It was very smart for Baker to not go to Tulane.

The amount of things that it took for Tulane to make it to the playoffs this year is a once in a lifetime event.

Baker going in behind Sumrall would have been the same as Deboer going in behind Saban, except Baker didn't take Washington to the playoffs, nor does he have a built resume in head coaching prior to this Tulane gig.

In addition to that, which head coaches has he learned from? Eli? BK? Say what you want about Kiffin, but Kiffin himself has worked with the best of the best and seems to have the two most important things down, which are systems and culture.

So, again, I think this is an all around win for Baker. He has an opportunity , not just to win a national title at LSU now and become a National Title Winning DC, but he also has the opportunity to learn what Kiffin has learned from others and also what Kiffin has come up with on his own (from a culture, and HC decision making process).

When he does decide to go be a head coach, hopefully he'll get a gig in a P4 conference like Aranda did... and at least be able to float above water.

With that said, NIL will be interesting moving forward. I don't know how much LSU promised Lane, but I was told that Penn State of all places just promised the Iowa State HC 30 mil in NIL per year.

So, this is just the beginning of whether or not the LSU backers will have the commitment to stay above the game.