Kennedy Pola: “USC is a special place and I am just blessed and humbled to get an opportunity to come back and help out.”
July 28, 2010 – 9:45 am by timgunterJust when you think Lane Kiffin is going to settle down he surprises us with yet another idiotic move but this time he has an entire organization pissed off at him. The Tennessee Titans on Monday filed a lawsuit against USC’s first-year coach and USC over the hiring of Titans assistant, Kennedy Pola, as offensive coordinator. The lawsuit accuses Kiffin and USC of “maliciously” intending to induce Pola to breach his contract with the Titans, which required written consent for any discussions with any entity that the Titans. Pola, who was USC’s blocking fullback in the early 80’s and special teams coach from 2000-03, has been an assistant coach in both college and in the NFL for his entire career, including the last five seasons as running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then fellow USC alumnus, Jeff Fisher, saw the success that Pola had while with the Jaguars and hired him to become the Titans running backs coach in January only to have the carpet pulled out from underneath him when Kiffin lured him away.
Fisher was excited about the opportunity for Pola but felt Kiffin showed a “lack of professionalism” by not informing him of his interest in talking to Pola about USC’s then-vacant offensive coordinator position. I don’t blame Fisher at all. He should be pissed because Kiffin didn’t show he nor the organization any respect. All of this just shows what type of person Kiffin is. He will stab his own kind in the back and not even think twice about it. Although Pola was happy coaching in the NFL, the opportunity to come back and restore the USC dynasty and dominance of college football was too good to pass up. Who knows, maybe he is next in line once Kiffin is shown the door?
Kennedy Pola joined Fox Sports Radio with Petros and Money to talk about whether he had any idea that the Titans would sue Lane Kiffin and USC, what the conversation was like with Jeff Fisher, and what his relationship was like with Lane Kiffin when they both worked together and whether they ever thought they would be in this position.
Whether he had any idea that the Titans would sue Lane Kiffin and USC:
“You know what Petros? I think that is above me. I was just an assistant coach doing my thing. I just finished unpacking my last box moving in and registered my last car toward Tennessee and it all happened Friday afternoon when I got the phone call. From there I made the decision that was tough, timing was poor but sometimes you have to, what do they say? Crack some eggs to make an omelet.”
What the conversation was like with Jeff Fisher:
“Well my discussion with Coach, obviously he was excited for me about the opportunity to come back and help USC because you have got to remember now that I am not going back to sweet things now. We are on a penalty from the NCAA and as a former player and a USC grad I want the opportunity to come back there and help build and keep this tradition of USC going because I am very proud of my university. I am not going to run away from it. I am going to try to come back there and do the best that I can to go through this penalty phase and I believe with the leadership of our new AD, Pat Haden, I think we will get the job done.”
What it is like to be back at USC:
“It is exciting. Again, obviously with the times that are right now, the situation of leaving Coach Fisher. I will tell you what; he is an outstanding leader of men. I really enjoyed working with him and for him. I learned a lot. I have learned, obviously you said that I have moved around but some of those moves were unplanned, it just happened. Butch Davis resigned from Cleveland, he had to go find a job. Every move is what I believe in continuous improvement. I have been improving better as a coach, better as a person and the opportunity to be an offensive coordinator in one of the premier colleges/universities in the country and then having Pat Haden there as the leader of the university’s athletic department. I couldn’t pass that up and I could have stayed and been happy being a position coach in the NFL. I believe because I have done a nice job wherever I have worked and put something on the line and see my ability to maybe lead more people.”
What his relationship was like with Lane Kiffin when they both worked together and whether they ever thought they would be in this position:
“No. He went and took his chance. Obviously Lane was there as the tight ends coach and I was the special teams coach in our first year with Coach Carroll and obviously we were there through the building blocks of a .500 team in the Vegas Bowl and then we had a nice run there, but again with Coach Carroll and Coach Chow with Coach Kiffin and Sarkisian and Tim Davis. That was a good group, a very good group. We all ended up somewhere along and moved on but to have an opportunity to come back to USC and obviously work for Lane and then have Coach Orgeron there who was with us the first run. It is just special. It is a special place. USC is a special place and I am just blessed and humbled to get an opportunity to come back and help out.”
What people can expect from the running backs group this season:
“Again, I just like, I want tough guys, mentally, physically. I want them to understand that it is tough having the burden of being a student-athlete at the University of Southern California. That burden, not just on the field, it is off the field, how they represent themselves and how they represent this university. There is nobody bigger than the university now, the University of Southern California. If you do the right things on and off the field it is going to benefit you and the power of USC, being in the NFL and going into the stadiums and seeing across the field the former players that are coaching or playing, there is a smile and excitement when you see each other and you talk about the USC football game the night before, hey did you see that? Because it is a special place and to carry that torch is something that is not a burden it is a benefit that you can’t even explain. You are going to get smart, you are going to have guys that are explosive, good on and off the field and that is what I expect from them.”
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