What They're Saying in the Aftermath of Kiffin's Firing

USC fans used to fill the L.A. Coliseum in the Pete Carroll era. Under Lane Kiffin, those who showed filled the stadium with boos.

The unpopular coach was on the job for 43 games, the last being Saturday night's 62-41 loss at Arizona State.

His firing came early Sunday morning in a parking lot at L.A. International Airport. After players and staff had departed the team charter and boarded buses for the trip to campus, Kiffin was reportedly asked to depart. He wanted the bus to remain, but a school administrator motioned for it to depart.

Athletic director Pat Haden was waiting for Kiffin, and he told the coach that he was fired.

Kiffin, 38, compiled a 28-15 record as USC coach.

The reaction around Los Angeles is varied. Here's a sample of what they are saying:

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: Kiffin never really had a chance. Crippling NCAA sanctions were too much to overcome. The Trojans took only 56 scholarship plays to Saturday night's game at Arizona State, well short of the NCAA maximum of 65. It got so bad the Trojans had to play Robby Kolanz, who worked in the school's sports information office last year, at receiver.

Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times: The firing was not designed to ruin Kiffin, but to save USC football.

Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times: Haden did not bow to alumni pressure, sports talk radio noise or letters to the editor. It was simply a gut decision that Kiffin needed to go.

T.J. Simers, Orange County Register: Kiffin isn't a lousy human being, no matter how much delight some might take in the coach losing his job.

Mark Whicker, Orange County Register: Whatever Kiffin was doing was hurting USC. With Kiffin gone, it's much easier for Trojan fans to dream rather than manage their pain.

Jill Painter, Los Angeles Daily News: USC was riding a ticket to nowhere with Kiffin and his firing was long overdue.

Vincent Bonsignore, Los Angeles Daily News: USC needs to make a splash with its next hire and Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin would provide just that.

Tom Hoffarth, Los Angeles Daily News: Interim coach Ed Orgeron could be just what the Trojans need. More animation on the sideline, more hand-slapping, more butt-patting. Not someone making excuses about scholarship deficiencies, but using that instead as a motivation tool.

Sportsbook.ag: USC coaching odds. Bobby Petrino is 50-1, Rick Neuheisel is 1000-1 at the time of this post.

Image from 30fps.