USC AD Mike Garrett faces the NCAA committee on allegations of illegal benefits.
Hearings have begun in regard to USC’s allegations on infractions of benefits to both the football and basketball programs. The hearings will last for three days and will involve meetings with the NCAA’s committee on infractions. The investigation spans back four years and focuses on benefits to star football player Reggie Bush and star basketball player O.J. Mayo. USC has declined to comment, and it will be interesting to see what impact these will have on the programs. Another question that arises is; Are the rules to strict for these college programs?…
Athletic Director Mike Garrett is backed by a team of lawyers in hopes of restoring dignity back to the football program. Former football coach Pete Carroll had previously met with the committee and his departure has also left questions on what he knew and why he would leave one of the best jobs in sports to go to the Seattle Seahawks. What did Carroll really know?
While the extent of the infractions will be known sooner than later, USC will have to take responsibility for the wrongs ,and I hope somebody steps up and takes responsibility. Everybody cries wolf in these situations and deny knowing what was going on. I personally think that the NCAA committee is too strict when it comes to some of the benefits that these players get. They make a enormous amount of money for their universities . I also think that they should put a plan in place to giver these kids a little extra in benefits and examine special situations that would require a little help to them. I hope these allegations are something USC deserves to be punished for and are not penny atty infringements found by the Committee.
Put yourself in a set of different shoes. You are 17 years old and receiving the attention of top NCAA college football coaches around the country. You narrow down your choices, you take your maximum three campus visit and make a verbal decision to attend that school. Then you get a 1oPM phone call from the assistant coach that recruited you who informs you that the head coach is leaving and we’re all going with him. Want to come with us?
Kiffin Ditched Vols For USC
That was the real world awakening this past January for those kids recruited to play at Tennessee. Coach Lane Kiffin chose to head off to take over Southern Cal and his assistant coach Ed Orgeron was now telling the very same kids why they should play for Tennessee just a few days before why they shouldn’t go there now and why USC was the best choice.
Its a nasty party of the college football game and it is a tragedy that 17 year old kids are being caught up in the middle of it. As college coaches pressure these kids to commit early, graduate in December before your classmate and get yourself to campus for spring practice, those very same coaches are thinking about their next career stop without regard to the kids and parents to whom promises were made in their living room.
Tomorrow is signing day for recruits, but for some what was supposed to be a joyous occasion has gone sour. Since the completion of the regular season, 22 coaches are no longer with their respective teams. Some coaches were fired for performance, others chose to seek out better positions and a few displayed gross misbehavior towards their athletes that sent them packing. In their wake are the kids now figuring out what to do.
Let’s take the story of Cleo Robinson, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer. An outside linebacker from Haddon Township, NJ, Robinson gave an early commitment to play at Louisville. Robinson choose Louisville partly because it was the first school to offer him a scholarship and they did so before his senior season. Robinson never visited the campus of the school.
In late November, Louisville fired its head coach Steve Kragthorpe after three rough seasons. Kragthorpe made an opportunistic decision to jump from his successful position at Tulsa for opportunity to play in the Big East for a BCS bowl bid. He replaced another opportunity job seeker named Bobby Petrino who jumped for a job in the NFL and then jumped again during the middle of the season to Arkansas. A whole lot of hopping going round.
Kragthorpe ended up losing a portion of the recruiting class that Petrino had pulled together and was hampered with a group of players brought in to fit a system that was no longer going to be employed. While Kragthorpe was able to keep the juniors on the team from departing for the NFL, everything sputtered and the Cardinals fell flat. Some of those kids lost NFL opportunities because of the coaching shakeup. Kragthorpe was eventually fired and replaced by Florida University assistant Charlie Strong, who’ll likely be looking for new digs back in the SEC if he generates any success with the Cardinals over his first three seasons.
For Cleo Robinson, he was left in the lurch. With the head coach gone and the system to be employed, Robinson did the smart thing and rescinded his scholarship. He did so with a lot at risk. Most other schools have filled their recruiting dance cards and are no longer in market. Unless you are a blue chip recruit, the decision Robinson made is terribly risky. Robinson recently committed to Stanford after an official visit, where he will play under head coach Jim Harbaugh. The irony…Harbaugh has been tied to more head coaching jobs than you can shake a stick at.
So where does the student athlete’s welfare come in? The student gets pressured to live up to his commitment, he goes to the school, hates it and then transfers out losing a year of eligibility. How do we offer the student more flexibility if the situation around him changes before he even enters his dorm room?
The NCAA needs to begin rethinking the arcane structure that surrounds the recruiting process to eliminate the damage being done by coaches that are looking at the kids as their meal ticket. When coaches begin calling recruits telling them not to attend class so they can play football at their school, you know something has going horribly wrong with the system.
Its tough to surprise the average sports fan these days when it comes to Lane Kiffin. From getting fired for cause by the Oakland Raiders to being accused of sending pretty girls in to lead his recruiting efforts, ESPN is reporting that Kiffin has resigned as head coach for the Tennessee Volunteers to take the same position at USC. Kiffin’s hiring comes quickly after the announcement that Pete Carroll had stepped down to take the head coach position with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.
Kiffin Leaves USC After One Season
Kiffin’s only season at Tennessee was a tumultuous one. During his stay, he publically accused Florida coach Urban Meyer of NCAA recruiting violations, was officially reprimanded by the SEC, accused Georgia of cheating on a radio show and told a South Carolina recruit that he would be pumping gas after his playing days were over. Additionally, Kiffin’s involvement with an on-campus girl booster’s club was questioned and he caused the university to be probed for an NCAA secondary violation for bringing a former student of St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) along on a recruiting trip to his former high school alma mater.
