Trouble seems to follow USC head coach Lane Kiffin wherever he goes. According to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports, former Kiffin staff member Willie Mack Garza wired $1,500 to talent scout Will Lyles for an unofficial Tennessee visit by five-star prospect Lache Seastrunk. The event, which happened back in 2009, occurred during Kiffin's tenure as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers and Garza's tenure as secondary coach.
Garza joined Kiffin at USC last year but stepped down earlier this month due to "some personal issues unrelated to USC that I need to address." That announcement, coincidentally enough, came just two days after Lyles talked to NCAA investigators about the incident.
This is bad news for a USC program that is trying to wash itself clean of infractions. Of course, nothing that comes from the NCAA's investigation of Garza's actions will affect USC directly, but the results of the investigation will likely linger in the minds of the media and recruits. These people won't associate the investigation with Tennessee all too much, either: they will associate it with the man who was head coach during the time of the infraction, Kiffin.
The Trojans need to move forward as their two-year postseason ban draws to a close. They do not need any more restrictions to be placed on them, and the school would do well to ensure that Kiffin and his staff stay in line.