Conference USA Championship 2019: 3 takeaways from FAU’s win
By Zach Bigalke
1. C-USA about to lose another coaching talent in Lane Kiffin
The C-USA championship game was something of a flash audition of sorts. With a slew of openings popping up throughout the Power Five ranks, Lane Kiffin finds himself becoming an increasingly hot commodity. The former Tennessee and USC head coach looks set to get another Power Five coaching opportunity, as talk swirled around his future all week leading into the title game against the Blazers.
Kiffin made sure the talk about his future didn’t distract the Owls as they prepared for the C-USA championship. If anything, it appeared that the team came out motivated to put on a strong showing in what is likely their final game playing for the coach. With a dominant display against the Blazers, it is likelier than ever that Kiffin will bolt ship for a more elite destination than Boca Raton.
That is the burden for leagues like Conference USA. They offer opportunities for neophytes to cut their teeth in the coaching ranks, and they also offer the ability for a guy like Kiffin to rehabilitate his image. But they also serve as a lower rung of the ladder for most top-tier coaches, a feeder league for bigger opportunities down the road.
A brief history of the conference championship game. dark. Next
Thus, on the heels of one of the most exciting moments in FAU football history, the program is likely going to lose one of its brightest coaching talents. Kiffin is hardly a newcomer to the spotlight, but essentially his stay in Boca Raton reinforced the perception that the league is a developer of talent rather than a maintainer of top coaches.