First off, let's not get twisted, I'm no fan of the media, but in this day and age of sports, they are a reality. May as well be respectful of them and go Belichek on them if you're not up to speaking

Anyways, he's much more open with details with them here lately. Dude might really be invigorated, and sheds more light on the fact that the guy was just burnt out. I think, had he not gotten out now, he was headed for a Jackie type fate, and that most likely would have been 2020 when the trench guys ran out, specifically the offensive line.

Enter JoMo, with new energy, and he's already well underway correcting that issue

I think I'm just going to settle with saying Merlot was a good program builder, and kept our players out of trouble. His offense was overrated, but he was great with quarterbacks. He was totally at the mercy of his defensive coordinator, but at the same time always managed to have us ready to play. He clammed up in big games, but took care of business in most of the others. He flirted constantly, but he also stayed 9 years

Guess what I'm saying is that I don't hate the guy, he was who we needed at the time, but he's not our best ever. JoMo has a great chance to get us to the next level, thanks in large part to Merlot

But it really was time for him to go, best for all parties, in hindsight. I think we'll have a better 2018 due to this. We'd have went 10-2 with him next year, but now we have a shot to get higher (or lower)

Rambling thought over