Mr2Bits
Gator Fan
<em>"Years have passed and I keep thinking
What a fool I've been
I look back into the past and
Think of way back then
I know that I lost everything I thought that I could win
I guess I should have listened to my friends
All the burning bridges that have fallen after me
All the lonely feelings and the burning memories
Everyone I left behind each time I closed the door
Burning bridges lost forevermore" </em>
If Lane Kiffin ever decides to wake up and realize what damage he's done to his reputation because of his rogue behavior, maybe he'll take a look at himself in the mirror and see what a fool he's made of himself. If and when he does that, though, who knows.
In my last blog article "Burning Bridges", in closing I made the following comment: "It probably won’t be very much longer before we hear the <em>next</em> Kiffin gaffe." It was only a matter of weeks until that actually happened, albeit not the spoken word that got Lane in trouble this time around, but instead an unscrupulous and tactless move on his part. Kiffin went and poached Tennessee Titans' running back coach Kennedy Pola from Jeff Fisher's staff to fill the vacancy left by Todd McNair, and named him the new offensive coordinator at USC <strong>without</strong> having followed the normal protocol of asking permission from the Titans to approach him about interviewing for the position beforehand - thus angering Fisher and causing the Titans to initiate a lawsuit against Kiffin and USC for "maliciously interfering" with Pola's contract, as well as against Pola himself for breach of contract. It will be interesting, without a doubt, to see what transpires in this case.
Whether or not the Pac-10 Commissioner and/or new USC Athletic Director Pat Haden will issue any reprimands or penalties against Kiffin as a result of this latest transgression remains to be seen, but if Haden wants to do the right thing he should consider issuing a "zero-tolerance" policy against adverse behavior on him just as the late Myles Brand did against Bobby Knight back at Indiana University after his frequent episodes of misconduct. Eventually Knight was dismissed by then-President Brand, as many of us remember - but who knows what will ultimately happen to Kiffin.
Perhaps it may take something of this magnitude to force Kiffin to start doing things the right way if he wants to try and salvage what may be left of his coaching career, but I have my doubts as to whether or not he'll govern himself accordingly should this lawsuit proceed in the courts and be ruled in favor of the plaintiff. Ever since he has assumed a head-coaching position, be it at the NFL level or in college football, Kiffin has done nothing more or less than demonstrate an obvious disregard for standard operating procedure and use of proper etiquette. It was tacitly implied by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive at last week's SEC Media Days that he's relieved to not be burdened by Kiffin or his antics anymore in his warm welcome of Derek Dooley (new Vols head coach) to the conference. Urban Meyer held his peace when asked about Kiffin during his turn at the podium, but if anybody pulled him off to the side and asked him how he felt off the record, I'm sure he would have expressed his relief in not having to deal with Lane's nonsense anymore.
Kiffin may walk where angels fear to tread, but right now he's treading on thin ice - and the more he continues to burn his bridges behind him, the ice is melting right underneath his feet.
What a fool I've been
I look back into the past and
Think of way back then
I know that I lost everything I thought that I could win
I guess I should have listened to my friends
All the burning bridges that have fallen after me
All the lonely feelings and the burning memories
Everyone I left behind each time I closed the door
Burning bridges lost forevermore" </em>
If Lane Kiffin ever decides to wake up and realize what damage he's done to his reputation because of his rogue behavior, maybe he'll take a look at himself in the mirror and see what a fool he's made of himself. If and when he does that, though, who knows.
In my last blog article "Burning Bridges", in closing I made the following comment: "It probably won’t be very much longer before we hear the <em>next</em> Kiffin gaffe." It was only a matter of weeks until that actually happened, albeit not the spoken word that got Lane in trouble this time around, but instead an unscrupulous and tactless move on his part. Kiffin went and poached Tennessee Titans' running back coach Kennedy Pola from Jeff Fisher's staff to fill the vacancy left by Todd McNair, and named him the new offensive coordinator at USC <strong>without</strong> having followed the normal protocol of asking permission from the Titans to approach him about interviewing for the position beforehand - thus angering Fisher and causing the Titans to initiate a lawsuit against Kiffin and USC for "maliciously interfering" with Pola's contract, as well as against Pola himself for breach of contract. It will be interesting, without a doubt, to see what transpires in this case.
Whether or not the Pac-10 Commissioner and/or new USC Athletic Director Pat Haden will issue any reprimands or penalties against Kiffin as a result of this latest transgression remains to be seen, but if Haden wants to do the right thing he should consider issuing a "zero-tolerance" policy against adverse behavior on him just as the late Myles Brand did against Bobby Knight back at Indiana University after his frequent episodes of misconduct. Eventually Knight was dismissed by then-President Brand, as many of us remember - but who knows what will ultimately happen to Kiffin.
Perhaps it may take something of this magnitude to force Kiffin to start doing things the right way if he wants to try and salvage what may be left of his coaching career, but I have my doubts as to whether or not he'll govern himself accordingly should this lawsuit proceed in the courts and be ruled in favor of the plaintiff. Ever since he has assumed a head-coaching position, be it at the NFL level or in college football, Kiffin has done nothing more or less than demonstrate an obvious disregard for standard operating procedure and use of proper etiquette. It was tacitly implied by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive at last week's SEC Media Days that he's relieved to not be burdened by Kiffin or his antics anymore in his warm welcome of Derek Dooley (new Vols head coach) to the conference. Urban Meyer held his peace when asked about Kiffin during his turn at the podium, but if anybody pulled him off to the side and asked him how he felt off the record, I'm sure he would have expressed his relief in not having to deal with Lane's nonsense anymore.
Kiffin may walk where angels fear to tread, but right now he's treading on thin ice - and the more he continues to burn his bridges behind him, the ice is melting right underneath his feet.
