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In his first meeting with reporters as USC's head football coach, Lane Kiffin embraced the idea of providing a strong connection to the Trojans dynastic Pete Carroll Era, but he probably should have torn a page from Carroll's news conference playbook.

The filibuster.

When Carroll met with reporters this week to explain his decision to bail on the Trojans and head north for the Seattle Seahawks, he rambled for the first 20 minutes of a 30-minute news conference in order to limit his exposure to tough questions.

Kiffin didn't do that. And he got grilled by pointed inquiries about his coaching résumé, USC's potential NCAA issues, his abrupt departure from Tennessee and about whether his assistant, Ed Orgeron, tried to lure previously committed Vols recruits to USC.

There will be a diversity of opinion about how he competed with the big-city reportorial crew. In the interest of giving the new guy a break, let's call it a draw. That's a win for USC, because after Kiffin bailed on Tennessee after just one season, the consensus reaction outside of Heritage Hall was he was an amoral opportunist whose rise through the coaching ranks before he even turned 35 is almost inexplicable.

Yet Kiffin made a reasonable point about the national hullabaloo as well as the emotional explosion of Tennessee students, who took a break from studying and hit the streets Tuesday night to burn mattresses and chant obscenities, eventually requiring a police presence to keep them from rioting because they'd learned Kiffin was pursuing what he called his "dream job."

"If they weren't upset that we were leaving, then we weren't doing anything right," he said.

What folks who regularly attend games in the biggest stadium in the SEC hate to hear is the fundamental reason Kiffin headed West.

"This is the No. 1 job in America," he said.

First order of business for USC fans: What about Norm Chow?

Kiffin left that open because talks are ongoing with Chow, who is presently -- oh, boy! -- UCLA's offensive coordinator.

"We won't get into any names out of respect for other colleges," Kiffin said.

Wait. Forget Chow for a moment. What's up with talk of respect? Didn't Kiffin trash talk other SEC programs from his first day as Tennessee's coach?

"We have great respect for every coach and every team in this conference," he said about his return to the Pac-10.

Come again? Why not stir things up like he did at Tennessee?

He explained, "We don't need to go out and create energy about our program. We don't need to grab attention."

Hmm. Let's see how long his new-found diplomacy lasts.

As for Chow, Kiffin said he doesn't have hard feelings about how things went down after the 2004 season, when Chow left in a huff for the Tennessee Titans, feeling he was being marginalized by Carroll, Kiffin and fellow offensive assistant Steve Sarkisian, now the head coach at Washington.

"I think the world of Norm," Kiffin said. "I don't have any issues with him."

He might have one. When asked if he planned to call plays for the offense, he said, "That would be my guess because that is what I've always done.'

Hard to believe that won't be an issue for Chow, as it was when Carroll asked him to surrender play-calling duties to Sarkisian and Kiffin.

Beyond Chow, Kiffin anticipated the next line of question: His rogue reputation and USC's present issues with the NCAA.

"The No. 1 thing we're going to do is have a dedication to running a clean and disciplined program," he said in his introductory comments.

When asked about potential NCAA sanctions for USC due to the Reggie Bush investigation, he said, "I feel very confident that it will not effect the recruiting and will get resolved."

He was repeatedly asked about allegations Orgeron immediately called Tennessee recruits to try to convince them to go to USC. Kiffin repeatedly denied any wrong-doing, though it was impossible to understand the substance of what degenerated into a few minutes of "did-not, did-to" during the news conference.

He did provide his policy for trying to lure Tennessee recruits to USC: "I will not be calling them unless they call us," he said.

Kiffin was more excited to talk about recruiting in general. He and Orgeron are generally regarded as two of the nation's best recruiters.

It's clear that Kiffin believes USC should continue to recruit nationally.

"We will be able to go anywhere in the country to get the best players and bring them here," he said.

Kiffin called USC "a perfect fit." He called it "home."

While USC is his third head coaching job in 17 months, he said he doesn't expect to be uprooting again anytime soon.

