I think both can be true. We are in a down cycle. If you look at schools similar to MSU- Arkansas, Ole Miss, Kentucky, South Carolina, Mizzou, etc. they have all had years like we are going to have this year recently- meaning 2013 to now. All schools including MSU have also had 10 plus win seasons in that span as well.

That said, the root cause of our issues is poor management and massive coaching turnover. Other schools have other reasons- Ole Miss and probation around 2016 or so.

They're probably floating that narrative because a lot of people think Kiffin is going to leave and even if he doesn't they have a massive amount of seniors on their team which is going to result in a massive portal rebuild in the offseason.