USF has to kill head coaching deal w/Masiello after issues in background check

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South Florida officials were forced to "kill the deal" with Manhattan coach Steve Masiello late Tuesday after finding a "previously undetected discrepancy in his background check," according to a report from The Tampa Tribune.

The background-check discrepancy was discovered by Eastman & Beaudine.

That's a Texas-based search firm that USF paid $60,000 to help find a new coach.

As CBSSports.com first reported, Masiello agreed to a five-year deal worth more than $1 million per year to replace Stan Heath early Tuesday. Hours later, that report was confirmed by ESPN.com, and The Tampa Tribune later reported that Masiello actually "signed" the deal.

Louisville AD Tom Jurich was even quoted with a glowing review of Masiello's hire.

Masiello worked for Jurich while an assistant under Rick Pitino.

"Stevie can do whatever he wants to," Jurich told The Tampa Tribune in a phone conversation on Tuesday afternoon. "He's just terrific. He's a rising star in this business."

Then, late Tuesday, Masiello's background check became an issue.

Why wasn't the background check completed before Masiello received and accepted an offer? That's a question USF officials will need to answer Wednedsay. Meantime, the school is back to searching for Heath's replacement, and whether Masiello will be in a position to return to Manhattan under these circumstances remains unclear.

Masiello last week finished his third season at Manhattan.

He led the Jaspers to their first NCAA Tournament since 2004.

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