UPDATED...Tim Floyd Resigns as USC's Basketball Coach
by Paragon SC on Jun 9, 2009 6:17 PM PDT
in USC Basketball
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PrintFloyd submitted a one paragraph letter of resignation to USC athletic director Mike Garrett, which read:
"As of 1 p.m. today, I am resigning as head basketball coach at the University of Souithern California. I deeply appreciate the opportunity afforded me by the university, as well as the chance to know and work with some of the finest young men in college athletics. Unfortunately, I know 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 Southern Cal. I always promised my self 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. I intend to contact my coaching staff and my players in coming days and weeks to tell them how much each of them means to me. I wish the best to USC and to my successor."
Well that is that...
I will have more later
UPDATE I:
Here is the official announcement from USC.
The University of Southern California today announced that its men's basketball coach, Tim Floyd, has resigned.
In his letter of resignation, which was published by the Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Mississippi, Mr. Floyd stated, “As of 1:00 p.m. today, I am resigning as head basketball coach at the University of Southern California. I deeply appreciate the opportunity afforded me by the university, as well as the chance to know and work with some of the finest young men in college athletics. 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. I intend to contact my coaching staff and my players in coming days and weeks to tell them how much each of them means to me. I wish the best to USC and to my successor.”
USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett accepted Mr. Floyd’s resignation and said that he will quickly begin the search for a new head basketball coach. Mr. Garrett stated: “I accept Tim’s decision and wish him well.”
Todd Dickey, Senior Vice President - Administration said, “The University is cooperating fully in the continuing investigation with the NCAA and Pac-10 into all allegations of NCAA and Pac-10 rules violations at USC. The University, the NCAA and Pac-10 have jointly conducted interviews of approximately 50 witnesses. No conclusions have yet been reached.
“At this point,” he stated, “it would be both inappropriate and premature to comment further.”
UPDATE II:
And let the speculation begin as to who will replace Floyd as coach...
Pittsburgh Coach Jamie Dixon, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley and was a standout at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, would be the first choice of some USC basketball fans when the school begins its search to find a replacement for Tim Floyd, who reportedly resigned Tuesday.
Another logical candidate would be Oregon State Coach Craig Robinson. More possibilities: Former Sacramento Kings Coach Reggie Theus, St. Mary's Coach Randy Bennett and Virginia Tech Coach Seth Greenberg.
SC isn't getting Dixon...he isn't that crazy with all that is happening now. Robinson won't bolt for another Pac-10 school...that is not his way. The others won't be interested because of all the uncertainty. And I highly doubt Monty will leave Cal...so put that one away. We are are officially in basketball pergatory so buckle up because SC isn't getting anyone of substance as long as the NCAA is circling overhead.
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Wow. This is stunning news.
The program is in absolute disarray. I’m shocked.
I support Takimoto in his effort to support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.
It's too bad for USC that he didn't leave for Arizona or do this earlier
Had he, they would have had a much wider pool from which to find a replacement. Because many coaches will be unwilling to take a job this far into the offseason, the interesting thing now will be whether USC is set on getting Floyd’s replacement now or if they’re willing to hire an interim for a year and search through more candidates next offseason. Also, by next offseason there’s a chance that whatever, if any, sanctions the NCAA hands down will be issued by then so coaches would know what they’re getting into.
Not only is it this late in the offseason
But I don’t think any coach worth his lick is going to want to touch a program that has the potential of crashing down on him.
I support Takimoto in his effort to support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.
by The VD Special on Jun 9, 2009 4:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Well, Indiana did get Tom Crean after Kelvin Sampson left that program in ruins…but then, they’re Indiana…
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
Tom Crean and Indiana immediately came to mind, but then I thought exactly what you said, it’s Indiana. As soon as that probationary period is up, they will be right back.
I support Takimoto in his effort to support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.
by The VD Special on Jun 9, 2009 5:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes I do agree Rye maybe Cooper will take mens team!
