Titans File Lawsuit Against USC

By Justin Worsley

Jeff Fisher was not kidding around when he stated his disdain for the University of Southern California head coach Lane Kiffin's approach when it came to acquiring a new offensive coordinator. After Kiffin lured away Tennessee Titans assistant running backs coach Kennedy Pola from the team, the organization has filed a lawsuit on Monday, suing both the university and Kiffin.

Pola, who was hired by the Titans in February, will become both the offensive coordinator and running backs coach at USC.

Kiffin has already caused a fair share of controversy in the state of Tennessee. On January 12, Kiffin announced that he was abandoning the head coach position at the University of Tennessee in order to become the head coach at USC. Kiffin's departure occurred after only one season in Knoxville. Volunteer fans have reacted negatively towards Kiffin, going as far as filing the rename a sewage plant after him.

Fisher, a USC alum, is now left without an assistant running backs coach only days before Tennessee begins their training camp. Running back is also arguably the strongest part of the team, with Chris Johnson coming off of the sixth 2,000 yard season in NFL history.

The lawsuit also states that Pola violated his contract which states that Pola must have written permission to discuss a job with any team other than the Titans.

Fisher released a statement on Sunday stating that Kiffin made no call to him until after Pola informed Fisher he signed with USC, stating that Kiffin was unprofessional in the manner. Kiffin claims that the timing on the issue was not perfect, but the situation is a good opportunity for Pola.

Pola was also not the first NFL assistant Kiffin approached. The Minnesota Vikings were forced to reconfigure assistant coach Eric Bienemy after Kiffin almost lured him away. When Kiffin left Tennessee, he took four assistants along with him including his father, Monte Kiffin.