USC Trojans: Pat Haden gives Lane Kiffin the oddest endorsement of the season

Less than a week ago, I mused about whether USC head coach Lane Kiffin’s job was in trouble after their debacle at Arizona last Saturday. The loss was an ugly one that knocked the Trojans out of contention for anything but the Pac-12 title and maybe an at-large BCS berth if they don’t win the conference. I obviously wasn’t the only one speculating because USC Athletic Director Pat Haden decided it was necessary to publicly endorse Kiffin this week. Usually, this is the kiss of death for any embattled head coach. Based on that, one would expect the speculation about Kiffin’s job security to only get louder going forward. This is especially true if USC gets blown out by Oregon Saturday or if the mistakes that cost them the Arizona game also cost the Trojans a win against a top five opponent. But what also makes this unusual is the way Haden endorsed Kiffin. He endorsed the coach, saying he believes Kiffin is the right guy for the job and that he has a “big future” at USC. Pretty stand...