Lane Kiffin got the glorious honor of being named the worst college football coaching hire in the past decade by 247Sports.
247Sports wrote the following when explaining the decision to name him the worst coaching hire ever:
Speaking of Lane Kiffin…his brief tenure with the Tennessee Volunteers was ultimately one of the ugliest partnerships in college football history. Kiffin was chosen to replace Phillip Fulmer, who had retired after 17 seasons as the Vols head coach. At 33, Kiffin was the youngest FBS head coach at the time. He would spend just one season in Knoxville, bolting for the same position with the USC Trojans in 2010. Tennessee went 7-6 in his lone season with the Vols, and his departure led to riots on the Tennessee campus.
Okay, this might be just a shade too harsh. They were above .500 in his one season, and then he dipped for a much better job.
Sure, he kind of left them out to dry, but can you blame him? I would leave in heartbeat if I was at Tennessee and the head coaching spot with the Trojans opened up. I wouldn’t even hesitate to leave. (RELATED: Arizona Cardinals Hire Kliff Kingsbury As Head Coach)
Look, here’s the deal everybody. Lane Kiffin is simply above criticism. When you’re a college football legend, you play by a different set of rules.
Sure, he might have flamed out spectacularly at USC, but that’s not the point. Let’s not live in the past. Let’s live in the present.
Right now, he’s rolling with FAU.
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I respect 247Sports as an organization, but any list of the worst hires that includes Lane Kiffin is simply wrong.
That’s my opinion, and I’m not changing it. We’re all in on Kiffin here. I wouldn’t have it any other way.