It’s now a rebuilding program and if it isn’t COOP then they really need to look at a young coach.
Paul D. Kelley
by so.cal.native1952 on Jun 9, 2009 4:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Agreed
Time for a young, hungry, squeaky-clean guy. (That was not supposed to sound dirty.)
I’ll miss Floyd. He was good television.
________________________________
I will give my shirt for Tennessee today.
by Holly Anderson on Jun 9, 2009 4:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I highly doubt that Dixon would take the SC job
with possible NCAA sanctions hanging over their head. My guess is this hire will really be a test for Mike Garrett and will force him to go out and unearth a hidden gem of a young guy. It’ll be tough, but other people have done it before.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jun 9, 2009 4:34 PM PDT up reply actions
No way anyone of any proven rep takes this job.
They need to go out and find a Craig Robinson type. Problem is that Garrett’s not the one to do that.
Nope...this was the only way out
without any comments coming from the AD this was the only option. This at least shows the NCAA that we take the allegations seriously…I don’t think it will matter SC is going to get hit on this.
I'm sure Nestor and his feel good crew are wetting their pants
Only a matter of time before it shows up on BN. Also word around the campfire is Montgomery is looking this way?
I've heard that too
but I can’t imagine him taking the job without know what sanctions the program is handed by the NCAA. If the NCAA doles out their sanctions soon and Monty knows what he’s working with then it could happen. If Garrett could pull it off it’d be a great hire.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jun 9, 2009 4:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Are you guys talking about Mike Montgomery? That just seems totally crazy to me. He’s in his 60s, just started at Cal, has a team that may be the league preseason favorite, has no former ties to USC, and doesn’t seem like the kinda guy who wants to leap for a better job or more money anyway.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
The money could be one thing
and he does have ties to Southern California. I believe both of his children live down here, but one certainly does.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jun 9, 2009 7:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Actually, he has a son currently on staff at Cal, so there’s another reason not to leave. I know he’s a Long Beach alum, but basically, he has a bunch of reasons to stay, and virtually no reason to leave.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
Part of the reason he chose Cal was so he didn't have to leave the Bay Area
Why leave it now?
I support Takimoto in his effort to support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.
by The VD Special on Jun 10, 2009 2:09 PM PDT up reply actions
what a mess.
what Garrett needs to do (if he survives this mess) is find a a young coach willing to put a system in place and stick to it. I don’t think it’s healthy for USC as a program to rotate around one-and-dones in the way it has the past couple of years.
They’re not, really. It just seemed to me like Floyd hinged too much of his team on them rather than putting a system in place and finding players that would fit with that — whether in for one year or all four.
by Signal to Noise on Jun 9, 2009 4:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Think it might have been pressure to rise as fast as possible? Think Garrett might have been too aggressive into making USC into a 2-sport powerhouse? But like Rye states below, programs really need a supporting cast of 2-4year players if they wanna use a 1&done (kinda like KLove for UCLA) but then again, Mayo & DeRozan had a good supporting cast at USC too. I definitely don’t know the answer to this.
Can't argue with anything you said there
I would rather have a 1 and done as a compliment to a team, rather than a basis for one. When you have the options, and history that ucla has, you have a few more choices to look at than we do as far as players go.
When I first heard about the Floyd allegations, I told my friends that I would rather have a mediocre team that is clean, than a tournament team that cheats any day. Where we are now is so much worse for me.
Pressure was iternal as well.
Remember, Tim Floyd had failed spectacularly in the NBA. He left with 235 loses in about 320 games coached, he was run out of Chicago and his players openly quit on him in New Orleans. It is the NBA, understood, even class guys like Rudy T get treated like crap (his one year with the Lakers) . . .
But still, that had to take a toll on him. And after his NBA stint he wasn’t on anyone’s radar until Garrett (through Boyd) came calling after the Majerus fiasco.
With a new basketball center and an arrogant, clueless AD in Garrett, Floyd felt external pressure, but he must have also placed enormous internal pressure to prove that he wasn’t as bad a coach as his NBA record might indicate. With Floyd it always seemed to be “win now, whatever it takes” attitude.
