Embattled Lane Kiffin Spotted At LA Hotel (Video)
USC Head Coach Lane Kiffin and his Trojans football team have experienced what most people would describe as a very disappointing 2012 season. After enduring a two-year postseason ban and the loss of 30 scholarships (over a still ongoing three-year period), USC found itself atop of the Associated Press preseason poll in August.
Unfortunately for Kiffin and the rest of the folks from the downtown Los Angeles-adjacent campus, 2012 did not shake out the way anyone could have possibly hoped.
Saturday, the Trojans enter their season finale, versus top ranked Notre Dame, possessing a mere 7-4 record. Even more surprisingly, Kiffin and company only finished with a 5-4 mark in the Pac-12 conference.
Dreams of a BCS National Championship Game appearance were replaced by a series of controversies and disappointments, including Kiffin's less than truthful handling of his USA Today coaches' poll vote, the dismissal of an equipment manager (accused of deflating footballs) and the switching of uniform numbers during a game.
The forgettable 2012 campaign was capped off by last week's 38-28 loss to archrival UCLA. This defeat marked only the second time in 14 years that USC went down to the previously inferior football program from Westwood.
Friday, per the above iFolloSports.com original video, the suddenly embattled Kiffin was seen entering the Westin Bonaventure hotel, in downtown Los Angeles. After exiting the passenger seat of a black Mercedes-Benz, the 37-year-old coach headed inside the hotel for his appearance at the USC vs. Notre Dame Scholarship Luncheon, an event presented by the Notre Dame Club Of Los Angeles.
Check out Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly arriving at the very same event, just a few minutes later.
Despite Kiffin's season of sadness, if his USC squad (playing without injured QB Matt Barkley) can upend the Irish's title game aspirations, at least the coach will be able to salvage some semblance of his offseason peace of mind.
With that said, the always controversial Kiffin will no doubt find himself right back inside the pressure cooker, come the start of the 2013 football season.
