‘Whether I was right or wrong, that’s how I felt’ – Lane Kiffin gets candid about decision to leave Tennessee for USC in new ESPN doc
One of the most memorable moments in Lane Kiffin’s coaching career came in early 2010 when he stepped down as the Tennessee Vols’ head coach after just one season to take over as the head coach at USC. When Kiffin left Tennessee, it led to quite a scene in Knoxville. Fans were pissed. Students rioted. […]
One of the most memorable moments in Lane Kiffin’s coaching career came in early 2010 when he stepped down as the Tennessee Vols’ head coach after just one season to take over as the head coach at USC.
When Kiffin left Tennessee, it led to quite a scene in Knoxville. Fans were pissed. Students rioted. Mattresses were burned.
It was a bizarre scene that’s become part of college football lore.
Lane Kiffin gets candid about leaving Tennessee for USC in new ESPN documentary
ESPN is debuting a new documentary about Kiffin — E60: The Many Lives of Lane Kiffin — on September 24 at 7:00 PM ET.
In a clip from the documentary that ESPN released on Tuesday, Kiffin talked about his decision to leave Tennessee for USC.
“I think there’s things in life that you do, that you make mistakes,” says Kiffin the documentary. “I call them self inflicted wounds. Then there’s things you actually are really trying to go above and beyond to do the right thing, and it just doesn’t work.
“I felt like I loved the time at Tennessee. I loved the people there, but I just can’t watch USC for years on TV and say, man I had that job and I said no. And whether I was right or wrong, that’s just how I felt.”
Kiffin leaving in early 2010 is still hard for a lot of Vols fans to accept, but when you look at it from outside of the Tennessee bubble, it’s understandable why he did it. USC was home for Kiffin. And like he said, right or wrong, that’s just how Kiffin felt.
Things didn’t work out for Kiffin at USC — he was fired five games into his fourth season. That’s probably how things would’ve gone for him had he stayed at Tennessee, too. Kiffin has grown a tremendous amount as a coach and as a person in the years since he was at Tennessee and USC. Those two jobs are part of his journey — part of why he is who he is today.
By the way, Kiffin also talks in the doc about the scene that unfolded on campus at Tennessee the night he left for USC.
“I was still at the office doing that press conference (announcing he was leaving) as it got out and everything,” said Kiffin. “And then, Layla (Kiffin’s wife at the time), she was at home, and there were people throwing things at the windows and stuff over there. So we had to send the cops over there. And then eventually, a few hours later, get on a plane, get out, and never came back.”
What a moment in college football. For better or worse, that’s a night that no Tennessee fan (or Kiffin) will ever forget.
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