Lane Kiffin believes the Tennessee Titans' lawsuit against him and USC is more about geography than coaching etiquette.
Kiffin claimed he wasn't allowed to say much Thursday about the suit facing him and the Trojans, who angered Titans coach Jeff Fisher by abruptly hiring running backs coach Kennedy Pola last weekend. Yet Kiffin, the former Oakland Raiders coach with a history of audacious pronouncements, couldn't stop himself from sharing his thoughts about the real reason for the highly unusual legal action that the Titans took.
"I think it has to do with the location of the team in the lawsuit," Kiffin said at Pacific-10 Conference media day in Pasadena, Calif.
Kiffin left the University of Tennessee in January after just 14 months running the program to take his self-described dream job at USC, which lost coach Pete Carroll to the Seattle Seahawks. He left behind a mattress-burning mob in Knoxville and an entire state full of furious fans who have vilified Kiffin online and in various media outlets for several months.
"I don't think the lawsuit has anything to do with the time frame, when Jeff Fisher got my message," Kiffin said.
The lawsuit claims Kiffin violated Pola's contract by making contact without permission, and Fisher admittedly was angry when Kiffin apparently contacted Pola without the customary courtesy call to Fisher. Kiffin claims he left a message for Fisher within the usual time frame of such a request and says he smoothed over the dispute with the USC alumnus in recent days.
"When Jeff said that, I did take it personal," Kiffin said. "Not just because he's an SC guy, but he's Jeff Fisher, and I have a lot of respect for him. I'm confident that after talking to Jeff ... that he feels differently about that now. I don't know if he can come out and say it after what has gone on."
Fisher strongly disagreed with Kiffin, saying Friday on the "Dan Patrick Radio Show" that he was still upset with the coach over his breach of hiring protocol. Fisher also called Kiffin's claim that the Titans filed the lawsuit to satisfy jilted Tennessee fans "absolutely ridiculous."
The lawsuit wasn't exactly the best way for Kiffin to start with Pat Haden, USC's new athletic director. But Kiffin said Haden was "well aware of every step" the Trojans took in rehiring Pola, who coached alongside Kiffin on Carroll's staff at USC several years ago.
"He wasn't pleased, nor was I," Kiffin said of Haden's reaction to the suit.
Kiffin claimed he was forced to wait to hire a running backs coach and offensive coordinator until a few days before most football teams report to camp because USC hadn't resolved the fate of running backs coach Todd McNair, whose contract wasn't renewed when it expired July 1. McNair was a key figure in the NCAA's investigation of illegal benefits for Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Reggie Bush, leading to heavy sanctions against USC last month.
Kiffin first tried to hire Minnesota Vikings running backs coach Eric Bieniemy, who nearly receiving accepted a pay raise and a promotion to assistant head coach to stay.
"We were very far down the road with Eric Bieniemy, thought it was done," Kiffin said.
Kiffin then turned to Pola, who teamed up with Ed Orgeron to recruit the cream of California's high-school stars during Carroll's tenure. Orgeron also returned to USC with Kiffin in January.
Although Pola will be the Trojans' offensive coordinator, Kiffin will call the plays, just as he did in Oakland and Tennessee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
