In honor of Lane Kiffin's tarmac firing: 10 most cringeworthy college football departures

September 29, 2013, a day that has gone down in infamy in the annals of Lane Kiffin lore. At the time, Kiffin was the head coach of the USC Trojans, but following a 62-41 loss at the hands of Arizona State, USC was 3-2, and former USC athletic director Pat Haden had seen enough.

At 3:14 a.m., shortly after the team plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport, Kiffin was fired on the tarmac.

Kiffin referred to "The Tarmac" as the lowest point in his career during a recent interview. Even though Kiffin bounced back rather quickly, winning a national title as Alabama's offensive coordinator just a few years later, and putting up 52 points on the Trojans in the first game of the 2016 season, the tarmac firing has become the benchmark for embarrassing separations, against which all other coaching departures are measured.

With that, here are the ten most cringeworthy college coaching departures in recent memory.

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#10: Tom Herman, Houston, 2016

Not a firing, but Tom Herman's decision to leave Houston after repeatedly telling players and the media that reports about his departure were lies left the Cougars' football team shaking their heads.

According to reports, while the Herman rumors were swirling, he stayed mum with his team aside from a practice before the team's bowl game when he denied his intent to leave for the University of Texas.

Less than a week later, after Houston lost to Memphis 48-44 in the bowl game, Herman was Texas's newest head coach. Herman maintained that he "never lied" to his players. During an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show following his departure from Houston, Herman said "Every single report that was floating out at that time was inaccurate, so I was not lying." However, shortly after the Texas news was announced, then-freshman All-American defensive tackle Ed Oliver tweeted and subsequently deleted "Why you lie to [us] coach?"

Herman did give his Cougars some closure though, holding a Saturday afternoon meeting, where he explained his decision to anyone on the team who would listen. Collin Wilder, a freshman safety for the Cougars at the time, told The Athletic that Herman got very emotional during this meeting and told everyone he was appreciative for the time he spent in Houston.

#9: Todd Graham, Pitt, 2011

Former University of Pittsburgh head coach Todd Graham was less than a full season into his coaching tenure with the Panthers when the Pitt football team received a collective text that read, "I have resigned my position at Pitt in the best interest of my family to pursue the head coaching position at Arizona State. Coaching there has always been a dream of ours and we have family there. The timing of the circumstances have prohibited me from telling you this directly. I now am on my way to Tempe to continue those discussions. God Bless. Coach Graham."

And that is how many of Graham's players and coaching staff found out that Graham had become the head coach at Arizona State. Graham claimed that he couldn't tell his team because ASU wouldn't allow it. With that, coaches on recruiting trips were forced to cut their trips short and players were disgruntled, scratching their heads.

#8: Jeff Jagodzinski, Boston College, 2008

Now, we're getting to the firings.

Jeff Jagodzinski had won 20 games through his first two seasons as Boston College's head coach. At one point during the 2007 season, Jagodzinski's Matt Ryan-led Eagles even reached No. 2 in the national polls. So, why was he fired? Well, because he was drawing interest from NFL teams and Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo didn't like that.

While DeFilippo did, in fact, warn Jagodzinski that interviewing with the New York Jets would lead to his termination, nothing was set in stone aside from the interview. Jagodzinski didn't even land the gig. DeFilippo dismissed Jagodzinski because his head coach was looking at other options.

#7: George O'Leary, Notre Dame, 2001

O'Leary had done fairly well as the head coach for Georgia Tech, leading the Yellow Jackets to four bowl games over the previous five seasons. He was also named the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year in 2000. Impressive accomplishments but that did not keep O'Leary from inflating his credentials.

Soon after being selected for the head coaching gig in South Bend, Notre Dame started noticing falsehoods throughout O'Leary's resume. Not only did he lie about his academic credentials, but he also claimed he'd earned a master's degree from NYU-Stony Brook. Just one problem, NYU and Stony Brook are two entirely separate schools. O'Leary only ever took two courses at NYU and never graduated.

O'Leary also maintained that he earned three letters in football at the University of New Hampshire, though he never played a single snap for them.

Notre Dame asked for O'Leary's resignation in late December 2001, just a few weeks after he'd been named head coach.

#6: Tom Williams, Yale, 2011

Much like O'Leary, Tom Williams was a pretty decent football coach, who for some reason just felt the need to lie on his resume. Unlike O'Leary though, Williams' deception went unnoticed for a few years before Yale figured out they'd been duped.

The reason Williams lands above O'Leary on this list is that it's one thing to have a facade seen through by the university that hired you. It's another to have your lies discovered because of one of your players. After a 16-14 start to his career at Yale, Williams was ultimately found out when his quarterback Patrick Witt applied for a Rhodes scholarship, a fully-funded postgraduate award which enables students to study at the University of Oxford.

On his resume, Williams claimed that he was, himself, a Rhodes Scholarship finalist while he was playing linebacker at Stanford University. In reality though, Williams never even applied for the Rhodes Scholarship. Williams admitted as much after questions started popping up and he resigned from his head coaching position shortly after.

