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Yesterday Purdue interviews Butch Jones, flying him to West Lafayette and back int he Purdue private jet. Today it was Colorado's turn, and the details of what the Buffaloes have to offer are coming out:
According to the Denver Post, Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn and school president Bruce Benson are prepared to offer Jones a five-year deal worth more than $13.5 million. The deal reportedly also could include a commitment to upgrade Folsom Field and the school's athletic facilities.
I am not sure what Purdue is officially offering.Some sources have said less, while others have said more. It is hard to speculate because no numbers have been mentioned at all. What I have seen is that Colorado may be gaining an edge in the always dicey to trust world of Twitter:
Buffs about to hire Butch Jones? RT @kyleringo Looks like they're settling in here at Folsom. Wives of AD, prez, chancellor have arrived.
— Dave Southorn (@BSUDave) December 3, 2012
Jones has been in the Rockies all day, much longer than he was at Purdue yesterday before he flew back. Here is what my cohorts over at the Ralphie Report are saying:
A report from Woody Paige (ugh) says the Buffaloes are prepared to offer a 13.5 million contract, with guaranteed upgrades to Folsom Field, Dal Ward and team practice facilities. An offer that high would likely be more than either Purdue or Cincinnati would be willing to match (never say never) and would put the ball in Jones' court on whether or not he felt that Boulder was a fit.
Meanwhile, in the news about where PU400 was earlier in the day:
@hammerandrails Purdue Jet just landed. Hazell was not on board, but Morgan Burke and Senior Associate Athletics Director Nancy Cross were.
— Matt Swiontek (@redwngr333) December 3, 2012
This was after the flight to Canton and the possibility of an interview with Darrell Hazell. Nancy Cross, of course, became a fan favorite during the last major coaching crossroads when her ill-received letter to John Purdue Club members basically said, "We wouldn't be doing this if you gave us more money."
In my opinion I don't like that there was no comment yesterday and today it seems like coach Jones is getting a longer, more in depth audience with Colorado. Purdue has more to offer this coming season in terms of winning immediately because Colorado was possibly the worst FBS team in America last year. to lose a hot candidate to a team like that would really, really sting.