BTW: Where is OJ Mayo? He goes to the NBA, in his wake he destroys a program (and doesn’t even win an NCAA tournament game), and he gets a pass on all this?
Eff that!
I can't blame Mayo.
I’m sorry. I refuse to blame the athletes in a system this bad. Coaches should know better, but they’re forced to win in a system they really didn’t create thanks to the NCAA’s insistence upon a notion of student-athlete purity that doesn’t exist for D-I football and basketball.
It’s a safe bet that all of OJ Mayo’s decisions regarding his associates and who repped him, AAU, etc. were made before the NBA dropped its stupid one-and-done rule and the NCAA went along with it, happy to exploit athletes who didn’t want to play collegiate ball, but had to for a year — and then he and Rodney Guillory started looking for takers.
Floyd was stupid enough to let his desire to win quickly overtake the warning signs about the possible trouble with the NCAA down the road. (Never mind that EVERYTHING about Mayo is coming out of the mouth of Louis Johnson, who’s got an ax to grind.)
by Signal to Noise on Jun 9, 2009 5:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Why not?
OJ Mayo should get a free pass, why? Because he is an athlete?
No, it’s not a good system, the NCAA exploits athletes, yada, yada, yada, but at a certain point OJ Mayo is a man who is responsible for his decisions and their consequences and he must take some responsibility for the actions of those with whom he allowed in as associates.
A reminder about whom we are talking about:
From the Lee Jenkins’ New York Times story, March 21, 2007:
LOS ANGELES, March 20 — It sounds like a fairy tale.
A stranger walked into the University of Southern California basketball office one day last summer and asked to speak to the head coach. The stranger did not make an appointment. He did not call ahead. Tim Floyd, the U.S.C. head coach, cannot explain why he agreed to see him.
Nine months later, as U.S.C. prepares for the regional semifinal of the N.C.A.A. tournament, Floyd recounted his version of that conversation.
The mysterious man got right to the point. "How would you like to have the best player in the country?" he asked.
Floyd tried not to roll his eyes.
"Have you heard of O. J. Mayo?" the man asked.
Of course Floyd had heard of him. Everyone in basketball had heard of him. Mayo was first mentioned in Sports Illustrated when he was in the seventh grade. He was considered a future lottery pick by the time he entered high school. He once talked trash to Michael Jordan during a pickup game at Jordan’s camp.
Mayo was entering his senior season as a point guard at Huntington High School in Huntington, W.Va., but Floyd said he did not bother to call him. He did not even send him a U.S.C. brochure.
What was the point? Major universities had been courting Mayo for four years. Floyd had been at U.S.C. for fewer than 18 months. Besides, Floyd had only recruited two top-100 players in his life. He had no business going after Mayo, the No. 1 player in the country, especially being from a football college that was 3,000 miles away.
"O. J. wanted me to come here today," the man told Floyd. "He wanted me to figure out who you are."
Floyd was desperate enough to play along. His starting point guard, Ryan Francis, had been murdered two months earlier. The backup, Gabe Pruitt, was in academic trouble. The third-stringer, a walk-on, was leaving college.
"Why aren’t you at Arizona or Connecticut?" Floyd recalled asking.
The man explained that Mayo wanted to market himself before going to the N.B.A., and that Los Angeles would give him the best possible platform.
"Then why aren’t you at U.C.L.A.?" Floyd asked.
The man shook his head. U.C.L.A. had already won 11 national championships. It had already produced many N.B.A. stars. Mayo wanted to be a pioneer for a new era.
"Let me call him," Floyd said.
The man shook his head again. "O. J. doesn’t give out his cell," he said. "He’ll call you."
Floyd remembers the meeting lasting 45 minutes. He learned that the man’s name was Ronald Guillory, and that he was an event promoter in Los Angeles who had befriended Mayo. Other than that, Floyd learned absolutely nothing.
