Will Texas A&M make a run at Dan Campbell?
Why bite kneecaps when you can pick the pockets of big-money boosters?
With Texas A&M happily paying former head football coach Jimbo Fisher more than $76 million to not coach the team, the school surely has a plan in place for replacing him.
In Colorado, there's already concern that Texas A&M will make a run at Deion Sanders. That's not practical, however, given that Deion's son, Shedeur would not be able to transfer to A&M and play right away.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning's name also has emerged. And he already has trotted out the time-honored "I’m not going to be the Alabama coach" talking point.
How about a former Texas A&M player who is currently making a name for himself in the NFL? Lions coach Dan Campbell. Charismatic and successful, Campbell has transformed a team that had been stuck in a 60-year rut. Imagine what he could do for his alma mater.
Imagine how much they'd offer him to try.
The buyout for Jimbo doesn't deplete the budget. It illustrates the depths of the pockets from which the money comes. And if they want to bring Campbell home, they'll make him an offer he can't refuse.
Yes, they need a coach sooner than later. No, he wouldn't pull a Bobby Petrino and walk away. But if any current NFL head coach can make a plausible case for accepting the job pending the conclusion of the current season, it's Campbell.
He'd be going home to Texas. Where he grew up. Where he played college football. Where he could make a lot more money than he's currently making.
Of course, there's one way for the Lions to prevent that from happening. They can pay Campbell the kind of money A&M would offer.
Why shouldn't they? He's earned it. He has made a team that was irrelevant for decades a potential powerhouse. Everyone loves the guy. He's great for the Lions. He's great for the NFL.
He'd be great for Texas A&M.
And he could end up getting the kind of bump he deserves based on 2.5 seasons with the Lions.
If, in the end, it doesn't work out in College Station, he might walk away with $76 million of his own.
