I'm wondering if the buyout is truly insurmountable. Those who say he gets one more year because of it's too high, that's $5 million that's keeping him here another year.
Things to also factor in would be the buyout to pull whatever coach we hire from their current program. And frankly, I hope they go with a guy that already has P5 experience. So a buyout would likely be involved.
Matt Campbell and Luke #2ndChoice both have $4 million buyouts.
Gus Malzahn has a staggering $7 million buyout.
Billy Napier sits at $3 million.
On the other hand, if we could pull off a miracle and convince Chris Petersen to come out of retirement, he'd be a free agent. No buyout attached.
Same with Bill O'Brien at Alabama. I looked at his contract and can't find a buyout for him as an OC. In comparison, Venables' contract at Clemson allows him to jump to a HC gig without a buyout. Only time you'd have to pay the school to poach him would be if you wanted him as a DC.
Those hires would nullify $3-$7 million required to make a change after this season. If Turd could get something locked up behind the scenes with a coach like that, he's suddenly footing a bill that people wanting to give Frost five years are essentially admitting they are ok with.