College Football: First USC, Now the SEC, So What or Who Is the Common Link?

Everyone is thinking it, but some reason no one is going public with it: Would it not surprise anyone if Lane Kiffin was behind the NCAA witch hunt of the SEC?

Think about it.  Upon his arrival as head coach of Tennessee in 2009, he stirred the pot and violated more than one of the NCAA's secondary rules.  The most infamous was calling out Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer as a cheater for calling a recruit while the recruit was visiting Knoxville.  Kiffin later was reprimanded and apologized.

After a mediocre first season with Tennessee, he abruptly resigned to take his "dream job" at USC after Pete Carroll resigned to take the head coaching position for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.

Shortly after taking the USC gig, the NCAA dropped the hammer on the Trojans, and Kiffin's so-called "dream job" quickly became a borderline nightmare.  Laughter from the SEC could be heard clearly all the way in Los Angeles.

Then the defections began, notably Seantrel Henderson, USC's prized 2010 recruit, as he told Kiffin "see-ya!" and bolted to the U.

So if you are Lane Kiffin, and your dream job has taken a serious downturn, what do you do?  Do you feel it's time for some "retribution"?

If you look at Lane Kiffin's past shenanigans, it is not farfetched to believe that he would work in the background to stir the pot and get the NCAA delving into the big schools of the SEC.

First, there is South Carolina, then Florida, then Alabama, and now Georgia.  Is there any coincidence that three of the four schools are from the SEC Eastern Division, and the fourth the defending National Champion—the team his Vols almost defeated before a blocked field goal wrecked those chances?

OK, this is obviously a conspiracy theory, and I have absolutely no evidence showing Coach Lane Kiffin guilty of these allegations.  That being said, doesn't conventional wisdom dictate that it makes sense to believe Kiffin could possibly be responsible for what is going on with these investigations?

Georgia is currently on a gag order; former Florida Gator Maurkice Pouncey has categorically denied the charges that he took $100K from an agent, and he and his family have fully cooperated with the NCAA and provided bank statements and other documents to show he didn't receive any money; and South Carolina and Alabama are still under investigation.  Only time will tell what comes out on all of these investigations.

Who knows, maybe Lane Kiffin has nothing to do with it.  Regardless, he must be sitting in Los Angeles laughing now at the SEC.  The question remains: will he get the last laugh?