This is a guy who has been trying to dig for NCAA information at every turn without getting lots of clarification.
I posted the details in the Browns Head Coach search thread, but his wishy-washy nature has been lead by his general feel for how the NCAA investigation would conclude. Last year Oregon filed their investigation report to the NCAA, detailing inadmissable recruiting by having too many recruiters, but determined they didn't need any meaningful sanctions. That report was received by the NCAA, there was a lot of silence, and then a general feeling of confidence in Eugene that they were in the clear. That is what led Chip to staying at Oregon last year and leaving Tampa at the alter.
Fast forward to this year, there was very little talk of Chip to the NFL until.....the NCAA deemed Oregon's investigation and suggested sanctions unsatisfactory. Chip and Oregon are scheduled to appear in Indianapolis in front of the NCAA infractions committee in a few short months. As soon as the NCAA called for that meeting, the rumors started swirling around whether Chip would take an NFL job again. It's not coincidental.
My best guess....Oregon will get a multiple year bowl ban with significant recruiting penalties. Something must have washed out behind the scenes that has Chip ready to bolt to the league. And logically, if Ohio State gets a bowl ban and loss of 9 scholarships over 3 years due to players trading awards for tattoos, and a coach that lied about it, what will Oregon get for:
- Paying $25,000 to Willie Lyles
- Not having any recruiting materials for the years they paid him
- Trying to pass off a video from 2007 that included a dead kid as current material
- Hand-written notes to Willie from the Oregon staff thanking him for his work with Lache Seastrunk
It's going to be ugly. The NCAA wants to show it has teeth, and going easy on Oregon would undermine everything they are trying to establish.