"I'm at the best place in America -- there's nowhere for me to go," he said.

Boy, who have thought hiring a football coach could inspire such... feeling?

USC fans mourn Pete Carroll's departure with a candlelight vigil. Tennessee fans mourn the loss of Lane Kiffin with a, er, near-riot.

It makes sense that Tennessee fans feel jilted. But the reaction most everywhere else, including LA, also is mostly negative.

The pessimists think all those people who are saying bad things about Kiffin are way too generous.

The optimists can't understand this. They think Kiffin is a great hire.

In the interest of making everyone happy -- or, in the case of the pessimists, justified -- the Pac-10 blog will present talking points for each position.

The Kiffin Pessimist

• Kiffin is bailing on Tennessee after only one season. He showed zero loyalty to the school that entrusted him, at just 33, with its cherished football program.
• Kiffin was fired from his previous head coaching job, the Oakland Raiders, before the end of his second season. His record? 5-15. Said owner Al Davis, "I think he conned me like he conned all you people."
• USC is entrusting its tradition-rich program to a coach whose career record is 12-21.
• He's an immature, attention-seeking loudmouth. He popped off at Urban Meyer, Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier. His mouth earned a reprimand from the SEC.
• In just one season, he committed at least six secondary NCAA violations.
• Tennessee faces at least two more violations as the NCAA continues an ongoing inquiry into other infractions, including the possible misuse of recruiting hostesses and impermissible visits.
• That's the NCAA baggage he brings to USC, a school facing its own NCAA inquiry. That hammering you hear outside? That's the NCAA building a gallows.
• Three Vols freshmen were involved in a robbery on November 12. Two were later kicked off the team.
• That's the sort of discipline he inspires.
• Kiffin is trying to hire Norm Chow as his offensive coordinator. Recall that Kiffin was part of the palace coup that convinced a suddenly marginalized Chow to bolt USC for the Tennessee Titans. Sure they'll be swell together.
• With Chow gone, Kiffin was USC's offensive coordinator when UCLA beat the Trojans 13-9 in 2006, costing them a berth in the BCS national title game.
• Kiffin lost 19-15 at home this season to UCLA, which went 3-6 in Pac-10 play.

The Kiffin Optimist

• One word: Recruiting.
• Make that two words and a sentence: Recruiting, recruiting. Kiffin and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron will be the nation's best recruiting tandem, and nothing in college football is more important than great recruiting.
• Xs and Os? The defense goes to Monte Kiffin, one of the great coaching legends on that side of the ball. The offense -- hopefully! -- goes to Norm Chow, one of the great coaching legends on that side of the ball.
• So, great recruiting plus great schemes: We could stop there.
• Lack of loyalty? Wait, phone's ringing. Hello. You want to offer Mr. Pessimist his dream job? Sorry. He's not going to take it. He's loyal.
• Maybe the reason Kiffin has been hired for his third head coaching job in 17 months -- before he turned 35 -- is because everybody knows he's got loads of talent? It's not like the Raiders, Volunteers and Trojans hired him because they felt sorry for him.
• The loudmouth stuff? Overblown. But he's been told to tone it down. He will.
• The secondary NCAA violations? Randomly audit 10 other elite BCS programs. How do they compare to Kiffin? No, we don't know why those other schools didn't get as much publicity for their peccadillos.
• Look, fans and media who don't understand the nature of NCAA violations and sanctions can prattle on about how horribly the Trojans will get hammered, but, please, just make sure they're around when the actual penalties are handed out. We want photos of the chagrined expressions.
• When you oversee 85 young men, ages 18 to 23, the odds of going a year without any of them getting into trouble aren't great. That's just the way things go.
• Chow's a pro. He and Kiffin, if reunited, will work fine together.
• Kiffin took over a Vols team that went 5-7 in 2008 and lost to Florida by 24, Georgia by 12 and Alabama by 20. He went 7-6, beat Georgia 45-19 and lost to Florida and Alabama by a combined 12 points. Where did the Gators and Tide finish in the final polls?
• Anyone recall the uproar when USC hired Carroll? Who thought that was an inspired decision in 2000?
• When the pessimists unanimously back a position, always bet against them (Carroll taught us that).

