A reader wonders if karma explains Lane Kiffin’s problems this season.

Q: John Johns
Scott, putting your petty feelings aside, do you think this stuff would be happening if Mike Garrett was still AD? Do you think Haden is weaker than MG? Do you think Haden takes any blame?
A: Mike Garrett hired Kiffin so I think he would be semi-patient. I think he would probably be wondering about the staff and playcalling, like many of the readers. I think Haden is more of a CEO-type athletic director. Whether they are different won’t be known until after the season. Garrett might have pushed for some change. But Haden might too. We just won’t know until the season ends.
I don’t think Haden is weaker than Garrett. And he did not hire Kiffin. But he is on the hook to fix things if this year spirals ot of control.

Q: ELConqueror • 3 days ago
Scott–I actually don’t disagree with most of your comments but I was wondering if you know why they call you Gargamel? Also, I’ve always thought that Kiffin brought on some seriously bad karma to himself when he dissed the Tennessee team and shucked them off like nothing. Do you think he’s paying for his past sins and if so, do you think this will blow over soon?
A: I don’t even know who that is. I don’t know if you can use karma as a reason, but Kiffin’s definitely done some regretable stuff in the past. So maybe it is karma. A member of the athletic dept. told me in Tucson that USC’s losses were because of karma because of things Kiffin did before each loss. The Stanford game was the week when injury reporting became the main focus. And last week’s loss was the week where jersey switching became the hot topic.