Is USC Playing Better Without Lane Kiffin?

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Scott Wolf

That is the question posed in my analysis in today’s paper. The Trojans are 2-1 with two victories over teams they were supposed to beat and a loss as an underdog at Notre Dame.

Excerpt: “It is probably unrealistic to expect Orgeron to completely change a team in midcourse. Instead of wondering if USC is better, perhaps the smarter question is how much worse would USC be if Orgeron were not keeping the Trojans together?”

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Henry Bibby

Dumb, but the norm here.

Everyone, some real USC news. Dan Patrick reported that USC is putting the full court press on getting Jon Gruden in the next few weeks. Also, Jon Gruden was quoted 2 weeks back that he is interested in coaching again. Fight on!
- Booyakasha
  
  I read this some place else, but I haven’t listened Dan Patrick. Have we contacted Jon Gruden yet or are we planning to do it in the near future?
  - Henry Bibby
    
    I’m not sure, but USC will be contacting him, if not already. USC is going “all in” the next couple weeks for Chuckie. Keep your fingers crossed.
    - Stu Azole
      
      tell us why he’d be a good college coach. Seriously.
      - TrojanFan
        
        We are all ears!
      - Henry Bibby
        
        Stu, I don’t have a crystal ball, so I am going out on a limb. Maybe you should list the reasons he won’t be a good college coach. Apparently, a Super Bowl ring is not enough in your eyes.
      - TrojanFan
        
        Just because he passes the eye test that doesn’t make him right for the job.
      - Henry Bibby
        
        Eye test? His results are higher than Pete Carroll when Pete was hired. You’re right, Jon Gruden is a horrible choice. Hopefully they smarten up and go get Mike Riley or Pep Hamilton, lol.
      - TrojanFan
        
        Relax, you’re entitled to your opinion!
    - TrojanFan
      
      Be careful what you wish for. Half the battle is recruiting and so coaches don’t want to deal with it.
      - Henry Bibby
        
        Recruiting? Name one coach in the Pac-12 that would do better in living rooms than Jon Gruden? He doesn’t need to do all the legwork, assistants handle that. He would be the closer on any recruit USC really wants.
      - TrojanFan
        
        Nice try!
    - B.Miller
      
      Hope he keeps the Pendergast Defense and ED O as his recruiting Coordinator since he doesn’t have college coaching experience.
      - Henry Bibby
        
        Ha, just mentioned this on a reply to you. Bring Jay Gruden as offensive coordinator from the Bengals. 4 headed monster coaching staff at USC.
      - B.Miller
        
        I will keep my fingers crossed for this!
- Cheap seats
  
  I do think a “multiple” offense like Gruden has ran would be best suited for the players we have. He’s always run a more power-based run attack with a WCO passing attack.
  
  All of the people wanting us to go spread offense forget we have to ditch ALL our QBs including Max Browne.
  
  UCLA was fortunate to already have Hunley, but they could’ve went either way because Mazzone doesn’t use the read option as frequent.
  - gotroy22
    
    The WCO destroyed Carson Palmer and you want us to go back to it?
    - Cheap seats
      
      Please elaborate. I would hardly call winning a heisman, multiple pro bowls and 4,000 yard passing seasons as “destroyed”.
      - TrojanFamily
        
        Plus he was destroyed by being taken #1 in the NFL draft.
      - Bill
        
        Thanks to Norm Chow!
    - CardinalnGold
      
      Gruden wouldn’t run the WCO exclusively. He’s a pretty dynamic offensive coach & student of the game. I’m sure he’d bring in a pro style offense that is well suited for college.
- TrojanFan
  
  The NFL is his true calling!. Going after Chucky is wheel spinning posturing
  - Cheap seats
    
    As much as I like the idea, I’m afraid you’re right. He’d be taking a $2M+ pay cut over what he can get in the NFL.
    