There appear to be two initial reactions to the Lane Kiffin hire at USC.

First, fans and media -- particularly around Tennessee -- are outraged. And the media reaction in LA isn't exactly a warm hug.

But one place where Kiffin landing at USC is seemingly being met with great cheer is recruiting. At least on the Trojans' end of things.

Tennessee? Not so much.

You can follow along here -- count on numerous updates over the coming days as national signing day nears.

The early returns are the Vols are getting a number of decommits from their class, which was ranked sixth in the nation before Kiffin bolted, while USC's class is getting good news, starting with a reaffirmation from elite receiver Kyle Prater, who told ESPN's Greg Biggins that he will enroll at USC next week and be available to participate in spring practices.

What about QB Jesse Scroggins?

"[I'm] Overjoyed. Excited," Scroggins told ESPN affiliate Web site WeAreSC.com. "Lane recruited me at Tennessee as his No. 1 quarterback. I went on an unofficial visit to Tennessee in April. At that time he told me he was going to run an offensive system similar to USC and that I was perfect for the system."

The big question: Will some of these marquee Tennessee guys follow Kiffin to USC?

And what about big-ticket recruits like DE Ronald Powell (a Florida commit over USC), DE Jackson Jeffcoat (uncommitted), OT Brice Schwab (a USC decommit after Pete Carroll's departure to Seattle) and OT Seantrel Henderson (uncommitted)?

Here's the shocker: With Kiffin and recruiting star Ed Orgeron back in Heritage Hall, the Trojans' class might actually moves up in the national rankings -- it's presently 11th -- after Carroll's departure.

Who saw that coming?

How crazy did it get Tuesday night on Rocky Top, which clearly has been rocked?

Consider this scene: While Lane Kiffin attempted to tell the Tennessee players that he was no longer going to be their coach in a meeting that nearly got out of hand, Kiffin's recruiting coordinator, Ed Orgeron, was calling some of those same players -- mid-term freshmen who'd yet to enroll -- and trying to convince them not to enroll and instead follow Kiffin and Orgeron to Southern California.

Rising sophomore defensive lineman Marlon Walls said he overheard Orgeron making his USC pitch to some of the incoming Tennessee freshmen while many of them still weren't completely sure what was going on.

Afterward, Orgeron's Tennessee-issued cell phone was turned off.

"We told them [the freshmen] in the meeting that it's their option," Walls told Volquest.com. "If they want to go, go. But we're a family here. You don't sign with no school for no coach. And just like they left us, they'll leave you all too. ... And we heard Coach O in the background calling enrollees and telling them that they got an offer to USC. He couldn't even address us. He couldn't even call us first.

"Freshmen put [Orgeron] on speakerphone. I called him five times, and he wouldn't pick up. But he's calling them. They put him on speakerphone and said all of them got offers to USC."

Walls called Kiffin a "fake guy" and added: "We bought into his system and we bought into what he was telling us to do, and for him to leave us like that, it just shows you what kind of man he is, shows you his character. We're still going to be Tennessee."

Kiffin finally left the football complex just before midnight and did so with a police escort.

The fallout from Lane Kiffin's abrupt departure from Tennessee for USC is already shooting through the Big 12.

Texas head coach designate Will Muschamp has emerged as the leading candidate for the vacancy at Tennessee, according to various sources across the South.

It might appear far-fetched that Muschamp would leave the Forty Acres for a shot at the Tennessee job, but there are other forces in play that make it seem like it could happen.

For all of the promise of replacing Mack Brown someday in the future, the shot at the Tennessee job might appeal to Muschamp.

First, by any measure, the Tennessee job is a good one. I would include it among the top 12 to 15 jobs in college football when fan support, facilities, conference affiliation and tradition are factored into the equation.

