Michael Ventre

LOS ANGELES - To find a new head football coach, USC waited along the One-Lane Highway. That’s the road that goes from Los Angeles to Oakland to Knoxville and back to L.A. again. And it’s that journey that will trigger the most chatter in college football circles from now until the fall.

The Trojans announced on Tuesday night that they were replacing Pete Carroll with Lane Kiffin, which was a bit of a surprise because Kiffin already had a job as the head coach at Tennessee, a position he only accepted about a year ago. As sure as Reggie Bush’s parents like to live well, Kiffin will get roasted for bailing on the Vols — literally, if he doesn’t move fast — and the Trojans will be accused by the Tennessee faithful of poaching.

But USC did about as well as it could have done in replacing a modern legend. And although it’s never admirable for a coach to jilt one school because another is prettier, the circumstances in this case beg for a waiver.

There was no clear-cut answer for USC. Since Carroll first indicated his desire to bolt, a maelstrom of mediocrity formed, swirling names such as Jack Del Rio, Herm Edwards and Steve Mariucci, among others. Jeff Fisher didn’t want the job. Ditto for Steve Sarkisian. Chris Petersen apparently will never leave Boise unless geographers discover a sleepier city with less to do.

So athletic director Mike Garrett reached for a piece of the Pete Carroll era in Kiffin, who immediately relegates Jim Harbaugh to the second-brashest coach in the Pacific 10 conference. When Kiffin went to Tennessee, he did everything but pose as Urban Meyer’s cardiologist to disrupt the balance of power. He has stones, as they say, and he isn’t afraid to throw them around.

More importantly, he is a demon recruiter. And that’s more important than being a coach in this situation. Lots of guys can coach. Few are capable of stepping into Pete Carroll’s shoes and dominating the Southern California recruiting turf, while also snatching a few five-star names from elsewhere around the nation. Kiffin, along with the staff he’s bringing with him — former USC defensive line coach Ed Orgeron, another recruiting hound, and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, Lane’s father — will create the voltage that was sorely needed in Carroll’s absence.

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The downside: This looks sleazy to many, and understandably so. It is never admirable to commit yourself to a job, and then split after a short time when a better offer comes around. It wasn’t cool when Nick Saban left the Miami Dolphins to jump to Alabama, or when Bobby Petrino performed the triple-jump from Louisville to the Atlanta Falcons to Arkansas.

The difference with Kiffin is that he had strong ties to USC. He was an assistant under Carroll from 2001 to 2006. He probably would have stayed if Al Davis didn’t come calling for a young assistant; when Sarkisian turned Davis down, the Raiders’ mastermind hired Kiffin. Later, Davis would stick pins in a Lane Kiffin voodoo doll, but that’s beside the point.

USC is one of the half-dozen best college coaching jobs in the land, and Kiffin says he wouldn't have left Tennessee after one year for any other position.