Tim Floyd; the Resignation, the Conspiracy Theory, and the Replacement
The Resignation
“Unfortunately, I no longer feel I can offer the level of enthusiasm to my duties that is deserved by the university, my coaching staff, my players, their families and the supporters of the University of Southern California. I always promised myself and my family that if I ever felt I could no longer give my full enthusiasm to a job, that I should leave it to others who could.” – Tim Floyd
The now infamous words tied to Tim Floyd’s resignation that absolutely no one believes.
Even if you aren’t the conspiracy theorist type that turns every story into something 10 times bigger, it is awfully hard to accept this story at face value. Anytime a coach steps down for anything other than age or health reasons, it always raises suspicion; when a passionate and successful coach steps down from a program clouded in controversy, it doesn’t take a whole lot of imagination for some red flags in your mind to start going off.
The look on Tim Floyd's face just about sums the situation up
Just a few short months ago in early April, Floyd was expressing his loyalty, commitment, and excitement towards USC when offered the Arizona job;
“I listened, I heard what they had to say. But there is something really special about building your own traditions and your own history.”
He reiterated what he had said one year ago, that this would be his last job. “If [USC administrators] get tired of me and they don’t want me here then I’ll look in another direction. But if they’re happy then this will be it.”
When asked if a potential contract extension with USC played into his decision, Floyd said it did not, but “hopefully they will add a year or two.”
Building your own traditions. Staying as long as USC is happy with him. Hopefully adding more to a contract that still had three years left on it.
This was in April of 2009. Doesn’t really sound like a guy that doesn’t have the enthusiasm to go on, does it?
The Scandal Conspiracy Theory
So what does lead a coach who seemingly loves where he is at to suddenly do a full 180 and resign?
The most obvious and most widely speculated answer is that he was pushed out by USC.
It is no secret that USC hasn’t exactly been the cleanest program in the country over the last decade. Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo have become the poster boys for shady behind-the-scenes activity at USC, but they only scratch the surface of all of the negative press that the school has received over the last few years. If you have a whole lot of time on your hands and would like a refresher, Menelaus over at Bruins Nation has done an excellent job putting together the staggeringly long list of controversies over at: http://www.bruinsnation.com/2008/5/15/508939/pete-carroll-tim-floyd-usc
Even if you are of the belief that I am that Pete Carroll gets a worse reputation than he actually deserves, it is hard to look at a list like that one (or even just at the Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo sitations) and see USC’s athletic program as anything other than a ticking time bomb. It seems like only a matter of time that the NCAA will find some hard evidence in their investigation and punish USC in some form. At the very least, some sort of slap on the wrist is in order to save face.
The big difference between the scandals revolving around Pete Carroll and Tim Floyd is the fact that Carroll has managed to stay away from getting directly involved. With the exception of an alleged conference call that he allegedly set up with Joe McKnight and Reggie Bush that would break NCAA recruiting rules, Pete Carroll can be accused of a lot of things such as not doing a better job disciplining his players or not noticing the tell-tale signs that shady business was going on; but he himself hasn’t been directly involved.
Tim Floyd on the other hand knew exactly what he was getting into when Rodney Guillory approached him offering him the chance to recruit both OJ Mayo and Bill Walker (who ended up going to Kansas State instead). Working as a runner for an agent back in 2000, Guillory had provided illegal gifts including plane tickets to Jeff Trepagnier (USC) and Tito Maddox (Fresno State). Floyd knew that accepting Mayo came with risks, but he decided to take them.
And I’m neither condemning nor condoning his decision. In an era of college basketball dominated by one-and-done super athletes, a recruit of this caliber can be the difference between not receiving a tournament bid and cracking the Sweet 16. Floyd obviously hoped that Guillory and Mayo would use better judgment, and figured it would be worth the risk for what it would do for the basketball program.
One of Guillory’s former associates claims that he personally saw Tim Floyd paying Guillory $1000 on a Beverly Hills street corner. This sounds a little unbelievable to me, but who knows? All the same, whether that story is true or not, Floyd can play innocent all he wants when questioned; but dealing with Guillory directly was asking for trouble if and when something like this went down.
I’m not usually a fan of conspiracy theories, but Tim Floyd being turned into a scapegoat of sorts for all of this actually makes a bit of sense to me. If investigations end up showing that Pete Carroll and the football program was involved in a series of illegal events and the hammer comes down hard on USC football, the results would be catastrophic for both the team and the conference. While putting a black eye on the basketball program would hurt as well, it is easily the lesser of the two evils; USC is a football school first and foremost, and the Pac-10 has plenty of great basketball schools; they don’t need USC to be a team of national attention like they need them to be in football.
I think if USC (and the Pac-10) had the choice, they would much rather take the hit on their basketball program, admit to some wrongdoing and lack of foresight on their end and accept their punishment, whatever it may be, and “turn the page on the corrupt Tim Floyd era”. Not that USC will be given the choice of choosing their own punishment, but admitting some wrong doing through an “internal investigation” and apologizing and accepting responsibility for it would certainly help with the schools reputation that it “turns a blind eye” to this sort of thing, and it might earn them a little leniency in the NCAA’s final ruling. And while it would be a shame for a great coach like Tim Floyd to have his name dragged through the mud in all this, people will once again point out that he knew what he was getting himself into when he worked with Rodney Guillory in the first place.
Remember that this is all 100% speculation. Until conclusive evidence from the NCAA comes out regarding their findings in these investigations, for all we know USC is completely innocent, and Tim Floyd really did just wake up one morning and realize he just didn’t have that love of the game anymore. Or maybe the findings will uncover a massive multi-sport scandal that goes all the way up that will completely unravel the University of Southern California’s athletic program for years to come. Again, we really don’t know. And unless you have access to the same sources and files that the NCAA is currently investigating, your guesses are just as good as mine are.
But once again, no matter what your guesses are as to the real reason behind Floyd’s resignation may be, it is almost impossible to believe that there isn’t more to this than what meets the eye here. Whether USC showed Floyd the door or he himself decided he wanted to get away from all this, only time will tell.
The Replacement
Kevin O’Neill was named the new head coach for USC on Saturday, a choice definitely worthy of its own article. The Trojans hope that O’Neill can provide their basketball program the fresh start that they are so desperately in need of.
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