You wonder who is more happier about the new job, USC or Tennessee?
Kiffin takes over a program that is on life support due constant NCAA probes, a departing coach and a handful of early departures by underclassmen. Kiffin will have his hands full with a program that looks to be heading towards probation as a result of the latest NCAA violation drama surrounding star running back Joe McKnight.
Given all the problems at USC, Kiffin seems like a poor choice given his penchant for being a loose cannon. While he may understand the university and its approach to fielding a top-notch squad, Kiffin has failed to show the leadership skills in his two overnight stays as a head coach.
Next question is, will his Daddy be joining him sunny Southern California to keep him grounded?
The NFL needs to decide whether or not it wants to enforce its own rules. It’s playoff time in the NFL now. Win, or go home.
In one of the best playoff games in recent memory, and arguably one of the greatest playoff games of all time, Green Bay was sent packing by the Cardinals. However, there were a few blown calls late in the game that could have cost the Packers a chance of advancing to play New Orleans.
Snyder Dismisses NFL Rules
On the second play in overtime after a thrilling four periods of regulation, Aaron Rodgers was hit in a helmet to helmet collision in the process of completing a fourteen yard pass. No personal foul was called, and the play was called back for offensive holding. Two plays later, everyone watched in shock as Rodgers was taken down by the facemask, losing the ball in the process as Karlos Dansby scooped it out of the air and into the end zone for the Arizona win.
Over the past season, and going further back into prior seasons, the NFL has shown their commitment to protecting the quarterback, no matter how minor the offense. Some argue that certain players have received special treatment from these rules, a la the “Tom Brady treatment.”
To maintain fair competition, the NFL needs to stop over blowing the whistle when these “elite” quarterbacks are out there or make consistent calls. Since the evidence shows that the calls are never consistent, they should stop overprotecting the quarterback position and let defenses go and do what they are paid to do, which is play defense.
Another rule that has become even more of a mockery than the protection of quarterbacks is the Rooney Rule. This states that teams who are in the process of hiring a new head coach must interview at least one minority. The purpose of this is to give the opportunity of obtaining a head coaching job to a minority. At the very least, even if said minority is passed over for the job, it gets their name out there for future vacancies.
However, it has become commonplace for owners in all sports, including the NFL, to continually recycle the same Caucasian coaches who have been mediocre in prior stints on other teams. Presumably some of this has to do with media hype over certain coaches when coaching jobs open up, no matter how merited that hype may be. The ignorance of the owners perpetuates this.
In two jobs that opened up shortly after season’s end, the Redskins and Seahawks had their positions filled (at least in principle) before full interviews really took place. Dan Snyder played footsie with Mike Shanahan for weeks with Zorn still under contract, and days after the season was officially over, he was hired. The Seahawks were quick to dump their first year coach in favor of USC’s Pete Carroll, who has been mediocre at best in his prior head coaching positions in the NFL.
What’s questionable is if and how these two teams complied with the rule when looking for their replacement. The Redskins interviewed one of their assistants during the season while Zorn was still head coach, and the Seahawks were trying to set up an interview with Minnesota’s defensive coordinator while at the same time working on a contract with Carroll.
It’s quite evident that the spirit of the rule was not followed by either team. Quick moves to dump their current head coaches were made to make room for candidates that were available and coveted by ownership of both teams. Any lackadaisical interviews that occurred with anyone were done simply for compliance sake, not to give those candidates their fair opportunity as was the plan when the rule was originated. But I guess ignorance is bliss.
Pete Carroll has just taken the job as had coach for the Seattle Seahawks. I think that he should of stayed at USC for more than a couple of reasons…
Pete Carroll is a college coach plain and simple.His high energy motivational techniques works in sync with the college football athlete. Young and impressional student athletes embrace a great college coach like Carroll ,and his success speaks for itself. I love college football and coaches like him bring a tradition unmatched in any sport today.USC will sorely miss Pete ,and I think Pete will sorely miss SC when he gets a taste of the pro athlete. Coaching pro athletes is tough because are more individualistic in nature and tend to get inflated egos due to the the money they are making. Coaching college football is more about unity, team and tradition. He had a dream job to me and leaving the school is a big mistake.
I don't think Pete Carroll will be smiling after his stint in Seattle.
Carroll not only was a great motivator of young college minds but was very successful as well.He won two National Championships in his 9 year tenor as coach.He turned out countless All-Americans and NFL draft picks.He also coached three Heisman Trophy winners and had a astounding 97-18 record at SC. His teams finished seven consecutive seasons in the AP top four. You cannot do any better than Carroll in a nine year time frame as head coach. He thrived in the College game, The game needs him and SC needs him. His lost will be felt by all college football fans.
As I have stated previously this article, I think it is a big mistake for Pete Carrol to jump ship to the NFL. He will never get the satisfaction, pride and success that he enjoyed at USC in Seattle. I think he also did his recruits a dishonor by leaving them high and dry. Lets face it, Players come to school for the coaches. I wonder how Carroll feels about that. I would not want to try to coach and motivate the modern spoiled athlete. Carroll left possibly one the best jobs in the world to coach these types of players. And by the way, it is not like The Seahawks have tasted to much success lately. Case rested, you should of stayed in Southern California, Petey.
