Lane Kiffin talks about firing amid ‘You got fired!’ chants (Video)

Former USC coach Lane Kiffin made an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday morning, and he had to have known what he was in for. Washington fans who were gearing up for their biggest game of the season against No. 2 Oregon had no problem expending time and energy to rag on Kiffin.

ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi interviewed Kiffin about his failed time at USC while fans chanted “You got fired!” in the background. Kiffin took the blame for the Trojans’ poor performance in recent years.

[Related: Lane Kiffin getting used to ‘Fire Kiffin’ chants]

“Obviously I’m to blame being the head coach,” he said. “There are a lot of things I should’ve done better. At the same time, I’m very proud of our time there. If you look at what sanctions do to major programs, to be 28-15, there’s some good stuff in there.”

Kiffin reminded viewers of the sanctions against the program on more than one occasion. He brought it up again when asked about USC athletic director Pat Haden’s decision to fire at an airport terminal.

“Pat has a very hard job, and I understand an athletic director’s job, being around the sport so long,” Kiffin said, via ESPN.com. “Even though he may see what’s going on on the inside and how hard it was to deal with the sanctions and our reduced roster, at the same time he has a lot of people to answer to. I appreciate Pat’s support over three and half or four years there.”

In addition to the chants, there were a few signs to remind Kiffin that he is currently unemployed.

On one hand, you have to give Kiffin credit for throwing himself into the fire and owning up to what went wrong. On the other, you know why he did it. Kiffin needs to find another program that will hire him. If he runs from his mistakes and refuses to speak publicly about what happened, he’s going to have more trouble finding a school that is willing to give him a shot.

Photos via Mocksession, Will Brinson