25 biggest villains in college football history
By Brad Weiss
Lane Kiffin
Head Coach, Florida Atlantic
It was very hard for me to put into words an article about college football villains without mentioning Lane Kiffin, so here he is at No. 20. Once regarded as the next great coach in the game, Kiffin has rubbed people the wrong way at every stop, making his fair share of enemies along the way. He is currently the head coach at Florida Atlantic University after his stay at the University of Alabama ended abruptly.
Kiffin began his head collegiate coaching career at the University of Tennessee, where he signed the year after being fired by the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. At 33-years old, Kiffin was the youngest head coach in college football, but he left after only one season to head to USC. During a booster breakfast in Tennessee, Kiffin accused Florida head coach Urban Meyer of violating rules, making him an enemy of the Florida Gators. Once he left Tennessee after his brief stay, he became Public Enemy No. 1, and while he may not be that anymore, he is certainly still considered a villain.
From there, Kiffin had a rough couple of seasons with the USC Trojans, he not only struggled to win games but also turned heads with his comments. The program had sanctions against it from Pete Carroll’s tenure with the team, and that hurt his ability to win games. However, he won only four of the last 11 games he coached at the school and was fired unceremoniously by Athletic Director Pat Haden at 3 a.m. after being pulled off the team bus when returning from a game.
Kiffin landed on his feet, however, getting a golden opportunity to be the offensive coordinator at a powerhouse, Alabama. That tenure also ended badly, as he was stripped of his duties before the team’s national title game against Clemson this year. Now at Florida Atlantic, Kiffin will try to get his career on the right paths, and his hope is likely to get another shot at running a big-time program in the near future.