Besides the fact that with 20/20 hindsight, Floyd’s charming yarn was indeed a complete fairy tale, (Ronald Guillory? Why, who is this mysterious man? LOL!) , what about "O. J. wanted me to come here today," or "O. J. doesn’t give out his cell . . . He’ll call you" makes you believe that O.J. Mayo should be held blameless? You even wrote:
and then he and Rodney Guillory started looking for takers.
This is a young man clearly in control. OJ Mayo deserves a good share of the blame.
still can't.
Not blaming O.J. Mayo for Floyd’s inability to control his own program. Guillory was a known, shady commodity when it came to USC basketball and that should have been enough of a red flag.
by Signal to Noise on Jun 10, 2009 9:19 AM PDT up reply actions
I think they're fine
so long as your program isn’t built upon them. If they’re just a part of the team with a solid core of guys who will be around 2, 3 or 4 years then you’re fine. If you bring in one each year as the focus of your program then there’s trouble. It’s why in USC’s recruiting class, before everyone started leaving, the guy I thought was biggest for the Trojans was Solomon Hill.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jun 9, 2009 4:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Not surprised on how this ended
The big question is when Garrett is going. I don’t think he is going to live through this one.
The situation was terribly handled all along.
Or at least, that’s how it seemed from an outsider’s view.
If it were my issue, I would just promote an assistant and try and ride out the year without being absolutely terrible. Then, when coaches will actually be willing to listen next offseason, go out and try to make a big splash. Better than trying to fix the situation longterm right now, with a much smaller pool of candidates, IMO.
2009/10 is history
USC will wait until the NCAA makes their move before SC goes and gets a new coach…they will promote from within on an interim basis.
MoMo’s gone
Williams is gone so its back to square one…thats fine it needed to be done.
Anyone heard from DFW?
Someone should check up on him.
I’m serious.
Well Desmo, your victory is complete
I gave you your due previously but I will repeat, dude you nailed it. Of course the writing was on the wall for a long time, but one could only hope. Garrett is on the hot seat now, but his status as a walking legend will serve him well at this time.
Most important: USC just enrolled its best freshman class ever; and El Presidente Sample had to drop the hammer right now or risk making some nervous freshmen get cold feet. With a USNWR top 20 ranking in sight, basketball is completely expendable.
Floyd’s departure will turn into a nightmare for the sucla vermin. You can bet El Presidente will hand pick the next guy.
It’s really really hard to move up from where UCLA, USC & Cal are in the rankings…
Also, http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/08/usc
Check it out… Rankings are BS anyways. Every school self-inflates…
True Dat!
Rankings are BS anyways. Every school self-inflates…
Here, here!
Agreed but...
The reality is that kids (and counselors) take the rankings at face value.
by Locoweed 1.1 on Jun 9, 2009 10:45 PM PDT up reply actions
No celebration
It is a sad day: for students, for former players, for booster and fans and alumni who do care about the integrity of the school in all phases, including it’s athletic programs.
Hope you don't get hit too hard
You may be able to avoid more than probation and a scholarship loss because he left. Hope for your sake and the Pac-10s that you don’t get a postseason ban…
Proud member of Duck nation!
Sorry to hear this
But it seems as if the NCAA is finally getting serious on recruiting violations (at least in BB). Floyd didn’t have a record of noncompliance though, unlike John Calipari. That’s what makes this a little surprising.
Proud member of Duck nation!
Dixon has definite interest in SC
but he won’t take the job with so much uncertainty. If SC hires an interim coach and the NCAA hands down their sanctions before next summer, Dixon could very well take the job then, knowing exactly the situation.
We'll see
but I have heard from a variety of people that Dixon has had one eye on the USC program and that while he wants to see how this situation plays out, it hasn’t scared him off.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jun 9, 2009 7:32 PM PDT up reply actions
late as usual
Both me and the AD, that is.
