re: If Mack is retained, how bad will it get in Texas after Oregon wins by 30?

I'm definitely in the camp that believes what actually happened lies in between the two narratives. Bama folks say Saban's head was never turned by Texas, even for a second, while lots of Texas folks believe it was in the bag until Mack flipped the frick out when the plan and the timeline was leaked. For the portrayal of a doddering old fool that Mack seems to have earned over the years, he gets mad respect from me if he singlehandedly derailed this whole thing by digging in and taking the fight public when he got word that Saban was the legit target.

I'll fully admit that I bit, given the narrative that was being painted. Sometimes the "evidence" being presented can be oddly specific. I think that Bama folks are 100% full of shite if they can't admit that Saban was seriously considering the offer. If you subscribe to the Jimmy Sexton -Evil Genius angle, that it was all just to get money- that's just naive. If Saban wanted more money, all he had to do was ask for it. If money didn't figure into it AT ALL, then he should have released a statement saying that he was honoring the extension that was just signed in March and turned down the extra $2m/yr.

Where the Texas folks were delusional, IMO, is thinking that Saban wanted anything to do with that looney bin of a program after seeing how meddlesome the boosters are. It's like your potential in-laws: you're not just marrying the girl- you're marrying the whole family. Who knowingly walks into that?