glad to be a part of their history.”

Washington Post

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Kiffin complained that Notre Dame suddenly changed Saturday's contest to a night game, though it's been scheduled as a night game since March.  Then, he took shots at the Irish by claiming this is a much bigger game for Notre Dame than USC.

Lane Kiffin is not an admirable person.  He doesn't know the meaning of "rule" or "gentleman's agreement."  Stealing Jeff Fisher's running backs coach at the Titans wasn't the first time Kiffin offended another NFL coach by being discourteous.  He actually did the same thing to his friend Tom Cable who took exception, as well.

The SEC was happy to be rid of Kiffin after his habitual misstatements, taunts, and rule-breaking in a conference steeped in Southern traditions. 

Kiffin knows no bounds.  He knows no rules.  And, he's looking to take cheap shots against a superior Irish team he begrudges for last year's loss.

You'll know the devil when he approaches, because he'll do anything to win, especially when he's down.  He'll cheat, steal, and lie to get what he wants.  Yes, Irish fans, the devil is coming to town, and his name is Lane Kiffin.