Rutgers head football coach Kyle Flood has been suspended for three games and fined $50,000 after a school-led investigation, according to Keith Sargeant of NJ.com.
Flood was suspended for rule violations, and recent off the field incidents involving players on the team have not helped his case. "This suspension is the result of the very detailed extensive investigation that we carried out over the past several weeks regarding the allegations that the football coach had an inappropriate contact with a faculty member who was the instructor of one of our football players, a contact that is in violation of the university policy," said university president Robert Barchi via NJ.com. "That is what it's about. That is what it is in response to."
The incident that led to Flood's suspension was an email he reportedly sent to a faculty member regarding player Nadir Barnwell, who's academic eligibility was in doubt. Barnwell was then involved in an incident that resulted in an assault charge and was suspended indefinitely from the team. Three other players involved in the assault also received suspensions.
Flood's program has been under scrutiny since the beginning of the season, and having six players kicked off the team for either assault chargers or home invasion charges does not reflect well on the university.
The Scarlet Knights have a huge Big 10 test this weekend against Penn State. The decision came down three days before their first conference game. Rutgers is coming off a tough loss to Washington State 37-34. Flood's record is 24-17 since taking over the program in 2012. The Scarlet Knights will also be without their head coach against Kansas and Michigan State. Rutgers would be lucky to get a win in one of those three games with their head coach, but without him — and unnecessary distractions — it is likely the Scarlet Knights will go winless.
Flood signed a two-year contract extension through 2018. He's made a bowl game all three seasons as head coach, but has only won one of them. It will be interesting to see where the university goes at the end of this season, but that likely will depend on how the team performs.
