USC football’s disappointing performance over the past three-plus seasons has already cost Lane Kiffin his job, and it may also cost him a house. Last December, TMZ reported that USC had given Kiffin a $500,000 loan toward the purchase of his $5.5 million home in Manhattan Beach, Calif. But there was one catch — if Kiffin chose to leave the school or was fired, USC could demand the money back with interest.
After he was fired by the Oakland Raiders in his second season, Kiffin unexpectedly left Tennessee for USC after one season. That is likely what the Trojans were trying to avoid by loaning him the $500,000, and the loan was probably supposed to last at least as long as Kiffin’s reported five-year, $20 million contract with the team did.
TMZ could not determine if Kiffin is still on the hook for the money or if he already paid off the loan. Between his head coaching gigs in the NFL and NCAA, the 38-year-old has made plenty of money. The school could technically foreclose on his Manhattan Beach mansion if he does not pay back the $500,000, but it is highly unlikely that it would get to that point.
The alleged details of the loan simply add to what has already become an entertaining sideshow that began when Kiffin was fired at an airport terminal. The players may be happy to see their former coach go, but the school has to be incredibly disappointed with how much of a failure the Kiffin era turned out to be.
