In my mind no college coach, with the possible exception of Sabin, is worth a $100 million contract, especially if your alumni and fanbase expect a natty every third year or so and an annual appearance in the FBS playoffs. The next buyout on this level will be Brian Kelly.
The reality is that if you do the math at some point a contract with almost any head coach has a negative net present value given the likelihood of down years due to injuries, loss of key assistant coaches, etc.
I genuinely hope CTE can hold onto his best players, pick up some underrated transfers in the portal, and make a bowl next season. But if that doesn’t happen and things appear to be heading south, at least the buyout is within the realm of rationality. Despite the criticism Carla gets, I give her credit for that.
It’s definitely renegotiation/extension season now with that job being open. Guys like Lanning, Elko, DeBoer should be sending Jimbo thank you cards for getting fired.
S-E-C! S-E-C! (I’m sure there are plenty end of season games where this is the case, but leave it to the SEC to innovate right in the middle of the season.)
I’ll never really understand firing a guy this close to the end of the season barring any sort of material malfeasance. What does it accomplish that handling everything behind the scenes (buyout negotiation, vetting of coaching candidates) for another two weeks doesn’t?
At least if you do it early in the season, you can maybe make an argument you’re hopeful of salvaging better results later in the year. But now, with the season’s mediocre results already set in stone, it’s just for attention.
That said, Tech did beat us with their 1-game interim coach a couple years ago. Maybe there is some benefit.
On the cynical side, if Miss. St can fire Arnett 11 games into his career after taking over during an absolute tragedy (Mike Leach) then there’s more than enough latitude for UVa to fire CTE (not that I’m advocating for that).
I wonder if this is where Chadwell makes the jump, or if he waits a couple more years for a better job to open up. For some reason in my mind I just see Chadwell at Ole Miss after Kiffin leaves for a powerhouse, but who knows he’s making great money already at Liberty with a far less challenging schedule.
Also wonder if Mississippi State even considers bringing back Dan Mullen.
Not in season, but didn’t Ole Miss and MSU fire their coaches after their game a few years ago? I think it was after the dog peeing game maybe. Then they hired Kiffin and Leach.
Chadwell is an interesting name to toss out there. Have to imagine Liberty feels a bit up against it to keep him a little longer for fear of the appearance of becoming a total stepping stone job and creating a revolving door.
I imagine Mullen is going to get a few looks/offers this off season.
Maybe it’s just me but the Miss St. job feels like a no win situation. Even on their best of days they are still the 3rd team in the state behind Ol Miss and Bama. And unlike true SEC bottom dwellers there’s a lot of attention and spotlight on the program and the need for success. If I’m a coach looking to make a jump the Arkansas may be more appealing if it opens up.
Dabo would be an interesting name. He seems to have hit a wall at Clem and with the ACC fading fast from relevance and Clem stuck there … I can see a jump for big money.
Hoke is someone that has earned my respect in recent years. After the train wreck that was his time at Michigan it would have been easy to disappear or pack it in but his run at San Diego State has been respectable. He’s earned his retirement.
Wanna hear something crazy. Not sure where to put it so im just gonna put it right here.
Only 2 receivers have had more 100+ receiving yard games in UVA history than Malik Washington. And Washington has done it in only 10 career games at UVA.