I dunno where all of this is coming from - GC's classes were close behind Bama's, and I think GM's were too. I literally almost got in a physical fight with my barner brother who insisted all of the talent "left" before GM arrived - those people are so brainwashed they are silly stupid. Yeah, Dyer and the door-kicking crew were gone but they weren't all 4 or 5 stars.
There is a talent differential but it's not far enough where it doesn't come down to coaching - it does. That was evident last year.