Shaken, stirred, whatever ... it's all a Molotov martini for Kiffin
Al Davis spent Wednesday calling Lane Kiffin a liar. Thursday, Jeremy Foley called him an idiot.
Aww, Laney old sock old shoe, you're such a playful scamp.
Kiffin, whose nose for news has been remarkable since the Oakland Raiders job landed inadvertently (and badly) in his lap two years ago, is working hard to make himself as well-known and appreciated in his new job -- and by picking a fight with the biggest dog in the kennel right away, he might find out how much his hunger exceeds his capacity.
As Comrade Dodd and others have pointed out, Kiffin announced to Tennessee supporters on Letter-of-Intent Day that his recruit Nu'keese Richardson had been illegally contacted by Florida's Urban Meyer. As it turns out, the contact wasn't illegal, and Kiffin either didn't understand the rule or just used that misinterpretation to preach to the converted.
Accusing another coach of cheating is considered intemperate, especially when (a) you're wrong, (b) you're not planning to turn him in to the conference or NCAA offices and (c) his team has the power to beat your team flat over and over again.
So of course, Florida is hopping, spitting, run-up-the-score-every-chance-they-get mad. Foley, the athletic director, is demanding an apology, and while Meyer says nothing, he is already on the boil and plotting to determine what "running the score up" really means.
But that's not the real fun here; that's largely a tale of regional hatred and not really for extended national consumption.
The real fun is Kiffin's newfound role as serial provocateur -- the man you go to when you need someone's cage poked. Do you have trouble that needs stirring? Get Lane. Lashing out at the powerful? Get Lane. Want to stab at a wasp hive? Get Lane.
He has done in two years what it has taken Terrell Owens a full career to manage. He has taken on the man who owned his contract (Davis) and won, at least if the goal was to use the Raiders as a stepping stone to a big college job. And now he is taking on the man who owns college football over a wide receiver who might or might not be the next Larry Fitzgerald.
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| From Oakland to the SEC, Lane Kiffin has a way of making news. (US Presswire) |
So far, Harbaugh has a win over USC and the deterioration of the Michigan program as rebuttal. Kiffin, on the other hand, has a lot less to say on his side.
One, he can use Davis as a convenient prop all he wants, but he has to take some responsibility for his 5-15 record, especially the part where he let his feeling for the old man get in the way of common sense. Sebastian Janikowski's 76-yard field goal attempt, take it away.
Two, if he doesn't know the recruiting rules, he probably should brush up on them, if only to avoid being caught down the road by some other school for doing something that actually is illegal.
Three, pleasing an audience isn't nearly the rush it used to be. It worked to an extent against Davis, but Davis is an easy target. Meyer, on the other hand, has shown both a willingness and an ability to squeeze a spleen now and then, and unless Kiffin has some secret plan to break up the Gators, he is going to be on the business end of the Florida backhand for a while.
And four, the smell of burned bridges gets really foul really quick.
But don't let any of this stop you, Lane. Keep up what you're doing, because you're entertaining the hell out of us. You got any other cheaters, point 'em out. You want to make a stink about the money you say Davis still owes you? Follow your heart, and follow your tongue. We'll eat it all up, because nothing entertains quite like a good stunt man, daredevil or bomb disposal expert.
And if you find, sooner or later, that the downside of all this is that you only have to be wrong once, well, we'll like that too. We're just in it for the amusement anyway.
Ray Ratto is a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.
