KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Lane Kiffin is returning to Southern California as the Trojans’ coach after just one season at Tennessee.
Kiffin was chosen yesterday to replace Pete Carroll, his mentor and employer for six seasons. Kiffin was the Trojans’ offensive coordinator before his brief stints with the Oakland Raiders and the Volunteers.
“This was not an easy decision,” he said, reading a brief statement on Tennessee’s campus. “This is something that happens very quick. We’ve been here 14 months, and the support has been unbelievable here. I really believe the only place I would have left here to go was … Southern California.”
His father, respected defensive coach Monte Kiffin, and longtime USC assistant Ed Orgeron also will leave Tennessee to join him, USC said in a statement. Volunteers assistant Kippy Brown, who joined Kiffin’s staff less than four weeks ago, was promoted to interim coach.
It was a surprising move by Kiffin and the Trojans, who needed just one day to fill one of the most desirable jobs in college football.
“We are really excited to welcome Lane Kiffin back to USC,” Trojans athletic director Mike Garrett said. “I was able to watch him closely when he was an assistant with us, and what I saw was a bright, creative young coach who I thought would make an excellent head coach here if the opportunity ever arose.”
Kiffin went 7-6 at Tennessee last season as the youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Many credited him with revitalizing the program, but he also brought an unwelcome spotlight on the Vols with several minor NCAA violations.
“I know that I can walk out of here and say this, that we’ve been here for 14 months and there’s not one day I didn’t give everything I had to the Tennessee football program,” Kiffin said. “We’re leaving here 14 months later a lot better team than we were 14 months ago.”
He returns to USC with the school facing a yearslong NCAA investigation over events during his tenure as an assistant. While no discipline has been handed down, it’s widely expected to arrive later this year.