NCAA Tournament Pac 10

It's been a year since the allegations broke of former USC basketball star O.J. Mayo getting a little something on the side from runners for an agent. And it has been over three years since the allegations against former USC football star Reggie Bush regarding some incompetent wannabe marketing agents fronting a lot of money and a house to Bush and his family.

Neither investigation has gone anywhere with respect to USC. Yet both are still open investigations by the NCAA. So for whatever reason, the NCAA is combining the investigations into one single investigation into USC's athletic department.

A day ago, folks in Tucson thought yet another coach had turned down the offer to be the next head coach of the Arizona Wildcats.

A day changes a lot of minds. Xavier coach Sean Miller originally declined the offer from Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood, but asked for a day to sleep on the decision. After waking up, Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Miller took the job, letting Xavier officials know on Monday he would not be returning.

Now, this is just getting silly. Both Jeff Goodman at FOX Sports and Gary Parrish at CBS Sports are reporting that Xavier head coach Sean Miller has turned down an offer to be the Arizona head coach.

Miller, apparently took a charter flight to New Mexico on Sunday morning to meet with Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood along with the Arizona president and a booster about the job. The offer was rumored to be as much as $15 million over seven years. He then flew back to Cincinnati that same day.

Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel has been with the school for three years. For the third straight year, Capel will get a raise and extension after another successful season and plenty of interest from other programs -- again. Looks like Arizona fans can cross one more name off the list.

Capel disclosed that he has agreed to another raise and extension while in Detroit for the Final Four. He did not give any details on the money or length. The only reason why he decided to make it known was to stop the reports that he had considered the Virginia job, then Georgia and finally that he had been in negotiations with Arizona. This despite no program actually contacting Oklahoma for permission to speak with Capel.

In what can only be described as a coaching search that is rivaling on a drunken, drug-induced trip while wearing roller skates and a blindfold, the University of Arizona has not found its next head coach at Southern California.

Multiple news sources, including ESPN, who first reported Tim Floyd on his way to Tucson, is now saying that USC plans to hold a press conference sometime Thursday afternoon to announce its head coach will stay put, putting the Wildcats' insane coaching spree back to full speed.

Third Update: ESPN is reporting that USC coach Tim Floyd will be Arizona's next coach. ESPN's radio affiliate in Phoenix reports that the Trojan coach and Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood are finalizing a deal and an announcement is expected Thursday. Floyd coached USC for four seasons, including three NCAA tournaments and proved to be a highly effective recruiter. The Tuscon Citizen is reporting that Floyd flew in to discuss the job, but citing an unnamed source, says it is unclear if the coach was offered the job or even visited the campus. The paper reports that no press conference is yet scheduled for Thursday.

Everyone knew Russ Pennell had no chance to stay in Tucson as the head coach once Louisville finished off the Wildcats. It was an incredible run to the Sweet 16, seeing as though nobody even wanted the name "Arizona" in the tournament to begin with.

As the buzzer sounded on that 39-point rout, the coaching search became official. The Wildcats needed a high-profile coach to fill the shoes, and the legacy, of Lute Olson. That was easy in theory, but couldn't have gone worse thus far in the recruiting game.

Everyone keeps tuned to sports sites and ESPNews for the latest plumes of smoke from Memphis and/or Lexington regarding John Calipari and whether he stays at Memphis or goes to Kentucky. The flip side is that the move has paralyzed nearly every other coaching search as programs and coaches in-demand wait to see what happens.

Oh, sure some little things have happened. Viginia Commonwealth has apparently hired Shaka Smart to be their next head coach. As with the last hire of VCU's former coach, Shaka Smart is a Florida assistant.

Everything else, though, appears to be on hold, if only for a moment.

Washington State fans lived in fear when coach Tony Bennett was mentioned in connection with recent openings at Indiana and Louisiana State. But Cougars fans had to feel pretty good when Bennett decided to stay in Pullman.

Imagine the gut punch when Bennett accepted a job to a mid-card ACC team. (Seriously, Virginia?)

Now the Washington State program sits at a crossroads where it can either build on the success of Bennett's teams, or the program can slip back into the Pac-10 abyss.

Have to admit that this was a move on the coaching carousel that was not expected. Tony Bennett turned down opportunities at Indiana and Marquette last year to stay in Pullman, Wash.

He did that, despite knowing he was heading for a rebuilding year at Washington State. A year later, after his Cougars steadily improved and he showed once more why he is considered a rising star in the coaching ranks, Bennett chose to move across the country to take the Virginia head coaching job.