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Is Lane Kiffin's coaching career too crazy to be made into a believable movie?

Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:47 pm
Posted by SlowFlowPro
With populists, expect populism
Member since Jan 2004
465257 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:47 pm
I'm taking a trip down memory lane, looking for the infamous pics of him in the downpour at USC and stumbled upon these gems.

An oral history of Lane Kiffin's firing on the tarmac 10 years ago



quote:

They never would've hired him at SC except he made this pitch to them that he was bringing Monte Kiffin, who they thought was the best defensive coordinator in the country, and Ed Orgeron, who was a beloved figure at SC. That's how he got the job.


quote:

You could see how brilliant [Kiffin] was as an offensive mind, and he had a reputation as being an unbelievable recruiter. He already had Coach Orgeron on board, who is one of the best recruiters in football. ... [Orgeron] would take me on the road recruiting with him all the time. You'd get in the car with him and he'd give you a Red Bull, a pack of peanuts and a beef jerky. That was your day of rationing, and he went from daylight to dark recruiting everybody -- the principal, the counselor, the janitor at the school.


quote:

We were talking one time and he goes, "You know my nickname when I was a kid, right?" I said no. He goes, "It was 'Helicopter.' Because when I was a kid, I would walk into a room and just stir everything up."


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Someday, when they write an epitaph for Lane Kiffin, it's going to be, "He couldn't help himself."


quote:

[Kiffin] had this briefcase he used to take with him, and he left it on the bus because he thought he was going to talk to those guys for like 10 minutes and get back on the bus. He went to this little building, and they sent the bus to USC. He had to get someone to get his briefcase and bring it back to his house because he never went back to USC.


quote:

Lane has developed a sense of humor, but he always used to talk to us about what the storyline was. I think Lane realized tarmac sounded better. He didn't get fired on the tarmac. There was like a small building where the charter jets would pull up to. But it always sounded better, and Lane was smart enough to realize, "I'm going to go with tarmac."


And remember, all of this came after all of this...



Which came after this..




Which came after this...

Then he had a major redemption arc only to become CFB's biggest villain again for the 3rd time.

Posted by shamrock
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2015
4060 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:51 pm to
Won’t be a Hallmark one..
Posted by Boodis Man
Member since Sep 2020
7090 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:52 pm to
Really dont understand the hype over this guy. Never came close to sniffing a title anywhere
Posted by Bunk Moreland
Member since Dec 2010
66343 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:54 pm to
I’ve been thinking about that and I guess it’s why I’m kind of blown away that the LSU fanbase has a sense of entitlement that this is a home run guarantee. It may be, but many coaching cycles have their Jimbo or Tom Herman, too.
Posted by SlowFlowPro
With populists, expect populism
Member since Jan 2004
465257 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:54 pm to
It's a terrible year for hiring coaches and he was clearly the best option who was fought over by 1 major program, 1 mid program, and 1 stepping stone program, around the drama of the greatest season ever for the stepping stone program during what should have been their happiest moments.
Posted by LanierSpots
Sarasota, Florida
Member since Sep 2010
69386 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:55 pm to
quote:

Won’t be a Hallmark one..



Not if Joey Freshwater shows up.
Posted by SeeeeK
some where
Member since Sep 2012
30573 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:56 pm to
An easy ESPN 30:30 special.

And once more people spill the beans on other shite, it could be a 2 parter
Posted by SlowFlowPro
With populists, expect populism
Member since Jan 2004
465257 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:56 pm to
quote:

I’ve been thinking about that and I guess it’s why I’m kind of blown away that the LSU fanbase has a sense of entitlement that this is a home run guarantee. It may be, but many coaching cycles have their Jimbo or Tom Herman, too.


