I think Claeys contract status gets lost in all of this. He is in a unique situation. The vast, vast, vast majority of first year coaches are not in a situation where they need an extension after year one. The contract was written to allow Coyle to decide if He wants Claeys to be football coach or if he wants to go a different direction. The university may get to the end of the year and think "we haven't seen enough to extend" which would mean they have to move on as nobody wants a lame duck. It might not be that they really want to "fire" him but they may not want to commit long term either. Time will tell either way.
