I assume most of you are familiar with the details by this point, so I won't bother you with the particulars. Yes, Lane Kiffin was cited Wednesday for infractions while the head coach at the University of Tennessee. The allegations imply he failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance and failed to monitor his assistant coaches. And again, this stuff happened all while Kiffin was in Knoxville, not Los Angeles.
So as of right now, the most commonly asked question regarding this mess is whether USC fans should care. Is this going to adversely affect the Trojan football program? In short, yes. It potentially can. If the Committee on Infractions finds Kiffin to have committed such violations, it can impose restrictions on him, namely in regards to recruiting hours.
When Colorado was put on two years probation after then-coach Rick Neuheisel left for Washington, CU, along with Neuheisel, was punished by the NCAA. Granted, Washington wasn't given a bowl ban or scholarship restrictions, but Neuheisel was banned from off-campus recruiting for an entire.
A similar charge could stick with Kiffin. In reality, who knows what will happen. But it's important to note that the COI's reach does extend to Los Angeles. This isn't solely a Tennessee issue. Kiffin, himself, has been cited, and as a result, there could potentially be a carryover effect.
We've seen this before A.) coaches being punished for previous tenures. B.) The COI exercising questionable judgement.
I'd like to think that Kiffin could be treated fairly by the COI, the University of Tennessee and all those involved, but that might be too much to ask.
Considering everything that has transpired in recent, can you trust UT to be honest when they report that their football operations department informed Kiffin, not to bring Steve Rubio on a recruiting trip to Fort Lauderdale, Fla.? In what is largely a he said/she said game at this point, it's nearly impossible to take UT at their word.
If the Volunteers' athletic department is facing roughly 11 major infractions, are we really supposed to believe that the two football infractions are solely because of Kiffin.
Seems like somebody has an ax to grind and they're grinding it.