Lane Kiffin wasn’t even allowed to ride the USC team bus, instead was removed from it and fired by USC Athletic Director Pat Haden, according to a number of sources, and reflected by this Twitter tweet from Inside USC:
To recap, Lane Kiffin pulled of team bus outside LAX private terminal and fired. Team went back to #USC without him
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) September 29, 2013
And @InsideUSC on Twitter has a number of revealing tweets on what led to Pat Haden’s firing of Lane Kiffin:
My first reaction to timing of this dismissal is Pat Haden thought the team gave up or heard negative comments from players re Kiffin #USC
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) September 29, 2013
Lane Kiffin got pulled off the team bus at Los Angeles International Airport by Pat Haden when he was fired #USC
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) September 29, 2013
I'm told Lane Kiffin told the bus to wait but then #USC administrators told it to go back to campus without him
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) September 29, 2013
Pat Haden, J.K. McKay, Steve Lopes, Mark Jackson (#USC administrators) met with Lane Kiffin at LAX parking lot to dismiss him
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) September 29, 2013
And Scott Wolf tweeted that Kiffin played favorites with players, a real no-no:
Some #USC players tell me they resented how Lane Kiffin only focused on certain players, like former QB Matt Barkley
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) September 29, 2013
And USC’s 62 to 41 loss marks only the third time in the entire school’s football history that it’s given up more than 50 points.
Prior to that, USC had given up more than 50 points in a game only twice in the entire history of the program
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) September 29, 2013
Pat Haden Said Lane Kiffin Not On Hot Seat: In June
What’s interesting is that AD Haden said Coach Kiffin’s job wasn’t “on the line” in a video uploaded June 25th, 2013. Here it is:
But man, how a 3-2 record and a blowout loss to a Pac-12 rival, plus, reported complaints from players, and fans chanting “Fire Kiffin” after USC’s loss to Washington State…
…can change things.
Now, Kiffin’s out. He couldn’t even get a bus ride back to the office.
Stay tuned.