There’s nothing wrong with this “resignation.” Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that nothing untoward happened – it wouldn’t matter. With recruits backing out and the miasma of investigation and potential punishment hanging in the air around Heritage Hall, it was time for Floyd to fall on his sword.
But that said, Garrett was late off the dime on this one. I think I’ve been pretty consistent about being unimpressed with his ability to pick successful coaches absent an enormous dose of dumb luck. And from a management standpoint, the basketball allegations on top of the football allegations should have been the cue to swing a large axe in the basketball program.
Because what could have gone wrong, the program could have been set back a few years? That seems remarkably similar to what’s happened now, with the added benefit of potential sanctions.
It’s easy for me to be callous, but to use a Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom analogy for a second: basketball was a growing but still young wildebeest. As soon as the NCAA lion pack showed up, the football wildebeest should have hauled ass and left the baffled adolescent to get mauled. But instead, the wildebeest stampede committee circled the metaphorical wagons and now they’re all liable to end up as organic, shade grown Fancy Feast.
It’s been suggested here and elsewhere that President Samples is increasingly displeased. If that’s the case, then I hope he is taking more of an active hand in this matter now. The previous approach of leaving the jocks alone isn’t going to suffice, and some serious thinking is required… because if the position of basketball coach and the status of the basketball program is risky enough that a one-year caretaker might be the best bet, what does that say about the position of Athletic Director? Even if a face-saving exit for Garrett could be arranged, who would want the job? That’s how we ended up with AD Garrett in the first place.
Fun times ahead.
Exit Stage Left
Thanks for the memories, CTF. Your elegant handling of the Ryan Francis tragedy will never be forgotten by true Trojans. SC should sue Yahoo, Guillory, Johnson, and BDA Sports, and Sample should fire Garrett, and some compliance and legal staff.
But, the show must go on. And the star of the upcoming show will be 2010 recruit Gary Franklin, still an SC commit. Arizona went from bottom dweller to Pac 10 championship competitive with a new coach and a few short weeks. SC can be back quickly. The NCAA sanctions will be less severe because honorable Coach Floyd fell on his sword. Actually, I presume it was a negotiated buyout?
Anyway, names I have heard are Dixon, Kruger, Bennett, Few, Boylin, Westphal, Theus, and Greenberg. Dixon was extended to 2016 at over $1.3 million. My personal choice: Craig Robinson. Perfect fit for this time. And, he can save recruits. But, it is true that we may have to go interim for 1 year, which would damage recruiting even more.
That is correct
Your elegant handling of the Ryan Francis tragedy will never be forgotten by true Trojans.
I was way against USC hiring Floyd from the get go, but he sold me with how he dealt with Ryan Francis. i thought he was indeed the “new” Tim Floyd.
But then the old Tim Floyd returned. Jettisoning Kyle Austin and other players he deemed expendable (like he did at Iowa State), the “legal” but ethically challenged package deals, the Devon Jefferson saga, the hokey and not quite true stories regarding the Mayo recruitment, the “this is my last job . . . ooo, did the Arizona job open up?” snow jobs, losing controlo of the team whis year, losing control of the team before the 2008 tournament flop.
Honorable coach Floyd? Come on . . .
Tim Floyd is neither “honorable” nor “dishonorable.” He is a basketball coach, a lifer whose duty is to Tim Floyd and Tim Floyd’s family. Honor has nothing to do with it.
If Floyd is innocent of the allegations by Johnson
I would be happy if he was, but he sure isn’t behaving like an innocent man should in this case. If someone laid that allegation on me, and it wasn’t true, I would be shouting from the rooftops to anyone who would listen about it. Floyd shouldn’t have any gag order on him now. If he is innocent, I hope he makes a statement, and I hope he does sue Johnson.
I however think he is not free of guilt.
It doesn't matter at this point...
getting rid of Floyd was a necessary move to show the NCAA something.
Johnson said it so everyone believes it because there has been no rebuttal …it is now on him to address it
Floyd is free to respond now
I expect TF will present his side of the story in the next weeks, and within a year will be selling his book chronicling the debacle and taking the NCAA, NBA and AAU to task.
