So... I'm trying to understand this...

Auburn pays out 16 million and then another 16 million over the next 4 years to Gus to get him to leave. Probably more than that including the staff. Then pretty much the same family of people (Minus Jay Jacobs) gets to pick someone else and sign them to probably an equally lucrative contract for several years. Is that right?

What if this next guy turns out to be a 7-5 or 8-4 per year guy too?

I think the problem for Auburn, and almost every established, aspiring college football program in the nation for that matter, is the benchmark that Nick Saban has set. That benchmark for a program is playing for the National Championship every year. That benchmark for aspiring coaches is 10 million a year. Every established school thinks they should be on the same level as Alabama and is looking for a Nick Saban type coach to get them there, and every coach (And their agent) who thinks they're as good as Nick Saban is thinking that they deserve Nick Saban money.

People need to grasp reality and understand that Alabama has caught lightening in a bottle with the combination of the tradition, name recognition and resources of a college like Alabama, a college leadership group and boosters and alumni that were willing to turn the reins of a multi-million dollar program basically over to one man and one man with the football knowledge, recruiting, talent evaluation, vision and incredible work ethic of a guy like Nick Saban.

The rest of college football needs to understand that this kind of thing only happens to a major college football program once in a lifetime. Well... Actually for Alabama it has happened twice in my lifetime with Paul Bryant and Nick Saban but that's beside the point. Auburn has had Shug Jordan and Pat Dye and quite frankly that about the best it's ever going to get at Auburn and the Auburn family needs to face those facts and quit throwing money up a wild hogs ass. Auburn needs to be Auburn and realize that they are never going to be Alabama. Sure beat Alabama every few years, roll Toomer's Corner, play for the SEC Championship and or maybe the National Championship once and a while and be happy with that.