He's also a huge recruiter for that side of the ball, and a main reason why were still in it for several big names even tho Chavis bailed. Alleva is reporting that Chavis never mentioned anything about the clause in his contract, and that he only said, "It was time to move on" after Alleva offered him a 3 yr $4M contract. Since he was on contract through Dec. 31, 2015... he or A&M is on the hook for his $400K buyout. And... Chizik is said to be going to UNC for the DC job, so no Chizik to LSU.
http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/ed_orgeron_567326.html scroll to the bottom where it lists his coaching experience.
http://theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/11230725-123/joe-alleva-says-john-chavis The lawyers are sharpening their pencils.
So here are some additional names to toss out for DC: Tom Bradley - Defensive Coordinator who succeeded Jerry Sandusky at Penn State and was interin HC when Joe Paterno was fired. Considered a top recruiter Penn State who is credited for recruiting Shane Conlan, LaVar Arrington, Paul Posluszny, Sean Lee, and others. Currently is "Senior Associate Head Coach" at West Virginia. D.J. Durkin - Most recent DC at Florida. Durkin's defense ranked 8th this past year compared to LSU's rank of 11th. Durkin was a holdover from Urban Meyer's staff and is the current interim HC at Florida. Durkin is not being retained by new HC Jim McElwain. Coincidently, Durkin was being pursued by the Faggies before they zeroed in on Chavis. Todd Grantham - Current DC at Louisville (and former DC at Georgia). At the very least, we could see Petrino give miles another "Eff You". Bill Young - Former DC of Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, Miami, and Oklahoma State Winston Moss - former Saints LB and currently an Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers Coach for the Green Bay Packers Matt Eberflus - Linebacker coach for Dallas Cowboys and former DC for Mizzou Mike Tressel - Named "Co-Defensive Coordinator" at Michigan State when Narduzzi left to become Pitt's Head Coach. Has been the Spartans LB & Special Teams Coach coach for the past 8 years. We could probably get him for slightly more than 1/2 what we were paying the Faggies new DC. (Nephew of Jim Tressel.)
This is what I am afraid of in this situation. We had Chavis and he balked at 1.3 for 4 years. Of course I don't eat lunch with coaches and scouts or have any inside info but I'd be willing to bet they are looking for a bargain. They will not come with that kind of money for the next guy. This isn't to say they can't find a great coach at a good price, in fact I think I like the odds better than over paying for a goat. Just really thin ice is all.
I can't help but piss on the Chief right now. What I don't get is how the Chief can be so great yet our LB play has been sub par considering the talent we've had. Aside from Kwon, the last really productive LB we had was Minter. We've had the ponies in the stable but they've never been trotted out onto the field and properly trained. Rant over.