I'd say Texas is among the top three by that measurement. But Muschamp might have to wait several years until Brown retires for that job. The Tennessee job is available now.

Also, Muschamp knows the lay of the land in the Southeastern Conference after playing at Georgia and serving as an assistant at LSU and Auburn. He knows that Urban Meyer's uncertain status at Florida and Georgia's recent downturn make the SEC East winnable on a consistent basis for the Volunteers with the right coach.

Whether he leaves Austin will be determined in the next several days. I would be shocked if Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton doesn't try to talk to Muschamp about the job.

Hamilton needs to hit a home run in filling Kiffin's vacancy.

And Muschamp would provide the big splash the Volunteers so desperately need.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee's top target to replace Lane Kiffin as head coach is Texas defensive coordinator and head coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp, according to several people close to the situation.

Muschamp was also high on the Vols' list when they hired Kiffin, but Texas took him to nearly $1 million per year and also gave him the coach-in-waiting title for when Mack Brown retires.

Tennessee is prepared to pay big money to get Muschamp, and the two sides could talk as early as Wednesday. Ultimately, prying Muschamp away from Texas will be difficult. Plus, if he's intent on staying at Texas, Tennessee's interest will only help his leverage with the Longhorns and perhaps give him a clearer definition of when he might take over as head coach.

Some other names to watch are Ole Miss' Houston Nutt, Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy, Air Force's Troy Calhoun, TCU's Gary Patterson, Connecticut's Randy Edsall, Duke's David Cutcliffe and Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart.

The long shot would be Jon Gruden, whom the Vols had interest in when they hired Kiffin. But with Gruden out of coaching now, he might not be as much of a long shot anymore. Plus, he does have Tennessee ties. He was a graduate assistant under John Majors in the 1980s, and his wife is a former Tennessee cheerleader.

If Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton is looking to make a splash, the two biggest splashes he could make with Vols fans right now would probably be Muschamp or Gruden.

And make no mistake: Given what just happened with Kiffin, Hamilton definitely needs to make a splash.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- I've been around some emotionally charged settings during my time of covering college sports.

But nothing compares to what happened on the Tennessee campus Tuesday night. I was over there, and it's safe to say that Kiffin would have been in deep trouble had he shown his face outside the football complex.

Here's the link to the story I did on a night they're not going to soon forget on Rocky Top.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Obviously, just a crazy Tuesday night at Tennessee with Lane Kiffin bolting for Southern California after 14 months on the job.

Here’s the link to our main story on Kiffin going back to the West Coast.

My initial thought is that Kiffin must have a pretty good agent. He now has one of the top three jobs in college football and has yet to celebrate his 35^th birthday or win more than seven games in a season as a head coach.

But timing is everything, and when several candidates turned down the Trojans, Kiffin quickly moved to the top of the list. He was on that staff during the glory years under Pete Carroll, the guy he's replacing.

And with national signing day three weeks away, the Trojans couldn’t afford to be turned down again and have the process drag out any longer.

Kiffin acknowledged that it all happened extremely fast. But by early Tuesday evening, he was all Trojan and the Vols were in his rear-view mirror.

Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton was caught totally off guard. He wasn’t even in town and was out in Denver visiting with a high-level booster.

The Vols have appointed Kippy Brown to serve as interim head coach until a new head coach is hired. Brown was hired last month by Kiffin to coach the receivers, but he also served on the staffs of both John Majors and Phillip Fulmer.

He knows the Tennessee program and will be a steadying influence while Hamilton searches for the next head coach.

It goes without saying that Kiffin hasn’t exactly endeared himself to Tennessee fans with his hasty departure.

Look at it from their perspective: He did a lot of talking, stepped on a lot of toes, drew the ire of SEC commissioner Mike Slive, got the NCAA snooping around, finished a game over . 500 … and now he’s gone.

