Floyd's Downfall

Today's news that Tim Floyd has resigned as USC head basketball coach could be interpreted a number of ways in relation to the allegations against the Trojan athletic department:

1. He really feels he "can no longer offer the level of enthusiasm to (his) duties that is deserved by the university." (By the way, Floyd's statement reads like he hasn't written anything since he was 18.)

2. Floyd did what he has been accused of.

3. The USC brass is making Floyd the fall guy for the current scandal. His ouster is a gesture to the NCAA in an effort to take some heat off the athletic department. Note the tacked-on comments from Todd Dickey, USC's senior vice president of administration, regarding USC's participation in the ongoing investigation. It's probably the most in-depth statement yet from the university about the investigation.

4. A combination of 2 and 3.

As to how all this relates to the USC football program, the answer is, Who knows?

Obviously, this smacks of damage control on the part of 'SC. If the Southern Cal athletic department is on the hook for the dreaded "lack of institutional control," jettisoning Floyd at this point could provide a signal of how athletic director Mike Garrett and the school's administration intend to address the potential NCAA charges. Specifically, Floyd himself was corrupt, but his transgressions don't reflect a systemic problem with the school's athletic department. Now that Floyd is out of the picture, USC should be allowed to carry on as usual. (Read: Hands off the football team.)

Whether or not the NCAA would buy that argument, though, is an entirely different matter. For example, if Floyd's departure signifies a veiled admission of his guilt, would that lend credence to the notion that agents and runners also were patronizing the football sidelines and locker room? What about the fact that the alleged rules violations supposedly took place within a relatively short timeframe? Such inferences may not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be enough for the NCAA.

Whatever the case may be, Floyd's unceremonious departure from Troy makes him look guilty as hell. It doesn't exactly look too swell for USC football, either.