I don't think we will be cheap and will pay the going rate, but what I am saying is if Schertz is our #1 pick we should not settle for a different choice because of money. "We can only offer 3 million because that is the going rate, and we lost out on our #1 choice because he got 4 million from SLU" shouldn't be words spoken by anyone on this board. WHEN RED is fired, money shouldn't be a stumbling block for our #1 choice in coaches, and I realize we aren't going OATS money, but paying 3-5 million per year for a coach we value shouldn't be an issue or stumbling block.
The going rate for your #1 choice is what the market says it is, not what history says it should be. We shouldn't settle, if you miss on this choice, it will bury the program long term since "we had to" let Red put this program in a bigger hole.