I believe that Tennessee also came within inches of beating Alabama that year (game-winning FG was blocked, if I remember correctly).

Kiffin went 8-5, 10-2, and 0-2 at USC before being unceremoniously fired on the tarmac. In retrospect, considering the sanctions and the subsequent failures of Sark and Helton, that's not half bad.

Kiffin strongly opposed the Raiders' JaMarcus Russell pick, and had to play nearly his entire inaugural season with a backup quarterback (Russell famously held out until December during his rookie year). Kiffin went 4-12 his first year and 1-3 his next year before being fired. Again, considering the constraints (namely Russell, Al Davis, and the general Raiders dysfunction), those results aren't half bad.

I think Kiffin showed enough then (and he's certainly shown enough since then) to indicate that he knows something about offense and is a serviceable coach.