#5: Bret Bielema, Arkansas, 2017

Following a loss to Missouri in the team's final game of the season, then-Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema didn't even get the chance to walk off the field before he was fired.

Come on! At least give the man some space! He just lost on a last-second field goal by Missouri. They couldn't wait until he got to the locker room to deal the news? They had to let him wallow on his team's home field where that devastating defeat took place to tell him he know longer had a job?

Per reports, there was a good reason Arkansas decided to pull the trigger so quickly, so players could learn the news before they went home for the holidays.

#4: Mike Sherman, Texas A&M, 2011

On the heels of a disappointing 6-6 season that saw the Texas A&M Aggies lose their final regular season game at home to in-state rival Texas, 27-25, head coach Mike Sherman had turned his attention to the following season and headed on a recruiting trip to have dinner with four-star quarterback recruit Matt Davis five days after the loss.

Davis had already committed to A&M, and was one of the school's most vocal commits, and Sherman was one of the main reasons he chose College Station. As the dinner approached, Davis and his mother were giddy with excitement, but then Davis' phone rang and their worst fears became realized.

"We're not going to make it," said Sherman. "They decided to let me go."

Apparently, news of Sherman's impending firing had leaked, and Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne did not want Sherman to hear the news from anyone other than himself. It just so happened to leak while Sherman was driving to dinner.

Sherman ended his conversation with Davis asking him not to de-commit to A&M. Davis obliged, but after a year there, transferred to Tyler Junior College and eventually SMU.

What makes this firing even more devastating is that Davis' mother had prepared pigs in a blanket for when Sherman and company arrived. That's a top-tier appetizer! Not only was Sherman fired, but he missed the chance at sausage wrapped in a flaky, buttery shell. Devastating.

#3: Lane Kiffin, USC, 2013

The man who started it all, Lane Kiffin's infamous tarmac firing has become one of college football's legendary tragedies. Although the entire world didn't see the moment Kiffin was fired, the image of Kiffin landing at LAX, finally getting phone service back, reading words of encouragement from the people closest to him, and then seeing USC athletic director Pat Haden's message informing Kiffin he'd been fired is tough.

It's not hard to imagine Kiffin stopping in his tracks on the tarmac to make sure he was reading his message. He'd probably already started game-planning for USC's next game against Arizona. He probably gave his team an impassioned speech about thriving through adversity. He probably believed he could turn the team around after a sluggish 3-2 start, but the moment he got back home, in the wee hours of the morning, Kiffin instead got hit with the worst news anyone could receive. He'd been fired. He was on the tarmac at one of the world's largest airports, yet he was all alone. Tragic.

#2: Rich Rodriguez, Michigan, 2010

This was a firing everybody saw coming, but that doesn't make the events preceding the announcement any less embarrassing. Michigan had gone 3-9, 5-7, and 7-6 in the three seasons with head coach Rich Rodriguez. It was a miracle he lasted as long as he did. Still, Rodriguez wasn't letting go, offering a last-ditch effort to save his job.

On December 2, 2010, at an annual Football Bust, hosted by the Michigan Club of Greater Detroit, Rodriguez broke down in tears and read passages from the Bible. Then Rodriguez started quoting lyrics from singer Josh Groban.

According to reports, Rodriguez spent part of his speech detailing how Groban's song "You Raise Me Up" inspires him, before having it played throughout the entire dining hall. Although players and even athletic director Dave Brandon stood on risers with their arms above their heads as the song played, it was clear that Rodriguez's days coaching the maize and blue were over after the season. He was fired the day after the team's final game of the season, a 52-14 loss to Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl, exactly one month after his speech at the Bust.

#1: Tony Franklin, Auburn, 2008

What's more cringeworthy than playing a song in an attempt to save your job? How about a coach rapping Eminem in order to motivate his team?

Tony Franklin had served as Auburn's offensive coordinator for less than a year before his unit blew a 13-0 lead to SEC rival Vanderbilt, Franklin was sure then-head coach director Tommy Tuberville would fire him on the plane ride home. He didn't though. Maybe the next day? Nope.

All of a sudden, Franklin had newfound confidence in himself. If Saturday's pitiful performance didn't get him fired, the next one surely would. According to a report from The Athletic, on Sunday night, Franklin told his wife that he planned on coming into practice Monday with a new mentality. He was tired of walking on eggshells and wanted to express to his players that from that day forward, they'd be dealing with a whole new man. He started Monday's team meeting by walking into the room with a stack of books and quoting lines from Eminem's song "Without Me," telling his athletes "Guess who's back, back again. Franklin's back. Tell a friend."

Franklin's approach seemingly worked too, as Tuberville had offered his support to Franklin both privately and publicly to local reporters.

The next day though, Tuberville paid Franklin a visit in his office and delivered the bad news. Despite Franklin's newfound approach and the lyrical genius of Slim Shady, Franklin was forced to clean out his closet.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kiffin's tarmac firing: Ten college coaching departures that compare