Depending on how big a mess he left in terms of what the NCAA finds, Kiffin might want to make sure he detours around the state of Tennessee in future travels.

And already, the gloves have come off in recruiting.

Recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron, who’s following Kiffin to USC, was contacting mid-term signees Tuesday and telling them not to enroll in classes at Tennessee on Wednesday as originally scheduled. By not enrolling, those players would be free to go to USC and wouldn’t have to worry about transfer rules.

The whole thing’s a mess for the Vols, who can’t afford for this signing class to go belly-up.

But at this point, salvaging a top-10 class (or even a top-20 class) will prove extremely difficult for a Tennessee program that's clearly reeling.

USC will be Lane Kiffin's third head-coaching job in the past 17 months.

Not bad for a guy who's just 34 years old.

He only spent one season at Tennessee, but ESPN Stats & Information was able to put together a time line that hits most of the notable happenings during his career atop Rocky Top.

Tennessee Timeline, 2009

Feb. 5: Kiffin forced by SEC to apologize for accusing Florida head coach Urban Meyer of recruiting violations.

Sep. 19: Loses 23-13 to No.1 Florida. Tennessee was a 30-point underdog because Vegas thought Meyer would pound Kiffin for his disrespect.

Oct. 24: Loses 12-10 to Alabama as Terrence Cody blocks potential game-winning field goal on final play. (Alabama's closest game of season.)

Oct. 26:: The SEC reprimands Kiffin for criticizing officials who worked the Volunteers' game against Alabama.

Oct. 31: Defeats South Carolina 31-13 in blackout game (Tennessee unveils black jerseys).

Nov. 12: Three freshmen involved in robbery (two were later kicked off the team).

Dec. 31: Loses 37-14 to Virginia Tech in Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Jan. 12, 2010: Becomes USC head coach.

Kiffin also leaves behind some unfinished business: Tennessee faces at least two more recruiting violations as the NCAA continues an ongoing inquiry into infractions, such the possible misuse of recruiting hostesses and impermissible visits.

Lane Kiffin's base salary at Tennessee was $2 million. Pete Carroll made $4.4 million his final season at USC.

While figures haven't been released by USC, Kiffin surely will get a raise for ditching the Volunteers after only one season. For one, LA is a lot more expensive in terms of cost of living than Knoxville.

But even if Kiffin's salary comes in well below Carroll's -- as it should -- it's likely USC will pay a lot more for its coaching staff in 2010.

Kiffin's staff at Tennessee was the nation's highest paid: $3.325 million for all nine assistants, according to USA Today.

That includes $1.2 million for Kiffin's father and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, and $650,000 for defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron, both of whom are following Kiffin to USC.

Those salaries ranked No. 1 and No. 3 among the nation's assistant coaches.

Will they, too, get raises?

Then there's Norm Chow, who is expected to join Kiffin's staff. Chow's contract with UCLA calls for him to make $640,000 this year. To jump ship to USC, it's likely he also will get a raise.

In other words, USC likely will end up paying more to its football staff in 2010 than it did in 2009.

Perhaps much more.

The good news is Kiffin's buyout is only $800,000.

Lane Kiffin talks with the media after being named USC coach.

Seemingly every big-name coach in the country had been connected to the USC vacancy. Lane Kiffin's was included in some reports, but almost as an afterthought.

And yet Kiffin, Tennessee's head coach for just one year, is coming back west to coach the Trojans and replace his mentor Pete Carroll.

It's a stunning, splashy decision that few saw coming, but will inspire a lot of "Really?" from media and fans.

Kiffin's head coaching career has been spotty. He was 7-6 in one season at Tennessee and had an acrimonious split in 2008 with the Oakland Raiders, where he went 5-15.

Kiffin, who coached under Carroll from 2001-2006, has been known to be outspoken. Almost immediately after he was hired at Tennessee, he got in trouble with the SEC for making comments about other coaches and other programs, particularly Alabama and Florida. During his brief tenure in Knoxville, Kiffin had some issues with the NCAA, and his players had some off-field trouble.

