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Tom Lemming didn't know it at the time but the Chicago-based recruiting analyst was on the cutting edge of one of the most bizarre coach-swapping incidents in the history of college sports. And if you ever thought college football and basketball is motivated by anything but money and ego and greed, the Pete Carroll/Lane Kiffin story should sober you up.
Last Friday, Lemming was interviewing Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin and his two chief assistants, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, his father, and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in San Antonio. Across the street, some of the best high school players in the nation were practicing for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl to be played on Saturday in the Alamodome.
During the interview, Lane Kiffin received a text message from a friend in California.
After the interview was over, Orgeron showed the text to Lemming.
"Pete Carroll to Seattle," it said.
It was 2 o'clock on Friday afternoon. It was the first inkling anyone had that USC coach Pete Carroll might be thinking of becoming head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
But the machine was in motion and nothing was going to stop it. On Sunday night, it was announced that Carroll was going to Seattle. On Monday, he made it official. On Tuesday, Lane Kiffin announced he was leaving Tennessee to return to USC.
It is no coincidence that Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron were Carroll's top two recruiters at USC in 2001. "They got the ball rolling for Carroll. They started the dynasty. They brought in so many great players," Lemming said.
If that isn't enough, it was announced that offensive wizard Norm Chow, who also coached at USC for a time, was returning after a brief exile at UCLA. No wonder, then, that Proviso West coach Famous Hulbert declared the wide receiver Kyle Prater likely would be enrolling at USC next week. Devastated at the news of Carroll's departure, Prater now is excited by what he sees shaping up in the Kiffin/Chow/Orgeron program.
"It's business as usual at USC," Lemming said. "They have two great recruiters going back to recruit the most talented area in the country, southern California. No one this side of Pete Carroll himself can recruit like they can."
So forget about values, ethics, honesty, integrity and credibility. College football/basketball is a business, a cold-hearted, cut-throat, no-class and dispassionate business.
Take the money and run--Pete Carroll, Lane Kiffin, Brian Kelly, Les Miles, Nick Saban, Jimmy Johnson, Rich Rodriguez, Gary Barnett, Bob Petrino, John Calipari, Bill Self, Rick Pitino, Billy Donovan.
"It tells you that athletic directors have no loyalty to coaches and coaches have no loyalty to kids or the university," said Lemming, who has observed the recruiting process for more than 30 years. "They demand loyalty from the kids but they take the money and run every time. And the kid usually gets stuck.
"It should bother somebody when an athletic director fires a coach after one bad year after he has had 10 great years. I wonder how the athletic director at Tennessee feels, the guy who fired Phil Fulmer and hired Lane Kiffin? The integrity meter is running very low and the hypocrisy is mind-boggling."
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It sounds to me like the Tennessee program felt gutted by the move of Kiffin back to USC after only 14 months on the job. Heard those comments from Tennessee's women's bball coach, Pat Summitt, this morning. They were burning Kiffin in effigy around the campus. Can't say that I blame them.
Kiffin comes in with a high powered staff, recruits like a mad man, gets the number 1 player in the country last year...then leaves Tennessee hanging in the breeze.
Tennessee's A-D is a big boy and knew what he was getting into. The guys I feel sorry for are the players who bought into Kiffin's recruiting speech...I'll be here for the long term, I am building a high quality program to challenge Florida...all BS. The guy looked like a stiff when Tennessee introduced him 14 months ago. Last night he looked like he was trying not to smile. You know he can't leave town fast enough.
Mike Greenberg said it this morning--big time recruits should tape the coaches in home visit..with all the promises that are made..and see if they are kept. And when they aren't kept, expose the coaches for the liars they are.
Kiffin will make millions while leaving his Tennessee recruits and team in disbelief that he is leaving and taking most of his staff with him. Kiffin is nothing more than a carpetbagger. And that's being nice.
ALL THE NCAA HAS TO DO IS IMPLEMENT A RULE THAT YOU MUST STAY AT THE UNIVERSITY YOU ARE COACHING AT LEAST 3 YEARS, UNLESS THEY FIRE YOU, YOU CAN'T LEAVE, IF YOU DO, YOU MUST SIT OUT TWO YEARS OF COACHING, THE PLAYERS HAVE TO SIT OUT ONE YEAR WHEN THEY TRANSFER, SO THIS RULE WILL WORK, AND MR. KIFFEN WOULD STILL BE IN KNOXVILLE!
JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION!
Phil,I understand your point. However you can't keep a coach from leaving a program to go to another. Just like you and I don't want someone telling us we can't move from one job to another.
What you can do is allow the incoming players at a school where the coach leaves (like Kiffin) the opportunity to re-open their recruiting. Because this happened before signing day recruits can change their minds and go elsewhere or choose to stay (see Prater going to USC).
After signing date those players would be bound to the school even if the coach leaves. That is what is unfair. If the coach leaves those incoming recruits should be able to change their minds as well. Whether they signed or not.
Players elect to play for a coach because their talent fits that coaches scheme. They are hoping to maximize their opportunity. When the coach changes, the scheme changes and a player may not fit that new scheme. See Michigan when Rodriguez came in, drop back QB's on the roster transferred because they didn't fit. Otherwise they face the fate of Tony Freeman who went to Iowa to play basketball. Three years in the coach changes and lets him know he doesn't fit his scheme - either leave or face no playing time as a senior. He now plays at SIU but he had to sit out a year.
It is as though the players are indentured servants.
THE NCAA CAN DO WHATEVER THEY WANT, AND YOU KNOW THIS INSTITUTION ISN'T LIKE OTHER PLACES OF BUSINESS, FIRST A STUDENT-ATHLETE CAN GO PRO OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL, THEN THEY CHANGE THE RULE, SO HE HAS TO WAIT AFTER HIS FIRST YEAR OF COLLEGE, IF THEY CAN CHANGE THAT RULE, THEY CAN CHANGE THE RULE FOR COACHES AS WELL, I SAY CLEAN IT UP, OR WHAT JUST OCCURRED WITH KIFFIN WILL CONTINUE, THE PROBLEM WITH THE NCAA THEY ARE HARDER ON THE YOUNGSTERS PLAYING THAN THOSE WHO ARE SUPPOSE TO BE LEADING THE YOUNGSTERS, THEY ARE GETTING AWAY WITH DESTROYING PROGRAMS, SO CLEAN IT UP NCAA, YOU HAVE THE POWER TO DO IT, SO STOP SITTING ON YOUR HANDS!
ADULTS SHOULD ACT LIKE ADULTS, IF THEY WON'T HONOR THEIR COMMITMENTS WHY SHOULD THE STUDENT-ATHLETES?