Stirring The Pot: The NCAA Coaching Carousel

So in the event you have been living under a rock these past few days, Mike Leach, Texas Tech's head coach and one of the more popular coaches in NCAA football, was fired.

Personally, I feel Leach was railroaded, though I do not have the inside information and knowledge I feel is necessary to really speak on this issue. No, the issue I have in mind is, well, not really an issue at all...yet.

Likely, it will not even become an issue, but it is quite the crazy theory to wrap your mind around. It revolves around another program and their recent issues and a possible marriage between the two?

Well, it is no secret that USC is not exactly the patron saints of college athletics in the 21st century. Rumors of violations, not to mention actual confirmed ones, have plagued what has otherwise been a brilliant decade of athletics for Southern Cal.

The problems have already caused issues within the school's athletic department although, as a result Tim Floyd recently resigned as head basketball coach as a result of his role in the OJ Mayo recruitment violation.

It is also no secret that Pete Carroll has shown interest in a return to the NFL. Carroll spent 16 years as a coach in the NFL, including four as a head coach. While not noted for success at the pro level, his 33-31 record shows capability at the level.

Well, the recent Joe McKnight scandal has put USC's less-then-scrupulous athletic program under fire from the media again. This, coupled with an NCAA investigation of the school, could spell trouble in the near future.

All this being said, he's the "so crazy that it could happen" theory:

The NCAA, after a long investigation, hits USC football and basketball with a laundry list of sanctions. Pete Carroll, partly under pressure from the school, and partly on his own accord, leaves the program for an NFL vacancy.

After a few years of stumbling through lost scholarships and mediocre seasons, USC will go in search for a new front line head coach to rebuild the program. That coach, is none other than Mike Leach.

Call me crazy for even the idea, but I believe Mike Leach coaches a high profile team again in the future. USC is my shocker pick of the crop.