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Chip Kelly’s Show-Cause Makes Him a Harder Hire Than Others

Phil Sheridan writing for ESPN.com about potential interest by Texas in Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly:

Kelly is also limited to some degree by the “show cause” order placed on him by the NCAA for recruiting violations at Oregon. That 18-month penalty likely wouldn’t deter a college team from hiring Kelly.

While Kelly’s show-cause order is well down the list of reasons he is not headed back to college quiet yet, it may be more of a barrier than other recent show-cause orders. Kelly’s show-cause is the older style show-cause order which requires a school that hires Kelly to appear before the Committee on Infractions and “show cause” why it should not be sanctioned like Oregon was. This likely means coming up with self-imposed restrictions on Kelly and hoping the COI accepts them without penalizing the institution.

Compare that to Bruce Pearl’s show-cause order, which includes specific restrictions and penalties, namely that he is prohibited from any and all recruiting activities until August 23, 2014. While that penalty is a harsh one, especially in basketball, an institution that might consider hiring Pearl knows what the penalty will be. It simply has to decide if it can manage that penalty. And interaction with the COI can be limited to agreeing with the penalty and filing reports about Pearl’s compliance with the restrictions.

So while Kelly’s show-cause is shorter and unlikely to include as drastic a penalty as the one imposed on Pearl, in some ways it is more difficult to hire Kelly. It is the uncertainty rather than any specific penalty which makes him a tougher sell.


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