On Thursday morning, Sports Illustrated writer Andrew Perloff (who is part of The Dan Patrick Show) tweeted that "@dpshow says USC will interview Jeff Tedford for OC position."
These days the line between what's a "report" and what's a comment often gets blurred as it gets cycled around the Internet, but due to the reach of the Patrick show (Perloff's twitter feed has more than 45,000 followers) and Patrick's credentials as a broadcaster, the tweet is noteworthy. Plus, there already had been some speculation linking the former Cal coach to joining Lane Kiffin's staff. After all, USC did just go 7-5 after being preseason No. 1 and had issues on both sides of the ball. Kiffin also was once a reserve QB at Fresno State when Tedford was the Bulldogs OC and QB coach.
Kiffin does not have the title of offensive coordinator at USC in addition to being the head coach, but he is the Trojans' play-caller and has been criticized for the team's struggles on third downs and with clock management this fall. Both were big issues last Saturday when USC lost 22-13 to arch-rival Notre Dame.
Later Thursday morning, Kiffin told CBSSports.com that it's not true that he's going to interview Tedford or hire him as the Trojans OC. "That report is inaccurate," Kiffin said in a phone call to CBSSports.com. "Kennedy Polamalu is our offensive coordinator, and he will continue to be our offensive coordinator."
Kiffin was adamant that he's not talking to Tedford and has no plans on talking to him about any job with USC.
It should also be noted that coaches hate rumors connected to their programs, especially during recruiting season.
