Lane Kiffin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lane Kiffin | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Date of birth | May 9, 1975 |
| Place of birth |  Bloomington, MN |
| Position(s) | Head coach |
| College | Fresno State |
| Career Highlights | |
| Regular Season | 4-12-0 |
| Postseason | 0-0 |
| Career Record | 4-12-0 |
| Coaching Stats | Pro Football Reference |
| Team(s) as a coach/administrator | |
| 1997-1998 1999-2000 2001 2002-2006 2005-2006 2007 - present |
Fresno State (quarterbacks coach) Colorado State (offensive line coach) Southern California (tight ends coach) Southern California (wide receivers coach) Southern California (offensive coordinator) Oakland Raiders (head coach) |
Lane Kiffin (born May 9, 1975) is the head coach of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans.[1] Age 31 at the time of his hiring (32 when he coached his first NFL game), Kiffin became the youngest head coach in National Football League history; he also surpassed the New York Jets' Eric Mangini and the Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Tomlin as the youngest head coach since the AFL-NFL Merger.
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[edit] Background
He is the son of veteran college and NFL coach Monte Kiffin, who currently serves as defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kiffin is a 1994 graduate of Bloomington Jefferson High School in Minnesota and a 1998 graduate of Fresno State University. He played quarterback for the Bulldogs and immediately moved into coaching at Fresno State following graduation. Kiffin also worked for two years as an assistant at Colorado State University.
[edit] University of Southern California
Kiffin joined the USC staff in 2001 as the tight ends coach and became the wide receivers coach in 2002. In 2004, he added the duties of passing game coordinator and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2005. Kiffin also took the reins as recruiting coordinator that year, after offensive coordinator Norm Chow left USC to do the same job for the NFL's Tennessee Titans. Along with these duties, Kiffin continued as the wide receivers coach.
During Kiffin’s tenure with USC, he was instrumental in the development of several wide receivers and tight ends in the program. While he was there, USC produced noted talents such as NFL draftees Mike Williams, Keary Colbert, Kareem Kelly, Alex Holmes and Dominique Byrd. In addition, Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett of the 2006 USC Trojans football team were both selected in the second round of the 2007 NFL draft by the New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers, respectively. Patrick Turner, Fred Davis and several other young new recruits such as Vidal Hazelton, Travon Patterson and Jamere Holland seem likely to continue the trend of excellence at this position. Notably, Lane Kiffin also helped amass the number-one recruiting class in the nation, the past several years (as evaluated by organizations such as Scout.com and Rivals.com).
In 2005, USC head coach Pete Carroll selected Kiffin to replace Norm Chow as offensive coordinator. Despite being new to the role, Lane Kiffin helped guide USC to a 23-3 win-loss record during his tenure in this capacity (an 88% win percentage). During the previous four years under Norm Chow’s play calling, the Trojans achieved 41 wins and 9 losses (82%). Under Kiffin in 2005 the USC offense produced school records in virtually every dimension, averaging 49.1 points and 579 yards per game. USC’s potent offense that season became the first in NCAA history to have a 3,000 yard passer (Matt Leinart), two 1,000 yard rushers (Reggie Bush & LenDale White), and a 1,000 yard receiver (Dwayne Jarrett). Steve Smith fell a few yards short of also surpassing 1,000 yards in receiving. With an all new offensive cast at the skill positions and in what was generally viewed as a rebuilding year for USC the offensive totals fell off to 30.5 point, and 391 yards per game, and 11 wins overall. Injuries affected the team all year as three fullbacks went down to major injury by the third game of the year, several freshman running backs rotated as starting tailback, and wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett missed parts of the mid-season due to injury. Despite these losses and key injuries the team produced top 20 statistics in most NCAA offensive categories and concluded with an impressive 32-18 win over the then #3 ranked team the University of Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Despite all the teams achievements, Kiffin's work with the Trojans over his two-year period as offensive coordinator is sometimes harshly judged for what it did not accomplish – win national championships – as compared to the previous two seasons in 2003 and 2004. Furthermore offensive play-calling responsibilities for USC were shared during this period with QB coach Steve Sarkisian having on-the-field approval for Kiffin’s suggestions and head coach Pete Carroll maintaining veto power. Lack of clarity and final say over play calling responsibility has left some controversy over how much decision making power Kiffin wielded versus Sarkisian and Carroll during his two-year tenure as offensive coordinator.