It's insane that he's resetting the market 1 year after a huge failure in 2024

And I'm one of the bigger historic LK fans of the LSU fans on this site. I was all in on him last time instead of BK.
Posted by DaleGribblesMower
Member since Dec 2013
6948 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:56 pm to
Are you crying?
Posted by S
RIP Wayde
Member since Jan 2007
168603 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:57 pm to


Sun Bowl Kiffin
Posted by SlowFlowPro
With populists, expect populism
Member since Jan 2004
465257 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 2:58 pm to
Posted by usc6158
Member since Feb 2008
38488 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 3:10 pm to
There’s the old lore of the Sun Bowl too where he and Kennedy Pola reportedly had a fight the day before the game that came to blows. Never confirmed but he came out and coached like this lol




You could make a movie just from the USC stint.
Posted by usc6158
Member since Feb 2008
38488 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 3:11 pm to
quote:

S
quote:

Sun Bowl Kiffin


Ball knower
Posted by SlowFlowPro
With populists, expect populism
Member since Jan 2004
465257 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 3:12 pm to
quote:

You could make a movie just from the USC stint.


The Kiffin to Sarkisian eras are movie-worthy

....and both are elite HCs at elite schools challenging for titles now
Posted by SlowFlowPro
With populists, expect populism
Member since Jan 2004
465257 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 3:15 pm to
Just read this ESPN article about it

quote:

The Pac-12 blog doesn't believe Lane Kiffin should be fired after his team produced a season that is, by a handful of objective as well as emotional measures, the most disappointing in college football history, though there are many USC fans who do. And not just the crazy ones.

But USC athletic director Pat Haden needs to make clear to Kiffin a significant part of the problem with the Trojans in 2012 is Kiffin's coaching. He needs Kiffin to agree with him, because that's the only way to receive reassurance that Kiffin isn't deluded.

Haden then needs to insist Kiffin hire an offensive coordinator who also coaches QBs and calls plays.

And, yes, we are repeating ourselves.


quote:

Haden could point to poorly designed plays. He could point to feckless execution. He could point to USC repeatedly running exactly the wrong play into the strength off the Yellow Jackets defense.

There was something so shockingly lacking in USC's offensive performance, I've got $5 bill that says there were multiple times in the huddle when players expressed dismay over the play they were about to run.


quote:

Why not just fire Kiffin? Because he was a good coach in 2011. Because he's a great recruiter. Because he's still got potential. And because there really is an obvious path to follow that could quickly solve the Trojans problems.

The hippocratic oath is something coaches share with doctors: "First, do no harm." That means, at the very least, don't make your team worse than it is.

Kiffin did that by calling plays this year.


Posted by usc6158
Member since Feb 2008
38488 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 3:18 pm to
Sark wasn’t entertaining, just kind of sad and depressing watching an alcoholic hit rock bottom.

You had 6 games of peak Coach O thrown in the middle though. Absolute legend.
Posted by mizzoubuckeyeiowa
Member since Nov 2015
38979 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 3:25 pm to
"I would not vote USC No. 1, I can tell you that," Kiffin said.

Unfortunately for Kiffin, he did indeed vote the Trojans No. 1.

"We have less players than everybody else," Kiffin said. "So looking at it from the outside, I wouldn't (vote USC No. 1). Did I? Yeah, I did."

USC started the season ranked #1 in the AP Poll, but finished unranked—the first team to do so since the 1964 Ole Miss Rebels.
This post was edited on 11/30/25 at 3:26 pm
Posted by Major Dutch Schaefer
Location: Classified
Member since Nov 2011
38110 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 3:28 pm to
quote:

Is Lane Kiffin's coaching career too crazy to be made into a believable movie?


30 for 30
Posted by Bunk Moreland
Member since Dec 2010
66343 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 3:29 pm to
I always laugh at how Sark was frequently pounding Patron in the office.
Posted by UnluckyTiger
Member since Sep 2003
41553 posts
Posted on 11/30/25 at 3:40 pm to
quote:

SlowFlowPro


LSU dropped the “you’re with me, leather” today on Kiffin and Ole Miss.
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