Ciao, Chow

Now that Lane Kiffin has left Tennessee for USC on a stagecoach out of hell, the fallout begins to look more clear. Initially, it looked as if USC would have a juggernaut coaching trio of Montie, Lane and Norm with Orgeron being the recruiting mastermind. Now it appears that Kiffin's ever-growing ego and inability to keep his mouth shut has scorned him again, as Chow appears to be happy to stay at UCLA.

In Kiffin's introductory press conference yesterday, he pretty much blew up any chance of Chow jumping ship to USC, claiming that he fully anticipates calling the plays and running the USC offense. It's as if Kiffin is somewhat mentally blocked from ever saying the right thing. Calling out Urban Meyer and the Gators last season? A joke. Kiffin used the SEC to put himself in the spotlight by pulling ridiculous stunts (the strippers at high school recruits games) and making ridiculous claims (see: Florida game). I guess the one claim that he made will remain true, that so long as he is head coach of Tennessee, the Vols will never lose to the Georgia Bulldogs. I think we can safely say that one is wrapped up for good.

Chow has turned down a multimillion dollar offer from USC now that he knows that he would not have control over the play calls. This should come as no surprise, unless you are on the committee that decided to hire Kiffin (their what, 4th choice?). He told that committee that he fully intended to bring Norm Chow aboard. There should be no doubt that the Kiffin reign at USC will be entertaining, albeit cringe-filled for USC fans.