Interim USC coach Ed Orgeron is finding support in the strangest of places. In addition to the vocal backing of a good portion of the USC fan base – even if another part wants athletic director Pat Haden to bring in a proven name, like Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin – Orgeron’s case for becoming the Trojans’ permanent coach earned a vote of confidence from an unlikely source:

Lane Kiffin. That would be “ex-USC coach Lane Kiffin,” also known as “the coach Orgeron replaced after a 62-41 loss to Arizona State on Sept. 28.”

In an interview on AM 710, an ESPN affiliate in Los Angeles, Kiffin called the decision to promote Orgeron to the permanent post “easy.” Via Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News:

Lane Kiffin on 710-AM says #USC should hire Ed Orgeron: “That's easy. That's already done. It should be Ed Orgeron.'' — InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) November 21, 2013

Lane Kiffin on 710-AM: “Ed has done the Pete Carroll thing to the fullest.'' #USC — InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) November 21, 2013

It bears noting that Orgeron is 5-1 since replacing Kiffin, taking all five games against Pac-12 competition – losing only to Notre Dame in a non-conference game – to lift the Trojans back into the Rose Bowl hunt. If the Trojans beat Colorado Saturday and UCLA tops Arizona State, the two bitter rivals would meet on Nov. 30 to decide the Pac-12 South Division.

On Wednesday, Orgeron was named one of the 16 semifinalists for the Maxwell Football Club’s Coach of the Year award. According to a spokesman for the Maxwell Football Club, he is the first interim coach to be named a semifinalist in the award’s history.

(Thanks to College Football Talk for the tweets.)