FWIW, it was much easier to win at FSU when Jimbo first arrived

Obviously there's more to the situation, but let's look at the past, current and future landscapes of some key football programs:

-Mark Richt @ Miami is a huge blow to Jimbo's recruiting pipeline down there. He's not a pushover like Shannon or Golden. No more Dalvin Cooks, Kelvin Benjamins, etc either. Turns into a 50/50 game every year.

-He's gotta deal with Bobby Petrino, every year. His DC problem won't go away on it's own.

-Clemson, Swinney aren't going anywhere. He'll usually beat him but it's turning into a 2 out of 3 kind of proposition.

-McElwain is an upgrade over Muschamp at UF.

There was a time when 3 of those games would have been gimmies every year. Now all 4 of those games will be competitive on an annual basis. The days where he could run Jimmy Sexton out there to bluff and come back with a better deal may be over for the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, what will the SEC west look like once Saban retires? He is 64 years old and has nothing left to prove. This perpetual roadblock to the CFB will be out of the picture.

If there was a time for Jimbo to change horses, this may be it.