In one deft move, Lane Kiffin has reminded us all of a disturbing trend in college football coaches today. Thirteen months ago after a disastrous stint with the Oakland Raiders, Kiffin was given a great opportunity at SEC contender Tennessee. He convinced Tennessee officials to allow him to hire the highest paid staff in college football, including the $1 million-a-year Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin. He then proceeded to rack up six secondary NCAA violations, enough to warrant a NCAA investigation. There was plenty of talk of Kiffin removing Tennessee traditions in favor of creating the “USC of the East.” And yet, the school stuck with him and supported him. But just last week, Kiffin spent less than a day clearing out of Knoxville in pursuit of greener pastures at USC. He left so quickly that he didn’t even bother to tell some of his highly prized staff – his brother-in-law and QB coach David Reaves found out from ESPN. He told his players about his move in a five-minute meeting.
Where is the integrity in sticking to a contract? Some might argue that if Kiffin paid his $800,000 buyout, he had fulfilled that contract. I would argue that he might have fulfilled the letter of the contract, but not his obligation or mission as a coach. As a coach, Kiffin is charged with developing 18-22 year olds into players and men. In a year, I doubt the players saw the development of their physical talents. But more importantly, they saw that a man’s word doesn’t matter when money is involved. When Kiffin recruits, he promises them he will mentor them throughout their college experience. I don’t think he can be that mentor thousands of miles away at USC. As a coach, he asks his players to go that extra mile, and yet he won’t do the same for them. Perhaps the most galling story was that of calling Tennessee’s early enrollees and telling them to not attend class the next day so they could join him at USC.
This trend of lack of integrity goes beyond Kiffin. We saw it with Pete Carroll and his staff not returning any calls/text messages from recruits as was flirting with the Seahawks. We saw it with Bobby Petrino skipping town on Louisville for the NFL and then bolting from the Falcons midseason for Arkansas. We saw it with Nick Saban leaving the Dolphins for Alabama. Urban Meyer resigns for 18 hours, only to change his mind without consulting even his family. We even saw it with Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly skipping Cincinnati’s bowl game. How can players trust a coach to be their mentor in today’s world? I can’t see it.
So why does this happen? I believe it boils down to recruiting and to m oney. Brian Kelly certainly fulfilled his obligation to Cincinnati, leading them to two BCS games and establishing the school on the college football map. The problem is that Brian Kelly left Cincinnati on the eve of the Sugar Bowl. He did this so he could begin recruiting for Notre Dame. Recruits are the life-blood of the program. It is common for coaches to leave before the bowl games in order to get a start on maintaining their classes. The NCAA can fix this problem by making the period between the end of the season and the bowl games a dead period, where recruits can’t be contacted. The money is a different issue. Mack Brown just received a contract for $5 million a year. And this is skyrocketing. Compared to the $150,000 that Lou Holtz made in the early 90s, the salaries coaches are paid today are unfathomable. Coaches leave for the sweetest deal they can find, consequences.
Perhaps Penn State QB coach Jay Paterno says it best.:
This profession has lost touch with the reality of the world around us, and some coaches have lost touch with what the mission of our profession should be. We are starting to look as arrogant as the Wall Street bankers raking in seven-figure bonuses. The astronomical explosion in coaching salaries continues at a time of 10 percent unemployment in America and exploding tuition costs burdening working class families ... Coaches walk into a recruit's home and talk about how they will look out for that young man's future. The expectation is that the coach will help to guide him through a very formative time. A year later the same coach is off to another job for more money and left behind are the young men he promised to nurture towards their future.
Hopefully, coaches can remember their mission in the future and show integrity.
Barrick Bollman ‘12
Social Foundations of Coaching
University of Notre Dame
