Roustabout
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UT fans are clamoring for a big name coach to ride in and save the program. Ohio State found their Meyer, Michigan its Harbaugh and of course Alabama started the whole thing when it landed Saban. I think its safe to say, Gruden will not be the knight riding in on a white horse to save the program from ruin. Perhaps, if he didnt have a cushy job calling Monday Night Football things would be different. If you still live under that delusion, then I suggest you stop reading and immediately click over to the Gruden thread. As it stands the coaching pool is one of question marks. Although there are a few proven commodities in the coaching pool, there isnt a, cant miss, sure fire, slam dunk hire on the horizon. There appears to be no candidate that will ignite the entire fan base and insure UTs return to prominence.
Compound this with the fact that for the first time ever schools changing leadership have to navigate the early signing period. Not only does this put a ton of pressure on athletic directors to get someone hired in time to save the recruiting class, it also reduces the candidate pool due to policies NFL coaches are under during the regular season.
For many fans, they cannot come to grips with why their university is unable to lure a top prospect away from another school. You can sense the desperation in the threads on this forum. While it is true that Tennessee is a historical top 15 program, this doesnt insure that big name coaches will covet the job that fans hold in such high regard. You hear it all the time, Just open the check book. While it isnt what fans want to hear, last year evidenced the reality of the changing college football landscape. Programs like Georgia and LSU made hires that were less than awe inspiring. And both were in MUCH better condition than UT is at the moment. The difference is LSU looked like a cluster f---, getting rejected trying to lure the hottest names, while UGA easily picked off a top level coordinator.
Meanwhile, UT fans are wringing their hands and incessantly whining anytime a coordinator's name is mentioned. I think UT fans need to be open to this route even though this will likely not sit well with those looking for a marque hire. The question is, what changed, and when did it happen?
In 2007 Alabama athletic director Mal Moore, in the midst of embarrassment, pulled out all stops and offered Nick Saban a whopping $4 million dollars to become coach of the Crimson Tide. Some of you reading this may be asking, Thats it? It almost seems like chump change considering that UT was paying Butch Jones $4.25 million per year. You heard it right, UT was paying Butch more than the massive salary offered to entice Saban to take the job he swore he wasnt taking. I think its easy to say that Nick Saban would be a bargain at $4 million today. But, today, that is a relatively normal salary among power five schools.
During Sabans dynasty something else happened that would forever change the dollars and sense of college football. TV contracts have filtered more money into the sport than anyone ever imagined. Think of it as a sort of wealth redistribution. Whether you are at the top or bottom of a power five conference, you are going to be hauling in a ton of money, win or lose. Thats why a school like TCU, with a 40,000 seat stadium (that they dont even fill most Saturdays) is paying $5 million to Gary Patterson. Consider that in 2010 TCU was a member of the Mountain West Conference. Also consider that Pattersons salary was $950,000 in 2006. In 2008, when UT hired Lane Kiffin, Patterson was making only $1.2 million. At that time, the UTAD could have easily doubled Pattersons salary and it would be highly unlikely that TCU would have matched. It would have been the bully taking lunch money from the smaller, weaker kid. Now that TCU is in the Big 12 and raking in tons of TV money, it's not happening.
At that time you had the haves and the have nots. On one hand there were the traditional, power programs, who could simply outspend the smaller guys. Today, that really isnt the case. Consider when Auburn hired Tommy Tuberville from Ole Miss. Even though Ole miss was not on the same stage, there was no way it could get into a bidding war and win. Measure that against when UT attempted to hire Charlie Strong from Louisville. Just a decade earlier it would have been powerless to compete with UT, much like it was when trying to keep Bobby Petrino from Arkansas. Today, that isnt the case. Patterson has been high on the UT radar, but he already makes a ton and doesnt have to deal with a fan base that demands much more. Further, with its cut of the TV money, TCU can and will pay more to retain Patterson.
The only schools that a traditional power program can outbid are mid-major schools or lower divisions who dont rake in the big time TV revenue. The problem is that a coach at a mid-major is not going to raise the temperature of many fans. And that brings us to the last problem. Many schools have started negotiating in huge buyouts to protect their investment. Currie will likely have to at least consider paying a large buyout to terminate the contract of a candidate it wants if he insist on hiring a sitting head coach. Matt Campbell, for example, is an up and comer, but is he worth paying Iowa State $9 million?
In my opinion, the salary trend is not sustainable. Its unfortunate that for all the restrictions the NCAA places on college athletics that it does nothing to address this problem. If you look at salaries over the last decade since Saban was hired, you can see the exponential salary rise, and have to wonder if this is headed for a collapse. Sure, everyone is chasing Saban, but hell be retired in five years or less. Then what?