    Unless he has a true calling to mentor kids like he does in his QB camp show, I don’t seen it happening.
    - TrojanFan
      
      Recruiting can be a grind!
      - Trojan Hoarse
        
        Especially dealing with parents who have an inflated opinion of their kids potential…..and the limited hours of practice and coaching time can be frustrating for coaches, as well…….
    - TrojanFamily
      
      Not sure about that pay cut. Gruden would likely get 5 years and 30 million to come to USC. Would he be paid more than $6 million to coach in the NFL?
      - Cheap seats
        
        I read an article that said he’s worth 7M in the NFL, but you how those “experts” are..
  - Henry Bibby
    
    Have you ever heard of coaches having egos? Chuckie wants a challenge. USC is as close to the NFL as it gets, period!
    - Tom Oday
      
      The report said he was interested in a return to coaching…in the NFL. It then listed possible NFL jobs that might open up. College???
      - Henry Bibby
        
        Show me. I see nothing referring to NFL only. His quote was, “I haven’t lost a game in 3½ years,” Gruden told the Ocala Star Banner‘s Carlos E. Medina. “But no, I would like to give coaching one more try.”
- B.Miller
  
  Now this is why I come to this site.. I did not hear that about Gruden, but glad to hear! If there is one person USC would put the “full court press” on it would be Gruden.. I dont mind that decision or effort by Pat Haden at all!
  - Henry Bibby
    
    Let’s be honest, Pat has now made his coaching search list. #1 was clearly Gruden, so Pat’s going “all in” cause they are serious about this. It’s the best decision for many reasons, in my opinion. He is a household name, NFL ties, west coast ties (Raiders, 49ers, Univ. of the Pacific – same as Pete Carroll). Bring the Super Bowl ring in a living room and the recruit is ours. Good luck Jim Mora and David Shaw recruiting against Gruden. Bring Jay Gruden into the mix, keep Coach O for recruiting, and Coach P for the D. NC in 2 years.
    - sureshot32
      
      Jay Gruden is the offensive coordinator for the Bengals. Why would he make a backwards move to hold the same post in college?
      
      Loved, loved, loved Jon Gruden as coach of my Raiders. Not sure he’d be the best guy for USC, but I guess I’d be willing to give it a chance. Even though he does have experience playing at two colleges and coaching at four of them, I still think Gruden is best suited for the NFL, but his fire and football mind are without dispute, so you may be right about him being great for SC.
      - Henry Bibby
        
        Monte Kiffin went from the TB Bucs to Univ of Tenn. Pete Carroll used to take NFL coaches and bring them “backwards” to USC (Pay Ruel comes to mind). It’s not unheard of, and Jay would probably make the same at USC (currently $1.2 million). Norm Chow made that as Offensive Coordiantor under Pete.
      - sureshot32
        
        Monte was old and very sure of his own legacy. He was willing to go backwards in order to spend time with, and assist his son. I imagine Jay Gruden has a different relationship with his brother. I would have to think that taking a subservient role to his brother would be the last thing he would want to do.
        
        And there’s a difference between a LB coach moving backward (in hopes of getting a promotion to defensive coordinator) and a coordinator taking a step back. NFL coordinators get promoted to NFL head coaching jobs, NCAA coordinators (with the obvious exception of Lane Kiffin and Crazy Al Davis) do not.
        
        I am starting to warm up to your Gruden to USC idea though. It’s just crazy enough to work.
      - CardinalnGold
        
        I wish Pat Ruel was still coaching the O-line. They’d be performing much better than they are now.
      - TrojanFamily
        
        absolutely agree. Losing Ruel was the second worst coaching decision of the last four years. Garrett saddling us with Kiffin was of course the worst.
      - sureshot32
        
        I also just read (albeit on Wikipedia) that Jon Gruden had a “bitter relationship” with Rich McKay, JK McKay’s younger brother. That might by the fly in the ointment, so to speak.
    - B.Miller
      
      OUTSTANDING INFO H.B.
Trojan Hoarse

Why is the “smarter question” the better question?…. it’s actually a rhetorical question…..we all know that things were getting worse, and would continue to get worse, with Kiffin at the helm……How much worse?….. who cares!!!!!…… we have Oregon State tomorrow night, on national TV, and THIS is what you worry about?…….
- TrojanFan
  
  There’s some light at the end of the tunnel and wolfman can’t handle it.
Trojan Hoarse

BTW….. I dressed up as Scott Wolf today for Halloween and I was asked to leave work as our secretaries were totally creeped out…..
- Charlie Bucket
  
  yeah, blame it on the wolfman, T-Hose.
  
  and yesterday all the secretaries looked at you like you were Paul Newman reincarnate, i’m sure.
  - Trojan Hoarse
    
    Paul Newman? No, of course not….unless you’re talking about his Academy Award nominated role as a drunken lawyer in The Verdict…..And yesterday, I wasn’t a pudgy, balding doofus with a lisp wearing a Manchester United jersey….
    - Charlie Bucket
      
      that’s cold, man.
      - TrojanFan
        
        So are the fingers of a proctologist….I heard you had an issue after a butt dart tournament….ouch!
        
