re: Houston Nutt never wanted an "apology"

That he can prove a breach of contract, assuming that Mars is correct about the terms, is one thing. Proving beyond speculation that the breach actually damaged his prospects for getting a coaching job will be more difficult. Nutt went without a coaching job for several years before the "sources" threw him under the bus, at least in the press. That will make actual damages challenging to prove. However, he may be more successful on the punitive damage claim if he can prove the breach was in bad faith. But such damages are not available against the state, so that presumably he could recover such damages only from the foundation, which seems to unlikely unless the foundation was the employer of the sources.

So, yes, I think he has a substantial chance of winning the suit, again if Mars' construction of the contract is correct, but a large award of actual damages may be unlikely. And it is unlikely that a large punitive damage award could be obtained against the foundation .