If I was a G5, or a lower P5 program, I’d hire him in a heartbeat. He is an amazing recruiter, an amazing offense guy. If I were Kiffin, I’d go and Urban Meyer the system. Find a mid-major who is in a good place to win. Go win 10+ games there for a year or two, then go find your Utah (another high profile G5 you can win quickly at) then move on up.
Sounds like he tried to do that with Houston, but the buyout was too large.
If I was Houston, I would have hired him. Put in a huge buyout for two years, then a small one after that. Win 20+ more games with Kiffin, and just realize that is what your school is. Always keep your ears to the ground for the next guy to come in and do big things and use you to move up and you use them to stay relevant.
Also, Rhule hiring a Texas high school coach was brilliant. I posted somewhere (not sure if here or on UFN) that Rhule’s biggest hurdle would be Briles’ connections. He was a high school football coach who knew everybody, so he was able to find all the diamonds in the rough in the 1,000+ high schools in Texas. Sounds like Rhule realized the importance of this and went and hired his own inside man.
Also, if I was Whitt, I’d keep my eyes on lesser known kids offered by Baylor. Go see if you can swoop in and steal a couple of those gems every year. Get more speed on the edges of the field. Forget Florida. Focus on Utah, Texas and California.
Arizona @ 
Utah 
.
