One of his early mistakes was predicting an upset against Florida and accusing Gators coach Urban Meyer of cheating in recruiting only a few months after the Volunteers hired him. He didn’t get hired here, but he’s been around the block since then.” “He was young and inexperienced, so to speak, at the time,” said Bloomington Jefferson football coach Jon Leverenz, who coached Kiffin in high school. “I think last year was pretty stressful trying to follow (former USC coach) Pete Carroll, and knowing about all of the (NCAA) sanctions and stuff.”Īfter head coaching stints with the NFL’s Raiders (2007-08) and then the University of Tennessee (2009), Kiffin learned more negative than positive came from drawing attention to himself and his teams with public bravado. “You know, I just talked to him the other day, and he seemed pretty focused and pretty relaxed,” said Hackett, who was the best man at Kiffin’s wedding. Kiffin is more humble, honest and secure, childhood friend Scott Hackett said, because he gone through a lot as the head coach of three different teams in the past four years. 25-ranked USC and Minnesota meet again in a season opener on Saturday. Kiffin’s Trojans are the hosts this year as No. But those who knew him from his youth see a different Kiffin this year. Kiffin’s head coaching career, though brief at the time, was filled with bold statements, controversy and instability. They were thrilled to see Kiffin’s return as the head coach of a big-time program to a place he called home during his elementary and high school years. After Southern California beat the Gophers 32-21 in Minneapolis last season, a contingent of Lane Kiffin fans cheered as the USC coach and Bloomington Jefferson graduate emerged from the visitors’ locker room to greet them in the tunnel at TCF Bank Stadium.
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