Late Thursday, USC football coach Lane Kiffin got that most ominous of gifts from his boss — a publicly posted video vote of confidence.
Friday morning, while two of his players, receiver Marqise Lee and linebacker Hayes Pullard, waited in their chairs, Kiffin’s seat on the podium at Pac-12 Football Media Day in Culver City, Calif., was conspicuously vacant.
Just about the time you began to wonder if the sports version of the kiss of death had befallen the embattled Kiffin in record time, the coach emerged from behind the curtains and took his place.
Here it is barely a month before the Trojans’ Aug. 29 season opener against Hawaii and, declarations of fidelity aside, the issue of Kiffin’s survival hangs heavily over the yet-to-come season.
The Trojans have a new defensive coordinator and will be picking a new starting quarterback, but they will come to Aloha Stadium packing an old, lingering question.
One that prompted athletic director Pat Haden to spend more than half of his 4-minute, 34-second "State of Troy" speech to the USC faithful Thursday on Kiffin’s future. "I anticipate the media will ask me if our football coach is on the hot seat this year," Haden said in the video posting. "Here is my answer and it will be my answer whenever I’m asked: He is not."
It isn’t just the media that has been asking. Kiffin said "job security questions" were a factor in losing some previously pledged prospects in recruiting over the winter.
That’s what can happen when you lose five of your past six games. Especially when you become the first team in 62 years to start the season at No. 1 in the polls and fall out of the Top 25 completely while finishing
7-6. SI.com listed Kiffin as one of the five worst coaches in the nation.
Despite some alumni dissatisfaction, the only Kiffin to depart was Lane’s father, Monte, the defensive coordinator. Lane will still call the offensive plays.
"We all know the second half of last year was disappointing, but I firmly believe we’ll bounce back strong this season," Haden said. Praising Kiffin as an "exceptional recruiter" and "dynamic play caller," Haden said, "I’m behind Lane Kiffin 100 percent. I have great confidence in him."
But, apparently, somewhat less than in November when Haden had declared, "Lane is my head coach, 150 percent."
Kiffin is 25-13 in three seasons at USC, almost all of it played under the jackboot heel of NCAA sanctions from the Reggie Bush era. As a result, this year Haden said the Trojans will have 70 players on scholarship, 15 fewer than some opponents.
There is a limit, however, to Trojan patience. Revamping your coaching staff buys only so much breathing room, and even a preseason testimonial from the boss carries a limited shelf life, should things get rocky. Which means USC figures to come in here with plenty to prove. As 211/2-point favorites on the Las Vegas betting line, the last thing Kiffin or the Trojans want in their opener is trouble putting away UH.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