After an upset loss to the UCLA Bruins to close the 2006 season, eliminating USC from the 2006 BCS title game, there were reports in the news media that previous coordinator Norm Chow publicly criticized the young coordinator along with quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian. He was interviewed by the Orange County Register.
| “ | I know DeWayne Walker may be better than both of those guys, DeWayne Walker is a heck of a football coach, which is why I wasn't too surprised he did what he did at UCLA.[2] | ” |
Other sources however point out that Chow's comments were taken out of context in this regard and did not reflect his intended meaning. These reports indicate the following conversation ensued over the airwaves.
| “ | Host: Coach, here back in Los Angeles, USC, a couple of your proteges in Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, taking over as offensive coordinators for the Trojans, they've uh, taken a lot of heat, and Joe mentioned especially after the UCLA game. Any thoughts on those two guys and the job they've done since you left? Norm Chow Reply: Nah, you know I don't get a chance to follow much, you know we're so busy doing what we're doing, um, you know LenDale keeps me informed of all that but I really don't, don't know. You know I know DeWayne Walker maybe better than both of those guys and DeWayne's a heck of a football coach and that's why it wasn't too surprising when DeWayne did what he did with UCLA.[3] | ” |
The contents of the interview are available for download at KLAC 570AM radio's website[4] Kiffin, Walker and Chow were all coaches on the 2001 Trojans team.
[edit] Oakland Raiders
Raiders' owner Al Davis hired Kiffin on January 23, 2007, making him the youngest head coach in Raiders history, and the youngest head coach since the formation of the modern NFL. [5] Davis has been known to select young, up-and-coming coaches in their thirties; those hires who fared well include Tom Flores, John Madden, Mike Shanahan and Jon Gruden. All have won Super Bowls, though Madden and Flores are the only ones to win a championship with the Raiders.
On August 12, 2007, in his NFL head coaching debut, Kiffin and the Raiders won their preseason opener 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals.
The next day, August 13th, Kiffin was hospitalized with a viral infection, which doctors believe was mononucleosis.
Lane Kiffin recorded his first win as a NFL head coach on September 23rd, 2007. The Oakland Raiders defeated the Cleveland Browns 26-24 when defensive lineman Tommy Kelly blocked a late Cleveland field goal.
On November 27, 2007, Joe Schad reported on ESPN's 1st Take that Kiffin may have interest in the vacated head coaching position at the University of Arkansas. Kiffin's father, Monte, was once a coordinator at Arkansas under Lou Holtz in the 1970's. However, the position was filled by Bobby Petrino. Rumors also ran rampant about Kiffin's potential interest in the vacant coaching position at the University of Michigan.
At his end-of-the-season press conference, Kiffin told the media and his players that he had many plans and changes he was going to make in the 2008 offseason, virtually assuring that he will remain coach of the Raiders in 2008 and beyond. When asked by his players, he told them he never thought the rumors were important enough to address because he was never planning to leave.[citation needed][6]
On January 25, 2008, it was reported by ESPN's Chris Mortensen that owner Al Davis drafted a letter of resignation for Kiffin to sign after his first season with a record of 4-12. A source allegedly close to Kiffin told Mortensen that Kiffin would not resign, and would not sign the letter of resignation which would cause him to forfeit his salaries for the remainder of his contract. Kiffin has two years remaining at $2 million per year on his contract.[7] However, the Raiders denied the story, while Kiffin has refused to comment.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ USC O-coordinator Kiffin to be named Raiders coach
- ^ "Chow praises UCLA's Walker, criticizes USC's play-calling", The Orange County Register, December 21, 2006
- ^ "LA Media Needs More Truthfulness", College Football Resource, December 21, 2006
- ^ AM 570 KLAC podcasts
- ^ Pokorny, Chris. Raiders Go Young, Name Lane Kiffin as Head Coach, Pro Football Critics, January 23, 2007
- ^ Jones, Jason. Kiffin turns attention to future, The Sacramento Bee, January 1, 2008
- ^ Mortensen, Chris. Raiders coach refuses to heed Davis' call to resign, ESPN.com, January 25, 2008
- ^ Raiders deny report they asked Kiffin to resign, Fox Sports, 2008-01-25, <http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7721250?MSNHPHMA>. Retrieved on 25 January 2008
| Preceded by Art Shell |
Oakland Raiders Head Coaches 2007- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Norm Chow |
USC Offensive Coordinators 2005-2006 |
Succeeded by Steve Sarkisian |
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