A lot of people seem to be jumping to conclusions based on assuming this is anNIL related departure. The timing of Tony's departure really doesn't say NIL issue to me. He has likely already dealt with the major NIL work at this point for the upcoming season (unless something has just recently taken place). If it was NIL related why deal with all the hassles and not enjoy the season you have put the work in for?
It is sad. Coaches basically work for boosters and collectives now. They also basically work for the players now as well.
I don't see much of a change here. Coaches at large programs have always worked for their boosters. I don't see any issue with that as they are the top customers of the product. At Mason's financial level, it hasn't been this way, typically, and still doesn't seem this way. This is my personal opinion (not as a member of the Patriot Nation Collective board), but, I don't feel like Tony works for our collective. I feel the collective works for Tony (and the players) to provide him the best resources to assemble the best team he can. I believe the other members of the board would agree with me as well.
One change that seems to be occurring is access. I don't know if it is NIL related or a change in management in our AD or a little bit of both, but there seems to be more focus then ever on getting the fans access to/interaction with the coaches and players. I think that is a great thing on many levels.
The only significant negative I see to the NIL/unlimited transfer era is the turnover in team rosters and that is a positive at times (like when doing a roster rebuild). With upcoming laws and/or settlements I expect/hope some of that may be able to settle down. The reason I think that is that once the NCAA's only really pertinent rule regarding NIL goes by the wayside finally (not being able to tie your NIL contract to what school you go to) and/or schools start paying players directly, then multi-year contracts will be possible and realistic. I hope this encourages a little reduction in the roster turnover.