Jim Tressel

Rumor: Jim Tressel Out at Ohio State

Let me be clear by saying that at this point, this is an unsubstantiated rumor. But it is a rumor, that if true, would be such a substantial occurrence, that I thought it important to mention. Rumors began circulating today that long-time Head Coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes,  Jim Tressel may be coaching his last game at Ohio St. in the Sugar Bowl. As the rumor states, Ohio State recruits are being advised that Tressel will not be coaching beyond the Sugar Bowl and they've been given the option to attend other universities if they so choose.
The program was certainly shaken by the recent NCAA violations leading to Terrelle Pryor and 4 other prominent Buckeyes' suspensions for 5 games in 2011. This is certainly the largest instance of violations during Tressel's tenure, but it isn't near the scale of the violations and impending sanctions placed on USC that caused Pete Carroll to bolt for the NFL. For this reason, the rumor is categorized in the doubtful category as far as I'm concerned.
But there are a couple possibilities that could make this true. The first, as one rumor suggests, is that Tressel will step down but it's not at all his decision. Jim Tressel has absolutely owned the Big Ten since arriving at Ohio State and he's won a national championship in the last decade. Assuming the NCAA violations are limited to what we're already aware of, I couldn't imagine the University severing ties with "The Vest" over these violations and they certainly couldn't base it on performance. Despite some issues with Tressel's play calling, roster decisions, etc., he's still had incredible success and this year is no different.
Any program in the country would love to have a perennial ticket punched to a BCS Bowl game with a legitimate opportunity to win a National Championship. I honestly can't see this happening and I believe there is a better chance of him actually stepping down because he's just burned out as opposed to the University forcing him out. But I'll get to that in a bit.
So that brings me to the second possibility. One possible reason I could see causing Jim Tressel to step down either voluntarily or involuntarily would involve wide-spread and pervasive NCAA violations on scale with, or worse than what we saw recently with USC. If the NCAA is already sniffing around and Tressel and the University are aware of significant violations which could lead the NCAA to concluding that they lack "Institutional Control", then it would make perfect sense for Tressel to leave.
If something horrific like this were going on and he or the University sees the writing on the wall, then it would make sense for either side to part ways. I'm certainly not suggesting that this is what's going on and sure hope it isn't but one article I read today referenced Ohio State leading the nation in NCAA violations from 2000-2009. Obviously most have been minor and have gone unnoticed, but there would appear to be some issues going on in Columbus if this is accurate.
The only other reason I could plausibly see this actually happening goes back to the burn out theory. We recently saw a much younger coach with similar success, in a similarly prominent position walk away because the stress of the job was too much anymore. There have been whispers that the job has begun to wear on him and it's entirely possible that he's just had enough and needs to walk away for good, or for a couple years like we see so many coaches do.
If so, what better time to step away for a couple years than when your biggest recruit ever is suspended for half of next season and he's likely going to declare for the NFL Draft. The timing of this also makes it slightly plausible as Pryor's camp may have already decided that they will enter the draft and they notified Tressel of the decision.
I'll keep a close eye on the story (or non-story) as it develops and I'll update as soon as I hear more.