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Jan 22, 2022
12:42:43pm
reddead All-American
I hope that people in your life are more generous with you than you are with Kif

Again, your assertion that Kiffin either "failed or quit" each job he's had is either ignorant of the coaching market or an intentional mischaracterization. There are very, very few programs that can realistically expect that their coach, if successful, won't be poached. Ironically, as we found out a month ago, even bluebloods like Oklahoma aren't truly safe.

Additionally, your attack on Kiffin ignores the career rehabilitation and growth he's been working on since 2014. I understand that you may be upset about Dart, but that doesn't make Kiffin a bad person of a bad coach. Here's a brief of Kiffin's coaching career:

  • Assistant at USC from 2001-2006. During this time Kiffin developed a reputation as a stellar recruiter and a rising offensive mind
  • HC at Oakland Raiders from 2007-2008. Can you blame a college coordinator for taking an NFL HC position? Remarkably, Kiffin's contract with Oakland was only 2 years and $4m. Kiffin quickly ran into Oakland's norotious dysfunctionality; he opposed Al Davis' selection of JaMarcus Russell, and Russell held out for nearly all of Kiffin's first year. Rumors had it that Davis tried to force Kiffin out after going 4-12 the first year. Kiffin was eventually fired a few weeks into 2008. I have a hard time siding with Al Davis; regardless, subsequent coaches didn't do much better.
  • HC at Tennessee during 2009. Kiffin went 7-5 during the regular season and 7-6 overall, and improvement over Fulmer's 5-7 the year before. Then, Kiffin's dream job at USC opened up. Can you blame Kiffin for taking his dream job, especially given what we know now about the dysfunction at Tennessee?
  • HC at USC from 2010-2013. Kiffin inherited a depleted and sanctioned USC team and coached them to an 8-5 season in 2010 and a 10-2 season in 2011, in spite of reduced scholarships and a postseason ban. He was memorably fired on the tarmac after going 0-2 to start the 2012 season. Given USC's failures since then, do you think that 8-5, 10-2, and 0-2 were enough to justify Kiffin's firing? Kiffin's winning percentage was only ~4% less than either of Helton or Sark - but Kiffin had to deal with historic sanctions and scholarship reductions.
  • OC at Alabama from 2014-2016. Kiffin did exceptionally well at Alabama (who doesn't) and rehabilitated his career enough to get a position at FAU.
  • HC at FAU from 2017-2019. Kiffin did exceptionally well at FAU, with a 11-3 season and C-USA championship in his first year (FAU's first 10-win season ever and first season over .500 since 2008). Kiffin took FAU to a second 10-win season and another C-USA championship in 2019. Can you blame Kiffin for leaving a school like FAU for the SEC - or do you think Kiffin was under some kind of obligation to stick around for a program like that?
  • HC at Ole Miss. Kiffin's first season was a 5-5 campaign during the weird COVID year (Ole Miss had gone 6-6, 5-7, 4-8 under previous coach Matt Luke), and a 10-3 Sugar Bowl season last year (Ole Miss' first 10-win regular season in school history)

In your opinion, where did Kiffin go wrong? No one was winning in Oakland, especially with JaMarcus; I don't blame anyone for choosing USC over Tennessee; and I can't really fault Kiffin for the difficulties he had in SC, especially given the sanctions he inherited.

reddead
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reddead
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