not just adding a year to the extension, which is industry standard, but also allowing the buyout to be increased. There is no way Gus and Sexton had any leverage in that discussion. You've gone from year one amazing success to year 2 disappointment that could mostly be blamed on the DC you then fired to a total collapse in 2015. You have no leverage at all. Everyone knows one more season at 6-6 would signal Gus is just out of his league and that 2013 was a flash in the pan. This is not the "Gus Hater" point of view, but the view of anyone who is outside looking at this objectively. 2013 would be a complete outlier at that point afnd the 4 to 6 loss teams would be the norm. You can spin it with injuries and stuff, but 3 out of 4 years would then be below expectations and what AU is paying for and that won't do. Period. They had no leverage at all. What were they going to do, threaten to leave? You tell them they get the extra year, but no increased buyout and that you are only giving them the year to help them recruit and save Gus's job, which you really hope he can do. Giving him more buyout isn't helping him recruit, it's giving him a bigger parachute when he gets canned. That's not "industry standard", that's coach welfare because he's your buddy or because you suck at negotiating. Guys who are in the middle of a 3 year regression don't get buyouts added to normally. That doesn't happen everywhere. Simply not true.
Now I hope Gus gets it on track. I hope 2014 really was Ellis Johnson just being terrible, which is not all that hard to believe looking back at it. I hope 2015 really was just a QB melting down and ruining the plan and a staff that didn't mesh well enough to rebound from it. I'd love to see us improve dramatically and then this buyout look smart. But that's playing the result and not the process or thinking behind the move we just made. There is no logic that backs up what Jay Jacobs just did that isn't either Jay trying to prop himself (he shouldn't be able to fire another football coach) up or Jay literally just stealing money for his buddy Gus.
At this point, part of me views Jacobs as the guy that is sitting in his kush gig lashing out in his own way at the people that criticize him. This is how way of taking a dump on those of us that doubt his leadership. There is zero doubt that he knew how this would go over in segments of the AU fanbase and I tend to think Jay almost likes that now. He views himself and nearly untouchable after surviving things no AD should survive and now finds joy rubbing some of this stuff in the face of his "haters". He essentially just stole $2 million from the booster/school IMO, because the smart bet is Gus doesn't have a good year and the pressure to fire him becomes unsustainable. He knows this is a real possibility and decided he didn't care. What #@#%ing moron.
Now I hope Gus gets it on track. I hope 2014 really was Ellis Johnson just being terrible, which is not all that hard to believe looking back at it. I hope 2015 really was just a QB melting down and ruining the plan and a staff that didn't mesh well enough to rebound from it. I'd love to see us improve dramatically and then this buyout look smart. But that's playing the result and not the process or thinking behind the move we just made. There is no logic that backs up what Jay Jacobs just did that isn't either Jay trying to prop himself (he shouldn't be able to fire another football coach) up or Jay literally just stealing money for his buddy Gus.
At this point, part of me views Jacobs as the guy that is sitting in his kush gig lashing out in his own way at the people that criticize him. This is how way of taking a dump on those of us that doubt his leadership. There is zero doubt that he knew how this would go over in segments of the AU fanbase and I tend to think Jay almost likes that now. He views himself and nearly untouchable after surviving things no AD should survive and now finds joy rubbing some of this stuff in the face of his "haters". He essentially just stole $2 million from the booster/school IMO, because the smart bet is Gus doesn't have a good year and the pressure to fire him becomes unsustainable. He knows this is a real possibility and decided he didn't care. What #@#%ing moron.
