David Lassen: Life with the Fast Lane deserves skepticism

Lane Kiffin USC Press Conference (Part 1)

LOS ANGELES — Some new coaches get a greeting.

Lane Kiffin got a grilling, instead.

Which only shows Kiffin may yet live up to his Wednesday vow to assemble the best coaching staff in America — but there’s justifiable skepticism that the weak link isn’t at the top.

Kiffin, the surprise successor to Pete Carroll as USC football coach, returns to the Trojans with a fair amount of baggage, and not a whole lot of accomplishment to go with it.

NCAA issues? He’s had ’em.

World-class bridge-burning skills? He’s got ’em.

Actual accomplishment? Um, not so much.

And so Kiffin, with his career head-coaching record of 12-21 — 5-15 with the Oakland Raiders, who nominally remain an NFL franchise, and 7-6 with the Tennessee Volunteers, who vocally remain part of the Southeastern Conference — arrived on campus Wednesday. Practically before he could catch his breath, let alone say hello, he was asked: — If it was fair to wonder if he really was a good coach; — If his staff had been trying to poach recruits from Tennessee; — And why anyone should believe he’s any more likely to stick with the Trojans than he was as a well-compensated Volunteer.

And those were just the issues involving the Trojans; several questions regarding his pit stop in Tennessee followed him right to Los Angeles, probably because he didn’t answer them before fleeing the angry masses in Knoxville.

Embattled USC athletic director Mike Garrett introduced Kiffin as “the man to lead us to continued greatness.”

That might eventually prove to be true, but based on his slim list of accomplishments, it’s much easier to support the idea Kiffin is leading them someplace else.

Welcome to Life With The Fast Lane.

He’s fast to speak, accusing Florida’s Urban Meyer of cheating practically before he could pull on his first Tennessee orange shirt.

(He later had to apologize, of course).

He’s fast to leave, which one reason the Tennessee folks are up in arms. (Mostly they seem to be upset at the implication they aren’t the absolute center of the football universe. They aren’t, but perspective isn’t a big part of the SEC experience.).

He’s fast and loose with the rules, as indicated by those six lesser NCAA violations and one ongoing investigation, which gives him as many rules issues as victories as a collegiate coach. (Admittedly, this might not be an issue given USC’s strong recent history of institutional oversight. Oh, wait ) It’s only in building an actual coaching résumé that Fast Lane is not quite so quick.

That 7-6 record at Tennessee includes dazzling accomplishments like wins over 0-12 Western Kentucky, 2-10 Memphis and 2-10 Vanderbilt. Any assessment of his Oakland experience must be tempered with recognition that it’s going to be almost impossible to overcome the mess created by Al Davis — and that being labeled a “flat-out liar” by Davis may be a badge of honor — it’s still not like his tenure there is filled with highlights.

Trying to identify the signature Lane Kiffin victory is about like trying to select the best entrée at a bad roadside diner — nothing much stands out from a very limited set of options.

Is it his first victory in Oakland — against Cleveland, the only team his Raiders beat that finished with a winning record? Maybe that win over Georgia — apparently Tennessee’s archrival, who knew? — since the Bulldogs went 8-5 and were the only team beaten by Tennessee that went on to win a bowl game?

Or is he still looking for a signature win? And if so, what exactly does that mean, other than that he’s a guy with a learner’s permit just handed the keys to a Ferrari?

To give him his due, Fast Lane handled Wednesday’s tough questions the best he could. He promised to run a clean program. He said he wasn’t going anywhere: “I’m at the best place in America; there’s no place for me to go.”

He said his ability to coach was supported by the fact Oakland and Tennessee had both improved his first season, and by better classroom performance by the Volunteers. And he said he would not be contacting players who had committed to Tennessee and asking them to jump to USC instead (although he said he’d talk to them if they called, which was an invitation just short of reciting a 1-800 number).

And he made that vow to assemble the best staff in America. With his father, defensive guru Monte Kiffin, and former USC assistant Ed Orgeron, a recognized star in recruiting, already on board, he’s made a good start in living up to that promise.

For now, though, the rest of his promises are just rhetoric. Until he lives up to them, the skepticism about Life With The Fast Lane is entirely deserved.

— Contact David Lassen at dlassen@VCStar.com.

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