If you're Oregon football coach Chip Kelly, you might begin to feel a tad bit afraid about your job security this morning. Perhaps very afraid.
The cheaters' dominoes that began falling in March with Tennessee's belated firing of basketball coach Bruce Pearl have picked up considerable steam this summer.
First, Ohio State Jim Tressel was shown the door on Memorial Day over his considerable NCAA troubles. Pearl's former boss at UT - athletic director Mike Hamilton - resigned shortly after that. Then came Wednesday's news that North Carolina would no longer stand behind embattled football coach Butch Davis.
Finally, on Thursday, UNC announced that Dick Baddour would be retiring as the Tar Heels' athletic director after 14 years. Exactly like Hamilton, Baddour will help the Baby Blues through their NCAA Committee on Infractions meeting about a multitude of misdeeds committed on Davis's watch.
All of which brings us to Kelly, who is drawing much unwelcome attention these days for his business dealings with one Will Lyles, a recruiting service owner rumored to have steered a key recruit the Ducks' way in exchange for financial gain.
It's critical to note that nothing has been proven yet and that Kelly told ESPN on Thursday afternoon that he has a "clear conscience."
And perhaps he should. Rumors, accusations and innuendo are never the same as facts. Lyles may or may not be telling the truth. The only certain truth to this point is that the Oregon program is being forced to spend a whole lot of its Nike money to prove Lyles wrong.
But the disturbing downfalls of Pearl, Tressel and Davis - and to a slightly lesser extent, Hamilton - are undeniable proof that the landscape of college athletics is dramatically changing.
Or as University of Tennessee at Chattanooga chancellor Roger Brown noted Thursday in an email, "College presidents are worried obsessively about their endowments melting away and their state appropriations declining. Therefore, an athletics scandal is the last thing they need. So if they think they can become more hands-on with ADs and coaches and avoid bad publicity, they will do so."
In other words, the decades of the tail wagging the dog on far too many major college campuses may be over.
At the very least, Dr. Brown observed, "I imagine university attorneys all over the country are writing new contract language as we speak. New contracts most certainly will include performance clauses that spell out financial penalties for NCAA infractions. Also, the fact that coaches' infractions will follow them to their next institution should be a powerful deterrent to any coach who considers cutting corners with the rules."
It all sounds simple. And right. And long overdue.
But even as this sea change unfolds, UTC athletic director Rick Hart justifiably notes a need for caution.
"Concern about the integrity of the rules should swing both ways," he said. "How do you strike a proper balance between eliminating the behavior that needs to be eliminated while protecting the people who make innocent minor mistakes? There has to be a delineation between the two, and that's complex."
Indeed, one need look only as far back as last season's BCS title game to understand the problems facing the NCAA, coaches, college administrators and fans alike.
Auburn beat Oregon on the field that night, the Tigers memorably capping a controversial season mired by recruiting rumors concerning Heisman-winning quarterback Cam Newton. The Ducks eventually followed Auburn's storyline, thanks to Lyles.
But both Auburn coach Gene "I sleep well at night" Chizik and "Clear Conscience" Kelly have steadfastly denied any wrongdoing. And they may well be telling the truth. They may also have known of nothing wrong. There may be nothing wrong to know about.
Yet suppose the NCAA eventually finds something that could have reasonably remained undetected by either Chizik or Kelly. What then? How far should the NCAA's penalties reach? Who should be spared? Who should be snared?
In the University of Oregon media guide, UO president Richard Lariviere's job description for athletic director Rob Mullens (hired in 2010) is the following: "Much will be expected of [Mullens]. ... Rob has been asked to develop a clear vision to maintain and advance UO's competitive advantages in fundraising, facilities development and the recruitment and retention of student-athletes and staff."
Nowhere in the bio does it say anything about Mullens overseeing a program that strongly adheres to NCAA rules.
Regardless of what ultimately happens with Kelly's Ducks, expect that omission to change in bios the nation over.
Because as the good folks at Tennessee, Ohio State and North Carolina can painfully attest, an athletic scandal is the last thing any university needs.