Lane Kiffin

More than half of USC's coaching staff already was on the road. Offensive line coach James Cregg left midway through early morning practice Thursday. Afterward, Coach Lane Kiffin was to join his assistants on the recruiting trail. USC plays top-ranked Oregon on Oct. 30 at the Coliseum, but over the next three days Trojans coaches will finish an off-week effort to connect with recruits locally and nationally. "We've got a lot of work done [this week], and we're all over the country," Kiffin said.

After a closer look, USC's exhaustive 2 1/2 -hour search for a new football coach makes perfect sense. To meet USC's standards, Mike Garrett considered five people: Bernie Madoff -- Really unavailable. Ex-Gov. Blagojevich -- "Celebrity Apprentice" prefers the East Coast. Pete Rose -- Not enough games to wager on. Amy Winehouse -- visa problems. Then the brainstorm of Lane Kiffin. I can hear Mike thinking, "He knows the way to the Coliseum, will blow off Tennessee in a heartbeat and has no character or class.

As a high school and college quarterback, Lane Kiffin was known more for his football acumen than his passing or footwork. But USC's coach showed Tuesday that he knows how to dance in the pocket, especially when pressured to address quarterback Matt Barkley's status for Saturday night's game against UCLA. Barkley was sidelined last week against Notre Dame because of a left ankle sprain. The sophomore practiced Tuesday, but he was limited. Asked if he would play against the Bruins, Barkley did not hesitate.

"I'm excited . . . It's good to have someone who has been here and knows about Trojan football. His dad is coming with him and I feel like on both sides of the ball we'll be pretty solid, Coach Orgeron too. I think it's huge to get that guy and get that leadership." -- Matt Barkley , quarterback "Lane Kiffin is the right guy, basically a clone of Coach Carroll with the energy and the swagger, so everyone is excited. . . . I can't wait for the first meeting, because we'll be back in there hollering and dancing just like we did when Coach Carroll was here, so it's going to be fun."

More surprising than Monday's news that USC Coach Lane Kiffin was pulling out as a voter in the USA Today coaches' poll was the fact he agreed to do it in the first place. What was Kiffin thinking? It was like Newt Gingrich becoming a pollster for the Democrats. USC and the coaches' poll have a history -- and it isn't pretty. Former USC Coach Pete Carroll never voted -- and maybe now you know why. The coaches, you may hideously recall, named LSU its top team in 2003 even though USC was its clear-cut No. 1 entering a Rose Bowl game it won. The 2004 BCS trophy, awarded by the American Football Coaches Assn., was later taken from USC in the wake of NCAA sanctions.

Lane Kiffin does not expect running back Silas Redd to struggle with his transition from Penn State to USC. USC's coach, in radio interviews  Wednesday, said the junior running back's familiarity with a college system should help speed the process once the Trojans begin training camp Monday. Kiffin told ESPN's Colin Cowherd that coaches would spend “extra time around the clock” with Redd as the Trojans prepare for their Sept. 1 season opener against Hawaii. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Redd rushed for 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns in 244 carries last season.

Lane Kiffin has implemented a number of changes at USC since taking over as coach in January. On Tuesday, he really switched things up — to the delight of one player and the chagrin of two others. James Boyd , a 6-foot-5, 250-pound redshirt freshman, was moved from defensive end to quarterback, a position he starred at for Los Angeles Jordan High. "This is what I wanted when I came out of high school," said Boyd, who participated in only a few drills and acknowledged that it would take time to learn the playbook.

As a young assistant at USC, Lane Kiffin was associated with some of the greatest offenses in college football history. But on Wednesday, the Trojans' new coach spent much of his introductory news conference on the defensive. Kiffin, 34, was hired to replace his mentor, Pete Carroll, who left the Trojans after nine seasons to coach the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. USC did not release terms of Kiffin's contract, but his annual compensation is thought to fall somewhere between the $2 million he made last season at Tennessee and the more than $4.4 million that Carroll earned.

Lane Kiffin is one and done. Four days after USA Today revealed his confidential vote in the coaches' poll because the newspaper said he volunteered false or misleading information about his vote in public, USC's coach relinquished his participation as a voter, he confirmed Monday. "I apologize if somehow anybody thought I was misleading them," Kiffin said after practice. "I had no intent of misleading anybody. " USA Today reported Kiffin's decision to relinquish his vote after USC informed the news outlet Sunday.

Unbuckling the mailbag: Question: The temptation to cheat grows in proportion to Lane Kiffin's failures. Why does Pat Haden plan on keeping him? Matt McKillop Answer: Kiffin doesn't need to cheat to win. Players are not USC's problem. The Trojans had top-five talent this year but the coaching didn't crack the top 25. In fact, it wasn't even listed as "others receiving votes. " Haden is in a tough spot. He loves Kiffin's work ethic and there is no doubt he can recruit.