You pays your money and you makes your choice.

So,

Former Florida coach Jim McElwain gets another $1 million today from the Gators as part of a $7.5 million buyout. UF has $1.5 million in payments left. Total money paid to McElwain for his 3 years of service (22-12 record) will total $23.8 million. pic.twitter.com/TCgw3UWVQG

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 1, 2019

I don’t mean to offer that as the source of a Daily Gator post (although you’re free to take it that way), but instead, to ask this:  if paying players meant that athletic departments would be forced to exercise better judgment handing out coaching contracts so that stupid buyouts like this one were curtailed, would that be such a bad trade off?

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UPDATE:  Oh, and this guy.

Kansas Athletic Director Jeff Long on the idea of college athletes getting paid: "It has a lot of problems."

This has become one of the hottest topics in sports. What do you think? Leave a comment below and I might read some on the air at 10. pic.twitter.com/92j4DUavMo

— Scott Braswell KAKE News (@ScottBSports) June 30, 2019

For some reason, he doesn’t mention the problem with coaches and administrators splitting the pot with the players.  I wonder why.

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UPDATE #2:  This, too.

John Robinson is 23 years older than Steve Ensminger. https://t.co/aufXry8Wc1

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) July 1, 2019

It’s nice to have friends with (other people’s) money.

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Too clever by half

Jeez, man.  This ain’t nearly as witty as you think it sounds.

Dabo Swinney on recruiting in Alabama: “I am kinda like Osama Bin Dabo” – via @ClemsonTigerNet #AllIn https://t.co/uWQpxhd7K0 pic.twitter.com/B2PRqE8GoR

— Wes Blankenship (@Wes_nship) June 11, 2019

Kinda?

It isn’t paranoia if they really are out to get your team.

Bless your hearts, random Clemson fans.

The Post and Courier requested all ostarine-related emails, text messages and other correspondence from Dec. 1 to Feb. 10 involving athletic director Dan Radakovich, head coach Dabo Swinney, president Jim Clements and members of the sports medicine, training and nutrition staffs.

Clemson didn’t provide any correspondence involving  Swinney or Clements, except for Swinney’s pre-Cotton Bowl news conference statements, which were also heavily redacted.

But it did include a pair of emails sent to Clemson with thoughts on how players might have ingested the illegal PED.

Food tampering theory

“As a side note,” a person whose name is redacted wrote Radakovich in December, “Clemson does a lot of charitable work in hospitals with patients that could put players in jeopardy of being exposed to unknown chemicals.”

Another email was copied to six athletic department officials from a “serious tiger fan” in December. It puts forth the idea that Clemson players may have ingested ostarine as a result of food tampering at a team meal in Charlotte prior to the ACC Championship Game against Pittsburgh on Dec. 1.

Oh, a “serious” Clemson fan.  Well, then, that makes all the difference.

TFW 44-16 is overrated

It is possible to believe — no, make that it is logical to think — both that the SEC is by far the best football conference in the country and that Danny Sheridan is a moronic hack.

"Clemson would not be 12-0 if they played a SEC schedule. You can't run through this conference. It's no knock on Clemson but they are fortunate they don't play in the SEC"- @DannySheridan1 pic.twitter.com/4zItGePFXq

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) April 26, 2019

Even better, it doesn’t require anyone to break a sweat.

So true. I mean, sure, Alabama demolished the entire SEC and then was destroyed by Clemson. And sure, Clemson is 10-3 vs. the SEC in the past 5 years with the only losses to Alabama (x2) and UGA (when Cole Stoudt started at QB). But still, infallible logic. https://t.co/HaQGcVAApo

— Hale Tweets: Endgame 🦸‍♂️💎 (@ADavidHaleJoint) April 26, 2019

And before you hit David with that “grind” narrative, be aware he’s ready for that.

Does playing a tough schedule cost you down the road?

Last year, teams w/10 toughest schedules in Aug-Oct (by win% of P5 opponents) were 34-29 in those months & 32-16 in Nov-Jan.

10 easiest were 33-27 in Aug-Oct, 18-27 in Nov-Jan.

Wearing down under tough shed is a myth.

— Hale Tweets: Endgame 🦸‍♂️💎 (@ADavidHaleJoint) April 26, 2019

Don’t confuse strength of schedule with strength of team.  Don’t be like Danny, who just made me defend Clemson.  Damn, I feel a little dirty now.

Ken Starr’s tone deaf quest for fairness

Ugh.  I get the whole innocent until proven guilty bit (and, to be fair, Shawn Oakman was found not guilty) but Ken Starr raising money for a Baylor athlete’s defense fund after presiding over the school’s lack of support for sexual assault and Title IX-related accusations (which, to be fair again, cost Starr his presidency there) isn’t a good look.  At all.

“This is the right thing to do, and it is in the best interests of the University.”

I’ve got one question after reading this story about Art Briles’ ill-fated interview process at Southern Mississippi.

Southern Mississippi supporters reacted swiftly after reports emerged that the school was interviewing former Baylor football coach Art Briles for its vacant offensive coordinator position.

In emails to the school’s administration and athletic officials, they lobbied against hiring Briles because of his role in a sexual-assault scandal that led to his firing at Baylor. Some threatened to revoke financial support, either through season tickets or donations.

They needn’t have worried.

Southern Mississippi’s interim athletic director had decided against the hire even before Briles set foot on campus for an interview on Monday, Feb. 4. In an email obtained by USA TODAY through a public-records request, Jeff Mitchell instructed head coach Jay Hopson early on Feb. 3 to “go in another direction” for that position.

Saying that he was following up on “our earlier communication both in person on Friday and via text this morning,” Mitchell also wrote that he “can’t get to a place to support” hiring Briles.  [Emphasis added.]

After openly defying his AD and embarrassing the school in the process, how is Jay Hopson still gainfully employed as Southern Miss’ head coach?

Communication breakdown

In retrospect, Coach, maybe texting a German player “I’m your new Hitler” wasn’t the smartest approach to take.

Jason Brown has resigned. https://t.co/Lmsprue9Ah

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) February 25, 2019