Conor O'Neill

Pete Carroll is headed back to the NFL. Adam Shefter reported it Saturday morning, and I've come to understand that anything reported by Shefter is going to be true. A five year contract for $35 million to not only be the coach but the president is a large investment for the sinking Seahawks.

But when it was reported that the Seahawks were interested in Carroll, I questioned why he would leave. He built the best college football program of the decade, churning out 10-win seasons, NFL talent and bowl victories. He lives in Southern California, where it's about 66 degrees today. I don't how life could've gotten better.

And then I was reminded of the NCAA violations the program faces. Even though the Reggie Bush case has become comedic because of how long it has taken, that doesn't mean nothing will come of it. Remember that the Mitchell Report took a year to be published, but how eye-opening that was.

There's also the issue of Joe McKnight's driving of his girlfriend's car. Did a booster help her purchase the car and place it in her name so that McKnight could drive it? The skies over the football program at USC have become clouded with questions.

And now that there are two ongoing investigations, that certainly means everything done by USC will be questioned further. Sounds like Carroll is running from humiliation of being labeled a cheater, and he's going to get one of the biggest head coaching contracts in NFL history.

Somehow that just doesn't seem fair. But is anybody surprised? Just a few months ago, we watched John Calipari jump ship at Memphis and narrowly avoid sanctions to go to Kentucky. Memphis' final four never happened. Just like the final four trip UMass made with Calipari at the helm, the NCAA told everybody to forget those ever happened (which is confusing in itself, was it final three's those years?).

Carroll is running from sanctions and embarrassment, and he's going to be even richer for it. That should not be allowed to happen. This shows what is wrong with college sports. It takes entirely too long for these investigations. Also, coaches sign contracts just like professional athletes. But the difference is, a coach can leave whenever he wants. Athletes have to suck it up or try to whine their way out of town (i.e. Brandon Marshall).

If something isn't done, what's to stop every coach from making every violation possible, while they know that if they build a program and leave before the sanctions nothing will happen to them? It is evident that college sports have a bigger problem than a basketball tournament expansion or the BCS system.