        What happened to a little self-respect?
      - TrojanFamily
        
        I gotta say, I really hope you see a weekly therapist. Some of your posts are downright creepy.
- TrojanFan
  
  Bucket went down to the local Wallgreens, dressed as himself, to pickup some Depends. The store employs all complemented him on his costume.
trojandude207

A few things that stand out. I would rather have players who want to play than players going through the motions as in the past. Watching the bowl game last year was painful. The players needed direction and Kiffin was of in a corner brooding. I have said before if Ed Orgeron thinks a HS player has potential he probably does. It takes coaching to produce results. In the Hacket era and with Larry Smith I was in the papers saying the coach doesn’t play a down during the game. I was wrong! In college the players expect the coach to be the 12th man on every down. Calling too many bubble screens and runs up the gut cost Kiffin his job not the players who followed his orders. Now give the band ice cream and the linemen cookies and let’s win this thing.
- Cheap seats
  
  regarding bubble screens, the more I watch Oregon or Baylor, the problem wasn’t the FREQUENCY of us calling them, but the execution and how they played into the game plan.
  
  If you watch our screens when Robert Woods was here, he would completely seal off his man and Lee would get a good gain. And vice versa. Contrast that with Nelson Angolar making a half hearted block and the DB sitting on the route. Ugly.
  
  Baylor uses the screens to stretch the field away form the option-dive play to the RB. They want the safety to move over to one side of the formation. It always gives the offense a numbers advantage. Oregon uses it the same way, but the RB lines up almost even with the QB. Both teams have heavy emphasis in getting their WRs to BLOCK.
  
  With Kiffin’s play calling, it didn’t set up ANYTHING nor did the receivers like blocking.
  - TrojanFan
    
    Oregon’s receivers are excellent blockers.
    - Cheap seats
      
      And they’re also the non flashy type that on a good day, they’ll catch a screen and go the distance….3 times.
      
      Of course, the downside of when you get a pro day, your bio comes out like this:
      “STRENGTHS: Great blocker, can run after the catch
      
      WEAKNESSES: Have no freakin’ idea because his best game was 4 receptions for 150 yards where 149 of those yards came after the catch.”
Charlie Bucket

wolfman, STELLAR performance today on Southern Cal Report!!! Reid continues to improve, but that might be expected as she sits at the feet of the Master!!!

i again applaud your excellent judgement in NOT allowing comments on that post: the low-lifes and perverts on this blog make it much too risky. i shudder to think what kind of depraved low class comments might be directed at this fine young lady.

keep ooooon Scoooopin’, wolfman and Reid!!!!
- Trojan Hoarse
  
  Are you trying set us up to actually MAKE comments about the young, lovely and innocent Reid Silverman?
  - Charlie Bucket
    
    just as i thought: weirdos champing at the bit!!
    - TrojanFan
      
      Weirdos? …and you’re totally normal.HAHAHA! You have so many mental and physical issues the 9mm is the only way to cure it
- Cheap seats
  
  Don’t forget your favorite other description of YOUR idol: washboard abs!
  - Charlie Bucket
    
    like the more modest body builders, the wolfman tends to drape loose clothing over his physique, but i have heard he is a chiseled mass of steel!!
    
    i know, i know, sometimes cheerleaders exaggerate….
    - TrojanFan
      
      You’re lying! A hairy spare tire is what arouses little Johnny,,,and I mean little!
    - Cheap seats
      
      Or it may be his offseason where he’s “bulking up”
- TrojanFan
  
  “low-lifes and perverts on this blog make it much too risky.”
  
  But yet, you have a picture of a 10 year old boy as your avatar.
  
  What a fucing TOOL!…Dude, there is no hope for you. Please take the gun, we are all counting on you to do the right thing. May you RIP!
- Tom Oday
  
  Yah! We wouldn’t want Wolf to reject the distasteful comments…that’s WORK.
Stu Azole

So much so that they should keep Ed O forever!
Cheap seats

Here are some Wolf headlines 4 years from now:

“USC wins close game. Lane Kiffin would have lost this one.”

Inside USC with Scott Wolf

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Is USC Playing Better Without Lane Kiffin?