Brad Bohannon found a way.

In a business where college coaches who do termination-worthy wrongs get reprieve after reprieve, seemingly a bottomless supply of second chances as long as they deliver wins and championships, destroying one's coaching career to the point of no repair is pretty hard to do.

The former Alabama baseball coach, however, has done it. He's torched a half-million-dollar-a-year gig beyond recognition.

The gambling scandal that rocked the Crimson Tide's 33-16 team last week will blackball Bohannon's future in the sport more thoroughly than any NCAA sanction ever could. Alabama began proceedings Thursday to fire Bohannon with official language that matches the fired-for-cause section of his contract. Bohannon has been linked to bets against his own team by gambling regulators. Credible reporting places him on a phone call with the bettor as the wagers were being placed.

There is still no hard evidence of linkage between the bets and the decision to scratch Alabama's best starting pitcher, Luke Holman, shortly before the game in question, an 8-6 loss to LSU on April 28. But short of Holman himself confirming the severity of the back tightness that reportedly caused the scratch − players have not been made available to comment on the scandal − we're left to call this how it smells.