WORST WEEK EVER FOR ELITE D-I PROGRAM
Sure, there are a few NCAA football programs that have seen challenging days. Once upon a time, SMU was a legitimate high-end powerhouse -- and then it got the death penalty for major NCAA violations. And most of the Marshall football team and coaching staff died in a 1970 plane crash (including former Virginia Tech All-American Frank Loria, a cousin to Mrs. Florio).
But we can't think of a worse seven-day period for an elite, top-three program.
The USC Trojans are simply falling apart. And based on everything we've heard from our various sources, this whole mess will continue to get even worse.
It started seven days ago, when Yahoo! Sports reported that Reggie Bush's family had been in a house owned by a man who was hoping to handle Bush's marketing work. As the week unfolded, Bush and his people inflamed the situation through some ill-advised public comments, eventually prompting the owner of the house, Michael Michaels, and his lawyer to unload with allegations of $100,000 in cash payments to the Bush family and plans to file a $3.2 million lawsuit fraudulently inducing Michaels to spend more than $300,000 under the premise that his sports marketing company would be representing Bush.
On Friday night, we were the first to connect the dots regarding the timing of the initial $28,000 paid to Bush's stepfather and the possibility that the Trojans could, in the end, lose their 2004 national title.
And the Bush story has triggered broader scrutiny of USC players. But by the time the media flipped the switch on the light over the kitchen sink, it was far too late for the cockroaches to scatter.
The most recent news? Quarterback Matt Leinart and receiver Dwayne Jarrett were living last season in a $3,866-per-month condo, but Jarrett was paying far less than 50 percent of the rent. Instead, both players ponied up $650 each, and Matt Leinart's father, Bob, picked up the difference.
The key here is that Bob Leinart apparently has taken a very active role in the representation of his son. Indeed, the stories of LaMar Griffin's effort to put together a sports marketing firm to handle the representation of his stepson Reggie Bush reminded us of all of the reports and rumors we've heard of Bob Leinart's central involvement in the activities surrounding Reggie's quarterback.
So if Bob Leinart has somehow become an "agent" as a result of his work in connection with Matt, the provision of any benefit to Jarrett could give rise to the same eligibility issues that are now hovering over Bush's Heisman.
The difference? Jarrett still has remaining eligibility, which means that the Trojans at some point might have to apply to get his eligibility reinstated.
Apart from the Bush and Jarrett eligibility questions, Trojans quarterback Mark "Dirty" Sanchez was arrested on charges of sexual assault, and nearly every USC prospect was picked lower in the draft than expected, with the exception of only guard Taitusi Latui.
Last year's presumed No. 1 pick, Matt Leinart, fell to No. 10. This year's wire-to-wire No. 1, Reggie Bush, went second. Winston Justice plunged out of the first round, as did LenDale White.
Regardless of what happens next -- and we're convinced that there's still a lot of bad stuff to come for the Trojans -- this past week has been about as bad as it can get.
And, in the end, we're certain that one thing coach Pete Carroll and Matt Leinart will have in common going forward is that they didn't make the leap to the NFL at a time when their stock was at its peak. Even though Carroll hasn't lost any more games on the field since the Rose Bowl, his image has taken an enormous hit, and there's no way he'll have the same amount of juice in the next NFL head coach hiring cycle.
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