This has gotten way too big; with the other much nastier story unfolding at Memphis, the NCAA is going to have a very hard time keeping a lid on the dirty business of hoops recruiting. Will the government finally step in? Better buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
by Locoweed 1.1 on Jun 9, 2009 11:45 PM PDT up reply actions
LETS JUST FACE IT tf IS GONE
Time to move on TF is better off than 98% of the US when it comes to money, so I really don’t care what this person does.
Paul D. Kelley
by so.cal.native1952 on Jun 10, 2009 12:09 AM PDT reply actions
Bruin fan here,
my 10 cents for what its worth:
I think Seth Greenburg is your best realistic hire. he is a great coach, great with the media, I think pretty clean, would be happy at SC for a decade, and has SoCal ties.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Jun 10, 2009 11:19 AM PDT reply actions
I'm Shocked!!!
For all that I have seen you write about us over there I’m surprised that you waste your time coming here…I mean you do have utter contempt for us right?
You haven’t ventured over here before, are you sure you aren’t lost?
Anyway, we won’t get anyone of ANY significance until the NCAA is done doing to us what they did to Mel Gibson at the end of Braveheart. Who would take the chance…we are in basketball purgatory.
This can't be
Did someone hijack her account?
by Locoweed 1.1 on Jun 10, 2009 1:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Reggie Theus
would be up to the challenge.
by Locoweed 1.1 on Jun 10, 2009 2:28 PM PDT up reply actions
Way too early yet but Gillespie is intriguing
he knows how to build a hoops program at a football school.
Good one
IMHO it’s not worth it to fantasize about Dixon, Romar, Monty, etc. Get someone good right now to hold on to the few guys we have and start the rebuilding immediately. If they put in an interim coach it’s going to take 4-5 years to be competitive again. I have a vested interest, fool that I am I like going to the games.
by Locoweed 1.1 on Jun 10, 2009 3:32 PM PDT up reply actions
I know Lo Ro and his dream job was Washington and he told me that in 1985.
We were playing some pick-up games at Paramount City Gym and he said if one thing could happen it was to coach at washington.
Paul D. Kelley
by so.cal.native1952 on Jun 10, 2009 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions
We are a train wreck
so if we can get someone decent now we’ll be back sooner. No “dream coach” will take this job, even if the NCAA clears us.
by Locoweed 1.1 on Jun 10, 2009 4:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Foolsgoldbruin
The only reason you want Seth is that you are hoping it doesn’t become Dixon because you know Jamie is a better coach than Ben. Go back to work at Tommys and we all want extra chili on are burgers.
Paul D. Kelley
by so.cal.native1952 on Jun 10, 2009 3:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Gib Arnold?
With the NCAA cloud and the mid-year timing, I’m really thinking we might turn to our fantastic assistant coaches. Gib Arnold has a stellar resume and is ripe for a head coaching job.
Or, do you think the admin will want to clean the Floyd house? That might deepen the wound. From what I know, we have excellent assistants.
Tim's very private
In one of the link Paragon provided, I read that Floyd is intense private, very few people know what he was doing at any given time of the day.
However, the huge problem is the fact that Rodney Guillory was a regular presence around the program. It’s the unfortunate fact that gives credence to the Louis Johnson story. If the team had kept Guillory away from the Galen Center, Floyd would have a better leg to stand on.
But since RG had free reign of the program, any Floyd assistant is going to have to deal with “What did you know and when.” It would make coaching almost impossible.
That’s actually not a bad idea, though MG loves the “splashy hire.”
Hey lets go let the air out of MGs lexus's tires
Like a different person every day for a month, Yah thats the Ticket!
Paul D. Kelley
by so.cal.native1952 on Jun 10, 2009 5:06 PM PDT reply actions
Maybe our local bruins
could splash some blue and gold paint on it for good measure.
by Locoweed 1.1 on Jun 10, 2009 5:17 PM PDT up reply actions
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