Monte Kiffin

Monte Kiffin , USC's assistant head coach for defense, grinned when he saw reporters heading his way after practice Tuesday. Trojans fans are atwitter about major defensive breakdowns in the last two games, but Kiffin cautioned that things are not as dire as some believe. Arizona State scored 43 points in a victory over USC. The Trojans surrendered 554 yards and 37 first downs in a 48-41 victory Saturday over Arizona. "We're better than maybe it would look like," Kiffin said.

Watch Nickell Robey after he makes a big play. USC's sophomore cornerback subtly shifts his left hand over his right wrist to where "Mom" is scrawled on white athletic tape. Then he touches the word twice. Tap, tap . Robey is letting his mother know he is doing OK. That he's thinking about her. Tap, tap. Maxine Robey died of heart failure in February 2010, not long after her son signed a letter of intent to play football at USC. She was 44. Since then, her son has established himself as a playmaker and leader for the Trojans, who host Washington on Saturday at the Coliseum.

Monte Kiffin is architect of the famed Tampa 2 defense, a scheme that USC's assistant head coach for defense acknowledged Tuesday would be of no use against top-ranked Oregon and its high-speed spread attack. "The Tampa 2 isn't exactly what you shut down the triple option with," he said, laughing. "That's for a whole different deal. " Kiffin, father of Coach Lane Kiffin , had great success with the Tampa 2 in the NFL. But he was running different schemes when he faced the wishbone and other offensive styles during college coaching stints at Nebraska, Arkansas and North Carolina State before moving to the NFL in the early 1980s.

USC was coming off a disappointing season, its 8-5 record not terrible by any means, but well below the expectations of football fans accustomed to national championships. The Trojans simply couldn't stop opponents, a topic Coach Lane Kiffin met head-on as he spoke at a fundraiser a few months ago. "Our defense will be better," he promised firmly, "because it will be impossible not to be. " Then he paused for a well-timed beat and deadpanned: "Sorry, Dad. " The comment drew roars of laughter, and a few cringes.

Monte Kiffin likes what he sees in USC safeties T.J. McDonald and Jawanza Starling . And not just on the field. Kiffin, the Trojans' assistant head coach for defense, routinely finds the two sophomores hunkered down in the coaches' office watching tape. "They're football junkies," Kiffin said. McDonald and Starling, however, are not very experienced. Playing on special teams and as backups last season, McDonald made seven tackles, Starling one. Nevertheless, they are the starters from a position group that is thin in numbers and experience.

The smoke from the torching of the USC defense was still floating in dank Coliseum air when, in a tiny office in the ancient bowels of the stadium, the father came to the son. "Put it all on me," said the father. "I'm not putting it on you," said the son. "Put it all on me," said the father. So goes perhaps the most delicate dance in college football today, one that waltzes beyond the field and into the family, one whose sentimental steps have suddenly become awkward and uncertain.

USC was coming off a disappointing season, its 8-5 record not terrible by any means, but well below the expectations of football fans accustomed to national championships. The Trojans simply couldn't stop opponents, a topic Coach Lane Kiffin met head-on as he spoke at a fundraiser a few months ago. "Our defense will be better," he promised firmly, "because it will be impossible not to be. " Then he paused for a well-timed beat and deadpanned: "Sorry, Dad. " The comment drew roars of laughter, and a few cringes.

USC spent much of Friday relaxing in Hawaii, deviating from its usual trip itinerary of flying home immediately after games. But the Trojans' performance in a 49-36 season-opening victory over Hawaii the night before left at least one coach feeling antsy. "We have to go back to work as soon as we can," said Monte Kiffin, USC's assistant head coach for defense. Kiffin's unit gave up 588 yards to Hawaii's offense, but the veteran coach wasn't overly stressed. More than four decades of coaching and overseeing college and NFL defenses has taught him that first-game performances are not necessarily indicative of how teams might develop.

There are so many people who intensely dislike Lane Kiffin, so I thought I'd better check with Monte Kiffin to see if it's unanimous. It seems he loves the kid. Imagine that. It's obvious, though, dad didn't spend enough garage time with the kid, whose first name is also Monte. Back in the day when Monte coached in Buffalo, Minnesota and Green Bay and one of his three youngsters caused a problem, dad and child would go to the garage for a private chat because standing outside was not an option.

Lane Kiffin snagged the starring role as USC football's top guy. But don't snub his supporting cast of assistant coaches. They aren't a bunch of no-name, B-list scrubs who wandered over from the service industry. The addition of Ed Orgeron and Monte Kiffin, both from the University of Tennessee, both with NFL experience, creates a possible "Dream Team" staff so good that it's been said, jokingly of course, that just about anyone could coach the Trojans. "My job must be really easy then," Lane Kiffin said, smiling.

