USC head football coach Lane Kiffin was terminated from his position hours after the Trojans’ loss to Arizona State on Saturday. The final score of the fateful game in Tempe, Arizona was 62-41.

USC Athletic Director Pat Haden announced the decision in a lengthy news release early Sunday; Haden was also going to hold a press conference Sunday afternoon, though no exact time was given.

Kiffin, 38, has had a tough experience in Cali since accepting the coaching position at USC in 2010; last season, No. 1-ranked USC ended the season with a 7-6 record, and Kiffin has coached the team to losses in 7 of their last 11 games. Kiffin’s overall record at USC was a defeating 28-15.

The Trojans’ best season under Kiffin’s command came in 2011 when they finished with a 10-2 record.

In April, Haden was still speaking hopefully of Kiffin, saying, “Should Lane Kiffin be graded on a curve? I guess that’s the question, and I guess I kind of have. I think he does a lot of things extraordinarily well. Did he have some missteps last year? Yes. Should we have played better at times? Yes. But I’m still very supportive of Lane…”

Kiffin’s predecessor in Trojan football was Coach Pete Carroll, who was the team’s leader during the Reggie Bush scandal, costing the program several scholarships and bowl games for the next several years.

Kiffin has not addressed the loss of his job yet, and is not expected to speak at the news conference today.

Image courtesy of Bobak Ha’Eri via Wikimedia Commons.