This is the key. I happen to believe Self that he ONLY leaves Illinois for KU, provided we can provide a competitive salary. That last part was a big "if" with RG, but it is very clearly not with JW. I mean, I feel like some Illini fans still have this insecurity that we are any more of a "stepping stone job" than the likes of Syracuse, Arizona or Michigan ... but I don't think we are.
The ONLY places we have ever lost a coach to in the modern era are the NBA (which even happens to Kentucky!!) and Self to KU (where he stated it was his dream job and the one place he would leave for). In that same time span, we have straight up handpicked very successful coaches from two other major conference programs (Kruger from Florida and Underwood from Oklahoma State). This is a premier job, period. It's always going to be about money, no doubt, but I think we finally have an AD that appreciates digging out the checkbook when it matters.