It's not worth a lesser coach to keep one player or even a few. IMO, TR is a good CB coach but a mediocre DC. I prefer what Alabama has to TR, even if it means losing Downs.Idk. There are very few players that feel like this. He might be the best safety/defensive player in college football already.
This one hurts more than most IMO. Would have been a massive win if the new staff could have kept him. More frustrating because it feels like we probably keep him if we found a way to keep TRob
Downs is a very serious kid, I don't know if it is money or the staff or some other reason. I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt because he is so serious regarding his career. At least for the moment, I don't blame him but assume that it is career-related in his mind.
But frankly, even if it turns out it was money or some superficial, non-career-related reason, I don't tend to blame the players. IMO, it is the reckless system that cowards and the misguided have allowed to come to pass that is the culprit. And I know this sounds Bama-centric, and maybe it is, but while I don't believe the chaos was designed to hurt Alabama or really had any intent or design at all, I do believe that many are less inclined to fix it when they see that it hurts Alabama in various ways.
On a more optimistic note, whether Byrne, who I respect, had this in mind or not, IMO, CKD is the type of coach that better suits the current and developing climate than CNS was. He is less dependent on recruiting which is still very important, but we know it is losing some of its significance. While I have always believed that CNS was underrated as a game-day coach and he remained so to the end, CKD seems to be an elite game-day coach. And while CNS was a great developer of talent, it seems that his staff's skill in this area had dropped off in the last few years. Again, CKD appears to be elite in this area.
If the talent drain continues without adequate replacements it may take a bit longer but some patience should be accorded the new coach.