The reality is that UT will have to pay big money for a coach, and probably for one that isnt going to motivate the fans to immediately make reservations for Atlanta next December. I can anticipate the crying and hand wringing, but won't be surprised if a coordinator moves to the top of the candidate pool.
Compound this with the fact that for the first time ever schools changing leadership have to navigate the early signing period. Not only does this put a ton of pressure on athletic directors to get someone hired in time to save the recruiting class, it also reduces the candidate pool due to policies NFL coaches are under during the regular season.
For many fans, they cannot come to grips with why their university is unable to lure a top prospect away from another school. You can sense the desperation in the threads on this forum. While it is true that Tennessee is a historical top 15 program, this doesnt insure that big name coaches will covet the job that fans hold in such high regard. You hear it all the time, Just open the check book. While it isnt what fans want to hear, last year evidenced the reality of the changing college football landscape. Programs like Georgia and LSU made hires that were less than awe inspiring. And both were in MUCH better condition than UT is at the moment. The difference is LSU looked like a cluster f---, getting rejected trying to lure the hottest names, while UGA easily picked off a top level coordinator.
Meanwhile, UT fans are wringing their hands and incessantly whining anytime a coordinator's name is mentioned. I think UT fans need to be open to this route even though this will likely not sit well with those looking for a marque hire. The question is, what changed, and when did it happen?
In 2007 Alabama athletic director Mal Moore, in the midst of embarrassment, pulled out all stops and offered Nick Saban a whopping $4 million dollars to become coach of the Crimson Tide. Some of you reading this may be asking, Thats it? It almost seems like chump change considering that UT was paying Butch Jones $4.25 million per year. You heard it right, UT was paying Butch more than the massive salary offered to entice Saban to take the job he swore he wasnt taking. I think its easy to say that Nick Saban would be a bargain at $4 million today. But, today, that is a relatively normal salary among power five schools.
During Sabans dynasty something else happened that would forever change the dollars and sense of college football. TV contracts have filtered more money into the sport than anyone ever imagined. Think of it as a sort of wealth redistribution. Whether you are at the top or bottom of a power five conference, you are going to be hauling in a ton of money, win or lose. Thats why a school like TCU, with a 40,000 seat stadium (that they dont even fill most Saturdays) is paying $5 million to Gary Patterson. Consider that in 2010 TCU was a member of the Mountain West Conference. Also consider that Pattersons salary was $950,000 in 2006. In 2008, when UT hired Lane Kiffin, Patterson was making only $1.2 million. At that time, the UTAD could have easily doubled Pattersons salary and it would be highly unlikely that TCU would have matched. It would have been the bully taking lunch money from the smaller, weaker kid. Now that TCU is in the Big 12 and raking in tons of TV money, it's not happening.
At that time you had the haves and the have nots. On one hand there were the traditional, power programs, who could simply outspend the smaller guys. Today, that really isnt the case. Consider when Auburn hired Tommy Tuberville from Ole Miss. Even though Ole miss was not on the same stage, there was no way it could get into a bidding war and win. Measure that against when UT attempted to hire Charlie Strong from Louisville. Just a decade earlier it would have been powerless to compete with UT, much like it was when trying to keep Bobby Petrino from Arkansas. Today, that isnt the case. Patterson has been high on the UT radar, but he already makes a ton and doesnt have to deal with a fan base that demands much more. Further, with its cut of the TV money, TCU can and will pay more to retain Patterson.
The only schools that a traditional power program can outbid are mid-major schools or lower divisions who dont rake in the big time TV revenue. The problem is that a coach at a mid-major is not going to raise the temperature of many fans. And that brings us to the last problem. Many schools have started negotiating in huge buyouts to protect their investment. Currie will likely have to at least consider paying a large buyout to terminate the contract of a candidate it wants if he insist on hiring a sitting head coach. Matt Campbell, for example, is an up and comer, but is he worth paying Iowa State $9 million?
In my opinion, the salary trend is not sustainable. Its unfortunate that for all the restrictions the NCAA places on college athletics that it does nothing to address this problem. If you look at salaries over the last decade since Saban was hired, you can see the exponential salary rise, and have to wonder if this is headed for a collapse. Sure, everyone is chasing Saban, but hell be retired in five years or less. Then what?
The reality is that UT will have to pay big money for a coach, and probably for one that isnt going to motivate the fans to immediately make reservations for Atlanta next December. I can anticipate the crying and hand wringing, but won't be surprised if a coordinator moves to the top of the candidate pool.
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