Lane Kiffin's name is making headlines once again, as one of college football's most unique characters has become the center of the coaching carousel.
The Rebels head coach, who is 54-19 over the last six seasons in Oxford, has been linked to both the Florida and LSU jobs, as well as potentially passing on both to remain at Ole Miss. Kiffin has had a string of messy exits during his career, including one from the Oakland Raiders in 2008.
That September, Kiffin was fired by Raiders owner Al Davis, who held an unforgettable press conference about the firing. During it, Davis referred to Kiffin as a "con man" as well as a professional liar.
Let's take a look back at the fallout between Kiffin and Davis.
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What did Al Davis say about Lane Kiffin?
Shortly after news of Kiffin's firing became public, Davis held a press conference that featured an overhead projector. The projector was used to show a letter he had written to Kiffin during the season.
During the presser, which lasted nearly an hour, Davis went scorched earth on Kiffin, even calling him a "professional liar." Here are some of the most notable things from it, via ESPN:
"I reached a point where I felt that the whole staff were fractionalized, that the best thing to do to get this thing back was to make a change," Davis said during the lengthy news conference. "It hurts because I picked the guy. I picked the wrong guy."
At one point, Davis read a letter that he sent to his former coach that detailed mistakes Kiffin made on and off the field. The owner said he finally fired the coach for cause because he "disgraced" the organization, citing a variety of issues, including conflicts over personnel moves and outright lies to the media, according to Davis.
"I don't think it was any one thing," Davis said. "It was a cumulative thing. I think the pattern just disturbed me."
The entire presser—which lasted around 45 minutes—is up on YouTune, and it's truly a thing to behold:
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Why did Lane Kiffin go to the NFL?
Kiffin was one of the young up-and-coming coaches in college football in the early 2000s. He joined Pete Carroll's staff in 2001, and quickly rose up the ranks. The Trojans dominated the college football landscape with Carroll at the helm.
USC finished 11-2 with a win in the Orange Bowl in 2002, followed by a pair of back-to-back national titles in 2003-2004. Kiffin was promoted to passing game coordinator in 2004, and coached the likes of Heisman winners Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, and was considered one of the bright offensive coaching minds in college football.
"In meetings, Lane was kind of the scientific genius, like mastermind behind the scenes, and [Steve Sarkisian] Sark was the CEO and president... Very eloquent speaker," a former USC player told ESPN in 2015. "We would have these offensive plans that we'd install on Tuesday, and Sark's up there presenting it, and he did such a good job. He's such a gifted communicator, and Lane doesn't say a word. But Lane was the one who kind of crafted it all. He's the genius, the offensive genius, and Sark was so gifted at communicating and relating to guys.
Raiders owner Al Davis initially wanted to hire Kiffin's fellow staffer at USC in Steve Sarkisian, but Sark reportedly turned him down. So he hired Kiffin instead. At 31 years old, he was the youngest head coach hired by Oakland in franchise history.
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Lane Kiffin NFL record
Kiffin finished with a 5-15 overall record in Oakland over his 20 games as a head coach. After Kiffin's firing in 2008, the Raiders finished 4-8 under interim head coach Tom Cable.
Why was Lane Kiffin fired from Raiders?
Kiffin's tenure in Oakland was filled with tension between Kiffin and Davis, nearly instantly. Ahead of the 2007 NFL Draft, Kiffin apparently begged Davis to select receiver Calvin Johnson. Davis picked quarterback JaMarcus Russell instead, and the former LSU quarterback is regarded as one of the biggest busts in NFL history.
Russell even ended up holding out for his rookie contract, and didn't play in Oakland until that December. Under center, Kiffin turned to quarterbacks Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown, who combined for 16 interceptions that season. The Raiders won just four games that season, finishing 4-12, which was the second-worst record in the league that year.
According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, Davis reportedly asked Kiffin to resign after his first season in Oakland. Kiffin reportedly refused, and the Raiders ultimately denied the report about asking their head coach to resign.
Oakland's 2008 season got off to an even worse start. The Raiders opened 1-3 over the first four weeks, with losses to the Broncos, Bills and Chargers. In mid-September, it was reported that Davis was unhappy with Kiffin and intended to fire him in the near future. On Sept. 30, 2008, Mortensen reported that Kiffin had been fired by Davis over the phone.
Davis fired Kiffin for cause, which was later upheld by an NFL arbitrator. That meant the team did not have to pay him the remainder of his salary. He signed a three-year, $6 million deal with the team in 2007.