SMU was able to save time and money on an OC as well
Kind of a big selling point these days
one thing that still makes me shake my head is that back in 2022 I said Lashlee should have gotten a look at HC, and people then (and still say) to defend the Cristobal hire is "Oh, so then we should have hired a coach from a failed regime?"
No, if you have a brain then you evaluate who was responsible for failure and what wasnt. No different than a new HC looking at a previous regime's staff and keeping 1-2 coaches that he thought pulled their weight. You don't automatically say everything within the program was tainted goods.
Lashlee took an offense that was ranked in the 80s-90s and turned them into a top 26 offense in consecutive years with two different QBs. He was not the reason that regime failed. If I'm looking part of the UM hiring committee and looking for a new HC, I'd say, "Hey, this guy was pretty good. Of course, we'll get criticized for not going out and paying 9 million for a "Miami guy", but are we trying to please the fans or make a smart hire?" I thought all along we needed an xs and o's HC.
Let's look at what both UGA and Oregon did when hiring a new HC. We are talking two of the richest programs in cfb. Oregon hired an untested coordinator, Lanning, on a 6 yr deal worth 27 million (mid 4's per year). Had a 14 mil buyout that dropped each season he was at Oregon. That's roughly what Diaz was making. If Lanning flopped, he'd be cheap to replace around year 3. Back in 2015, UGA replaced Richt with another untested coordinator, Smart on a 6 yr deal at 3.7 million per year, around 500k less than what Richt was making. If he flopped, he'd be cheap to replace.
Why wouldn't these schools go out and try to hire away Dabo or some other big name coach? Because they decided to bet on scheme guys, give them resources, and if it didn't pan out, they could get bought out for a minimal amount. I felt Lashlee should have been given a similar deal 6 yrs, 4-4.5 mil per year, low buyout. Give him a chance. And if it didnt' pan out- I guarantee you that Cristobal was still going to be available 3 years later. I've always hated the idea of a "program builder", you don't have time in CFB anymore to build a program from the ground up. A coach gets a roster, he needs to figure out a way to get the most out of it immediately while he starts bringing in his own preferred players. This idea that you suffer through a handful of 5 and 6 win seasons because a HC is building a sustainable program after years 4 and 5 is ridiculous. Fan bases are not going to have the patience to wait that long.
