Lane Kiffin

Lane Kiffin (born May 10, 1975) is the offensive coordinator for the University of Southern California Trojan football team.

Kiffin calls plays with quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian. Websites and message boards focused on the USC football team often refer to offensive coordinator tandem as "Sarkiffian" or "Sarkiffin".

Background

Kiffin is a 1994 graduate of Bloomington Jefferson High School in Minnesota and a 1998 graduate of Fresno State University. He played quarterback for the Bulldogs and immediately moved into coaching at Fresno State following graduation.

In 2005, Kiffin was promoted to offensive coordinator at USC after previous coordinator Norm Chow left to become the offensive coordinator of the NFL's Tennessee Titans.

Since his promotion to offensive coordinator of the talent-stocked Trojans, Lane Kiffin has been a bit of a lightning rod for criticism. Most notably challenged by legions of fans and pundits was his presumed decision to keep Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush on the sidelines on a critical 4th and 2 play late in the 2006 Rose Bowl BCS Championship game against the Texas Longhorns. The play was ultimately unsuccessful as running back LenDale White was stopped short of a first down conversion. The play became a main talking point as many who saw the game felt it was a critical play that led to the Trojan's first loss of the 2005-2006 season.

Since then, Kiffin's playcalling and game management have come under further scrutiny, particularly following a disappointing 7 point offensive output against rival UCLA at the end of the 2006 regular season. That loss eliminated USC from very likely advancing to their third straight BCS Championship game. Kiffin, however, redeemed himself in the 2007 Rose Bowl Game, when he made halftime adjustments which turned a 3-3 tie into a 32-18 blowout over Michigan.

Lane Kiffin's father, Monte Kiffin, is the defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and architect of the famed "Tampa 2" defense.

Even Norm Chow, whom Kiffin studied under prior to Chow's leave from USC in Spring 2005 to coach the Tennessee Titans, has gotten into the act. In an interview with the OC Register, Chow criticized both Mr. Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian in an appearance on a Southern California radio show after USC's loss to UCLA when he said

'I know DeWayne Walker may be better than both of those guys," Chow said on KLAC/570. "DeWayne Walker is a heck of a football coach, which is why I wasn't too surprised he did what he did at UCLA.'[1]

Kiffin supporters will quickly point out, though, that most, if not all of his deficiencies could easily be blamed on the_new_Jerry.

External links

• Official USC Bio