I've been so busy trying to save Rick Neuheisel's job over at UCLA, I haven't had time to check on Lane Kiffin or ask him what he really thought of Al Davis . So we sat down Tuesday, the sound of construction on USC's new football building in the background, and how many people thought Kiffin would be here long enough to consider moving inside? "I still haven't gone inside to see how they're doing because I don't want to jinx it," he says, self-deprecating humor still intact.

Lane Kiffin is not ready to let go. He acknowledges he may never be. USC's head coach doubles as the Trojans' sole play-caller, an increasingly rare combination in major-college football. But Kiffin does not foresee passing off play-calling responsibilities. "I kind of think I would get bored," he said. "I just don't know what you do all day if you don't do Xs and O's. " Kiffin will be on the sideline Thursday night, laminated play sheet in hand, matching wits with mentor Jeff Tedford when USC plays California in a Pacific 12 Conference game at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Monte Kiffin , USC's assistant head coach for defense, grinned when he saw reporters heading his way after practice Tuesday. Trojans fans are atwitter about major defensive breakdowns in the last two games, but Kiffin cautioned that things are not as dire as some believe. Arizona State scored 43 points in a victory over USC. The Trojans surrendered 554 yards and 37 first downs in a 48-41 victory Saturday over Arizona. "We're better than maybe it would look like," Kiffin said.

Monte Kiffin heard the criticism. USC's defense struggled from the opening game at Hawaii last season. The Trojans occasionally showed flashes of dominance but mostly played well below previous standards. And the unit was especially bad late in several games. So Kiffin, the assistant head coach for defense, made adjustments during spring workouts. And he has continued the trend, keeping things simple through three days of training camp. "We slowed down the installation," he said Saturday.

Lane Kiffin's short, tumultuous stay at Tennessee continues to reverberate a year into his tenure at USC, which announced Wednesday that it had received a notice of allegations from the NCAA regarding the football coach's 14 months with the Volunteers. The NCAA conducted a 22-month investigation into Tennessee's men's basketball and football programs. Most of the allegations concern Volunteers basketball Coach Bruce Pearl and his staff. The NCAA alleges that Kiffin "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program and failed to monitor the activities regarding compliance of several assistant football coaches ... and an athletics administrator involved with the football program who reported directly or indirectly to Kiffin.

Monte Kiffin is architect of the famed Tampa 2 defense, a scheme that USC's assistant head coach for defense acknowledged Tuesday would be of no use against top-ranked Oregon and its high-speed spread attack. "The Tampa 2 isn't exactly what you shut down the triple option with," he said, laughing. "That's for a whole different deal. " Kiffin, father of Coach Lane Kiffin , had great success with the Tampa 2 in the NFL. But he was running different schemes when he faced the wishbone and other offensive styles during college coaching stints at Nebraska, Arkansas and North Carolina State before moving to the NFL in the early 1980s.

Watch Nickell Robey after he makes a big play. USC's sophomore cornerback subtly shifts his left hand over his right wrist to where "Mom" is scrawled on white athletic tape. Then he touches the word twice. Tap, tap . Robey is letting his mother know he is doing OK. That he's thinking about her. Tap, tap. Maxine Robey died of heart failure in February 2010, not long after her son signed a letter of intent to play football at USC. She was 44. Since then, her son has established himself as a playmaker and leader for the Trojans, who host Washington on Saturday at the Coliseum.

The Times' Gary Klein has learned that USC has settled on its new football coach, and it is a familiar name: Lane Kiffin. Kiffin would replace Pete Carroll, who is now coaching the Seattle Seahawks. Kiffin, the former Oakland Raiders coach, led the Volunteers for only one season and was an offensive coordinator for the Trojans before leaving to coach the Raiders. According to other sources, Kiffin will bring his father and defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, and assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron to USC with him, and wide receivers coach Kippy Brown will be named interim head coach at Tennessee.

Two weeks, two last-second losses. For the second consecutive Sunday, USC Coach Lane Kiffin pored over game film knowing it was going to end the same crushing way. The conclusions Kiffin drew, however, were different. In contrast to USC's Oct. 2 defeat by Washington, the Trojans offense converted opportunities into touchdowns that put them in position to beat Stanford before losing, 37-35, on a field goal Saturday. That, and quarterback Matt Barkley's continuing development, were reasons for optimism.

The USC-Washington game was reminiscent of the 2006 Rose Bowl loss to Texas. The famous fourth-and-two play with Reggie Bush on the bench, defense can't hold, Trojans lose. Against Washington late in the game, third and four, Allen Bradford averaging 11 yards a carry, Washington's D-line is gassed, so of course we abandon what was working and pass, then miss a field goal, the defense (please excuse the misnomer) cannot hold, the Trojans lose. Pat Haden take note, the Kiffin family is overrated and underpowered.