Quote Originally Posted by Dawg61 View Post
I know it's not your intent but it's disrespectful when you say "wow...I thought it was a bit lower". That line of thinking is just another example of how other fanbases prefer to keep viewing MSU as if it's still 2005. Dan Mullen makes $4.8 mill a year in Starkville, Mississippi which is about $6.5 mill worth in Knoxville (cost of living and shit). MSU took Dan off the table for everyone else with that salary.

Nobody bats an eye at dropping $50 mill unless they are Bill Gates. $50 mill is $50 mill.

MSU has been a better football program than Tennessee for almost a decade straight now. It isn't 1996 anymore when Fat Phil was clearly cheating his ass off to recruit nationally for Tennessee. He didn't share his cheating ways with the new coaches and about 5 other football programs started in Florida since then so Tennessee can't pluck those players away anymore like they used to be able to do back in the 90's. The aren't nearly the same national brand they still hang onto being back with Peyton as their QB. If Tennessee doesn't spend stupid money to grab Gruden or Kelly (and I am not sold Kelly will work either) they aren't going to get much better than their current level. Sooner or later they're just gonna have to face the fact that they are in a subpar talent level state and 15-25 other programs within their recruiting area have all improved significantly since 1996. Knoxville ain't Nashville.
Exactly.