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Top 10 college football programs who put the most pressure on head coaches

By Christine Wang Dickson

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Sep 28, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin reacts during the first half against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

1. USC Trojans

Los Angeles is known as an entertainment capital of the world. It’s more than a little fitting, then, that USC gave us the most entertaining season in recent memory when it comes to managing head coaches.

In 2013, Lane Kiffin entered his fourth season as head coach, expectations running high as ever. And he was promptly fired five games in. Why? He’d gone 3-2, losing to Washington State and to Arizona State (who’d run up 62 points on the Trojans). The Arizona State defeat was so “unstomachable” that athletic director Pat Haden immediately pulled Kiffin’s plug.

Here comes the best part of this drama. After landing at Los Angeles International Airport the morning after the defeat, Kiffin was pulled from the team bus and fired on the spot. The bus also left without him. See you never again, Lane.

From here, the story morphs into the perfect example of just how ruthless USC athletics can be. Ed Orgeron was named interim head coach and turned the Trojans entire season around, going 6-2 with a win over a number five-ranked Stanford.

Despite this revival and the warm relationships he developed with his players, USC didn’t bother keeping Orgeron around to see what could develop. At the end of the regular season, they named Steve Sarkisian the new head coach, much to player tears and disappointment. Orgeron stepped down because of this, and Clay Helton – the third head coach that season – stepped up to lead during the post-season bowl game.

Let Lane Kiffin’s tale be a warning to all present and future USC head coaches. Your bosses will not hesitate to fire you, leaving you with no job and no way to get home from the airport.

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