re: What coaching hire would have LSU in a different spot?

I'm not remotely about to go into a "my uncle works for Nintendo" situation nor am I some insider. However, I recently discussed the situation with a family member whose father was a prominent figure at LSU for many years to try to get some insight on a lot of the rumors about politicking by O and whatnot that I'd seen here recently.

Obviously, the truth lies somewhere in between all of the noise, but the one common factor across all of it is that LSU, specifically Alleva, was concerned about the damage any more highly publicized "misses" would do to the program's image after firing the program's winningest coach. The powers that be felt "forced" to act quickly and capitalized on the good PR and existing support O had because there weren't options at that time.

Who knows how accurate that all is. However, it explains this debacle a whole lot more clearly than LSU just hiring a scrub. So, I guess I don't "know" and won't continue to claim to, but the information I have heavily favors it.