… which was supposedly substantial enough for Malzahn to turn down Vandy’s first offer, and then the confirmation from the Washington Post that Vandy went all in as a response to Auburn’s raise.

… Vanderbilt had reportedly offered Malzahn a contract that would pay him close to $3 million per year. He has verbally accepted the job, the source said, but had yet to sign a contract.

Sure, if I were Malzahn, I’d wait and see how badly Auburn wants to hang on to my services.  If their first offer was Monte Kiffin-type money, who knows what they’re ready to throw out now?  Play my cards right and maybe they’ll name me co-head coach, with a salary to match.

Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration.  But if the above is real, that offer to make him the second highest paid coaching assistant in the country, along with Vanderbilt’s numbers (which would pay Malzahn much more than his current boss is making), should tell you that we’re moving into a period that seems destined to fulfill all the crazy promise of what the new TV money would bring to the SEC when we saw what was spent on Kiffin’s and Chizik’s staffs as they were assembled a couple of seasons ago.

The irony that Auburn may be victimized by the same spendthrift philosophy it helped put in motion shouldn’t be lost on anyone.

How crazy has it gotten?  Consider:

• As I said, Auburn’s offered Malzahn the kind of money to stay that sounded stratospheric when it was paid to Monte Kiffin.  But at least in Kiffin’s case, you could (sort of) justify it by pointing to his résumé and noting that he took a pay cut to leave the NFL.  Malzahn is five years removed from Springdale High.
• If Vandy wins the bidding war, the head coach in Nashville will be making about a third more than the head coach in Knoxville.  In fact, at around $3 million per year, Malzahn will be in the top four or five best paid coaches in the SEC.  Which means he’ll likely be in the top fifteen nationally.
• New coaching hires at Florida and Vanderbilt being compared to each other.  Let that one percolate in your brain for a minute.  Along with the fact that some will judge the Commodores to have made the better hire.

If Vandy’s a serious player now, the sky really is the limit on coaching compensation in the SEC.  On second thought, forget my header.  If you’re Jimmy Sexton, that’s better than sex.