They hired J Snider didn’t they?
They hired Stewart didn’t they?
They hired Dunlap didn’t they?
I see your point, but they’re so delusional and self-absorbed up there that they’d find a way to spin it. Something like Doc was wasting his talents down here and the buyout was necessary to bring him home where he could reach his real potential.
Not sure that a running backs coach / recruiter, a coach who coached at Marshall for like one year in the 70's, and hiring our defensive coordinator as a position coach (basically making a fool of us), pulls the same weight as admitting they should've given doc their head coaching position before and cutting us a 3 million dollar check to right their previous mistake. Doesn't do the same kind of thing to the old pride. Not the same at all.
Seider, not snider, was a wvu guy who married a Morgantown native/wvu grad, and he wanted to get back up there eventually. Always a wvu guy at heart.
Bill Stewart, Fairmont state alumni who was also always a wvu guy at heart. Did he show Marshall respect? Yes. Was he a Marshall guy? No. He worked here very early in his career for a very short period of time. That doesn't mean that he was a Marshall guy who made the mountaineers cringe because he was their coach. Does not hurt the pride. Kind of like saying that a guy who flipped burgers at McDonald's for a year when he was 16 and then went on to grow up to be the CEO of Taco Bell was really a McDonald's man at heart and never cared about Taco Bell.
Steve Dunlap. Basically unemployed and needing a job. Never wanted to be at Marshall in the first place. Always thought he was too good for Marshall. Working at MU just to support family until he could find something else. A lot of people here in Putnam county knew that about him. Basically hiring him as a position coach was them laughing at us and proving that they swing a bigger pecker than us.
All that said, I don't think the points in your argument are valid at all. Do I think Doc would leave to coach there? In a freaking heartbeat. Do I think they'd swallow their pride and hire him even if they didn't have to pay 3 million? HECK NO!