The whole reason that they fired their old coach was in part because he couldn't beat their rivals. What Nutt has done against us with comments such as "I didn't realize how big this rivalry was until 2009" would seem to send a red flag.
Is it possible that he is just burned out? Maybe he has the insight to look around and see that he is getting outrecruited, his team is getting beat by I-AA teams, and he's having to get sloppy seconds for QB's.
Would it be any better next year if he stuck around? If he keeps having seasons like this, eventually he is going to get fired.
I think if Nutt does indeed resign, he will just sit out, and maybe retire for good or go into TV. I think losing to Jacksonville State and the whole Masoli ordeal are things that are going to be very damaging when he is looking for a head coaching job at a BCS school.
Why would Colorado, Miami, or even Vanderbilt want that?
An ideal job for Nutt right now would probably be somewhere like Arkansas State.