| If Hamilton, the Athletics Board and a few wealthy donors want to give Phil $3 million a year just for the heck of it, then fine. It's thier money and they can do what they want with it. I don't even have a problem with a seven-year contract extension. Where my blood gets boiling though is when they discuss increasing the buyout from $1 million to $5 million with the economy teetering on a potentially deep recession, and doing it one year removed from a season when even UTBOT members were ready to give Phill the axe. This move is clearly designed to keep Fulmer entrenched regardless of the on-the-field product. If the next few seasons are bad, which I kind of suspect they will be (imagine that?), then there is a built in excuse for not getting rid of Fulmer, or $5 million excuses if you will. A $1 million buyout is enough for the ADept. to absorb. $5 million may not be. More to the point, the buyout will be stand for the term of the contract regardless of whether Hamilton is still around or not. I think these guys see the writing on the wall. They know that they have been significantly outrecruited two the past three years. They also know what they are up against in terms of the coaching talent in the conference. I think this move is purely designed to insulate Fulmer, and all of his hangers on, from any further accountability for the next six years. |