Out of the blue, Tim Floyd submitted a letter to the University of Southern California, saying that he no longer could “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.” But who really thinks that’s the reason that a coach just forfeits his job with three years left on his deal, especially when there are looming allegations of NCAA violations?

Tim Floyd suddenly resigned as basketball coach at Southern California on Tuesday following allegations that he gave $1,000 in cash to a man who helped steer former star player O.J. Mayo to the Trojans.

This issue hit national headlines last month when Louis Johnson spoke out about the $1,000 he received from Floyd to steer O.J. to USC. Plus, if the accusations of NCAA wrongdoing weren’t enough, Floyd’s top commit for the Class of ‘09 - Renardo Sidney - decided to leave the Trojans for Mississippi State. The only remaining Top 150 player headed to Southern Cal is Lamont “Mo Mo” Jones, a quality point guard from Oak Hill.

If Floyd had any desire to continue coaching, he’s got to feel as though he missed out on a golden ticket to get out of this situation by turning down the Arizona job a couple of months back. Before the Wildcats settled on Xavier’s Sean Miller, they approached him for the job. Had he taken that position, he could be letting all talk of NCAA wrongdoing brush off his shoulders a la John Calipari.

Source: ESPN