There’s seriously no argument to be made for keeping Lovie.
Let me do my best to offer that.
1. The defense is the problem with this team. It's a young, pretty talented group that has underperformed to a truly hard to believe extent. We've been operating with an undermanned and under-qualified defensive staff this season, so maybe that should be less of a shock than it seemed. We have the opportunity to fix that this offseason. And in fixing that we can address some of our recruiting shortcomings as well.
2. The age and experience of the roster is going to look much, much better next year. The "one of the youngest" stuff is over. That alone can work a kind of magic.
3. The schedule is crazy weak next year. Add #1-3 and a bowl, even as bad as we look right now, is probably a pretty decent possibility. That would still be true of another coaching staff, but with the turbulence and scheme change that another staff would bring, our best chance at success in 2019 alone is probably Lovie.
4. The money is a factor. Forget about whether we CAN pay the buyout, whatever resources we dedicate in that direction this offseason, we could have a lot more next offseason if it doesn't go well.
So I think the case, in summary is, we have open resources to dedicate to the problem area of the team and the staff this offseason, we're entering the roster situation we've been building towards, and we've got the games scheduled to really turn this thing around in a dramatic fashion. Plus, we know going in that this is a make-or-break year, and Whitman can be prepared both mentally and financially to have our best foot forward if "break" is the outcome.
(My biggest worry about that case: what happens to the roster in the meantime? Are there a ton more transfers? Do we sign a terrible class and put a hole in the program? Those are the questions I'd be asking if I were Whitman. You need to make sure you have a roster to hand to the next guy. In theory we can do that next year, but only in theory.)
