Real life?
If we would hire Butch, I know two long-time Golden Canes who'd double there already high 5 figure donation. These are two examples only. Butch would come in as a relatively underpaid coach in the ACC. Butch would create a buzz to salvage at least 5,000 tickets that will be lost next year. As an example, I know of one long-time poster on here who will close down a group of 20 season tickets next year. He's a true diehard fan and, if he's not renewing (no pun), I don't think it's hard to presume there are many like him. Butch is probably the net difference in about 10k tickets (x 6 games) overall when you consider what we'd lose with what we'd actually gain in season ticket sales if he created a buzz.
Add all that up using a very conservative calculator and, in one year, we'd save at minimum over 2 million dollars next year. With the information I've been told that the buyout is between 4 and 5 million, you're basically looking at a 2 year window to cover that cost. That doesn't include the Maryland penalty money, which can be pushed to facilities, or any other bump up in revenue.
Butch isn't my first choice, but he's a smart financial choice. This is about more than money.