Yet hiring Kiffin also might turn out to be a home run, particularly when you consider the staff he is putting together.

Kiffin, 34, will bring his father and defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, as well as assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron with him to USC.

The elder Kiffin is one of the country's mostly highly regarded defensive minds. Orgeron is considered one of the nation's best recruiters. He was the Trojans recruiting coordinator from 2001 to 2004, when USC multiple times landed the nation's No. 1 class.

A source told the Pac-10 blog that USC also is expected to pursue Norm Chow as offensive coordinator. Chow is presently the offensive coordinator at UCLA, but he was Carroll's coordinator when the Trojans won consecutive national titles in 2003 and 2004.

"Lane Kiffin is a great get," said USC offensive lineman Jeff Byers, a sixth-year senior who played for Kiffin for three seasons. "He learned under coach Carroll. He's a guy who's been there. He's a great recruiter. I think it's a great hire -- I think [athletic director] Mike Garrett pulled a great one out of his hat. I don't think anybody was thinking Lane Kiffin."

Nope.

The recruiting skill is significant. Kiffin and Orgeron are leaving behind a class at Tennessee that presently ranks sixth in the nation, according to ESPN.com's Scouts Inc. His first class with the Vols ranked 15th.

One of the major worries when Carroll bolted for the Seattle Seahawks was that the Trojans recruiting class, presently ranked 11th, would fall apart. Odds are pretty good that won't happen now. Orgeron is a force of nature in recruiting.

And let's face it: While USC was always well-coached under Carroll, the secret of his success was recruiting the best players.

As far as Xs and Os, if Kiffin is able to pair his dad and Chow, he will have as good a pair of coordinators as any program in the nation.

“It’s great news," quarterback Matt Barkley told ESPNLosAngeles. "I remember meeting Kiff way back on the recruiting trail when I was a freshman in high school. I liked him when I met him. I like that he knows how to live and breathe the Trojan way.”

Barkley also pointed out that the Kiffin combination -- and potentially Chow -- will mean significant continuity in terms of scheme on both sides of the ball. The elder Kiffin was one of Carroll's defensive mentors, and they share many of the same philosophies.

"It’s comforting to know that not a lot is going to change,” Barkley said. “Kiff will have his own way of doing things, but I’m glad the offense isn’t going to be a whole lot different."

"Kiff" does have his own way of doing things, that's for sure. His hiring will generate national buzz, good and bad.

Now all he needs to do is duplicate Carroll's 83.6 percent winning percentage.

ESPN's Joe Schad on Lane Kiffin leaving Tennessee to coach USC.

Statement from USC athletic director Mike Garrett on USC's hiring of Lane Kiffin to replace Pete Carroll as the Trojans coach.

"We are really excited to welcome Lane Kiffin back to USC,” said Garrett. “I was able to watch him closely when he was an assistant with us and what I saw was a bright, creative young coach who I thought would make an excellent head coach here if the opportunity ever arose. I’m confident he and his staff will keep USC football performing at the high level that we expect.

“Lane brings a lot to the table. He has a coaching background both in the pros and in the best collegiate conferences. He has a great command of the X’s and O’s. He is familiar with the Trojan landscape and will be a great representative of our university. He keeps the game fun. And, very importantly, he has proven to be one of the finest recruiters anywhere.

“Lane has surrounded himself with others of similar talent. I can’t tell you how delighted we are to have Ed Orgeron back on staff and to have Monte Kiffin join us. They are some of the pre-eminent coaches in the game. Ed did a marvelous job during his previous time at USC and we all know that Monte is a defensive guru. I know Lane will fill out his staff with other outstanding assistants like them, ones who Trojan players and fans will really like.”

Lane Kiffin will leave Tennessee to become USC's next football coach, multiple sources have confirmed.

Kiffin was an assistant for Pete Carroll before becoming the Oakland Raiders head coach.

He has been at Tennessee for just one year.