Bargain Bin Hire?

#1
Boca Vol

Boca Vol

Originally from Exit 81
Lab Rat
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
28,480
Likes
27,612
#1
This isn't a keep Jeremy or FAHR JURMEE thread but I keep seeing this as it pertains to "UT's preferred hiring strategy". But what exactly does that mean?

Is it about who is hired or how much the coach is paid....or a combo of both dependent upon results? If UT managed to go 8-2 or 7-3 this season would the UTAD still be accused of shopping at the bargain outlet for its coach? The money would've been the same? When UT was on an 8-game winning streak was it considered bargain bin?

Did Ole Miss shop at the same bargain outlet when they hired Kiffin? Until yesterday Pruitt & Kiffin made about the same. I hear UT could hire Freeze for cheap. Isn't that bargain bin shopping?

Does it have to do with UT hiring someone who had never been a HC before? Lincoln Riley, Ryan Day, & Dabo had never been HC's before their 1st gig. I don't see anyone referring to those as bargain bin hires. Why? Because they've won. Now they all have fat contracts.

What about schools such as Texas, Michigan, & FSU? Those wouldn't qualify as "Dollar Tree" hires and how's that working out for UM? And how'd that work out for Texas with Hermann and FSU with Taggart?

It seems to be a situational thing. It's a cheap hire if it doesn't work out. But throwing tons of money at a coach isn't necessarily the answer either. IIRC, people had optimism with the Pruitt hire based on his previous success at FSU and Bama. Would anyone have felt better if UT paid Pruitt over $5MM per year? Does anyone, other than OSU, value "The Mullet" enough to have paid him $6.5-$7MM per year and KNOW he could win in the SEC?

What is a bargain bin hire?
 
  • Like
Reactions: blouder1, VOLSanon, I4Vols and 11 others
#2
#2
You ask great questions.

I don't know any of the answers. I suspect maybe there aren't any. It may be like you said, if they win they're not and if they don't, they are. May be nothing more or less than that.

But they're great questions, either way. I would love to hear thoughtful answers from some of the people who use this phrase often.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rickyvol77, Boca Vol and tnutater
#3
#3
Boca Vol said:
This isn't a keep Jeremy or FAHR JURMEE thread but I keep seeing this as it pertains to "UT's preferred hiring strategy". But what exactly does that mean?

Is it about who is hired or how much the coach is paid....or a combo of both dependent upon results? If UT managed to go 8-2 or 7-3 this season would the UTAD still be accused of shopping at the bargain outlet for its coach? The money would've been the same? When UT was on an 8-game winning streak was it considered bargain bin?

Did Ole Miss shop at the same bargain outlet when they hired Kiffin? Until yesterday Pruitt & Kiffin made about the same. I hear UT could hire Freeze for cheap. Isn't that bargain bin shopping?

Does it have to do with UT hiring someone who had never been a HC before? Lincoln Riley, Ryan Day, & Dabo had never been HC's before their 1st gig. I don't see anyone referring to those as bargain bin hires. Why? Because they've won. Now they all have fat contracts.

What about schools such as Texas, Michigan, & FSU? Those wouldn't qualify as "Dollar Tree" hires and how's that working out for UM? And how'd that work out for Texas with Hermann and FSU with Taggart?

It seems to be a situational thing. It's a cheap hire if it doesn't work out. But throwing tons of money at a coach isn't necessarily the answer either. IIRC, people had optimism with the Pruitt hire based on his previous success at FSU and Bama. Would anyone have felt better if UT paid Pruitt over $5MM per year? Does anyone, other than OSU, value "The Mullet" enough to have paid him $6.5-$7MM per year and KNOW he could win in the SEC?

What is a bargain bin hire?
Click to expand...
It’s the philosophy of “offer him $10 mil a year and make him say no!” Remember it being advocated for Chip Kelly. 🤔
 
  • Like
Reactions: VOLSanon, Rickyvol77, Boca Vol and 3 others
#4
#4
Maybe its the TN FB program that's the problem, not the coaching hires. Too much meddling from insider/outsiders, AD,?? TN is on the 4th HC since Fulmer and one left on his one and 3 fired. Were they all bad coaches or did the system of not having enough control cause them to fail? I think it a subject worth discussion instead of the constant fire the bad coach and hire the next savior coach. Maybe their is no next savior coach until what's wrong with the FB program is solved. There is a reason no big time name coach wants to come here. Just a different thought on it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blouder1, Sackett, Peanut and 7 others
#7
#7
I don't consider Kiffen or Butch bargain bin hires.
Butch was coming off some good seasons. He looked good on paper and his teams played above their recruiting ranks. He was probably the best coach that would take the job. He just did a bargain bin job while here and simply never grew into the job like good coaches tend to do.

He also should have kept Bajakian for any price(instead of thinking he was the genius), and just been less intimidated to hire quality staff. I don't even know how he kept Shoop from doing his job.

Kiffen wasn't ready to be HC when we hired him. He should have been with his resume, but he was a just a big child. He has been almost miraculously lucky to have so many second chances to be effective.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: tbh and Boca Vol
#8
#8
In my idea of bargain bin hire. Is someone that would be like on no other National Championship programs hiring radar. And so its not about money. Take Dooley. His resume didnt warrant the hiring. We definitely had no one else to compete with to hire him. Butch at least wanted by Colorado so I personally didn't put him in that category although many on here did. In fact some referred to him a Google coach which is only the case for people who dont deeply follow the sport. Those people dont really deserve a say in coaching hires and firings. They simply dont have enough information.

I have seen enough coaches be successful at lower rates of pay than their peers. So my definition of bargain bin has little to do with pay but rather how "in demand" they are.
 
  • Like
Reactions: OrangeTsar, Boca Vol, Exiled and 3 others
#9
#9
A bargain bin hire is removing substantially all of the buyout provisions so the head coach will stay under $2MM annually (Kiffin)
 
#12
#12
BigOrangeMojo said:
A bargain bin hire is passing over a proven winner twice (Patterson) so you can hire two guys with a combined record 22-35 just because those two guys are nominally cheaper...
Click to expand...

Yeah I look back at the 2 guys who wanted this job. Gary Patterson and Brian Kelly and wonder where we would be had we hired one of those guys.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Godfatha, Volfanjohnny2005, Rickyvol77 and 3 others
#13
#13
The new year is here — and Tennessee football remains completely directionless
Apple news edition, even national news knows what’s going on here. SAD!
 
  • Like
Reactions: onevol74
#15
#15
A bargain bin is a school that hires a cheap HC with no HC experience hire two coordinators with no P5 coordinating experience but souring on a proven HC since you did not think Justin Fuente was a capable OC....
 
#18
#18
Boca Vol said:
This isn't a keep Jeremy or FAHR JURMEE thread but I keep seeing this as it pertains to "UT's preferred hiring strategy". But what exactly does that mean?

Is it about who is hired or how much the coach is paid....or a combo of both dependent upon results? If UT managed to go 8-2 or 7-3 this season would the UTAD still be accused of shopping at the bargain outlet for its coach? The money would've been the same? When UT was on an 8-game winning streak was it considered bargain bin?

Did Ole Miss shop at the same bargain outlet when they hired Kiffin? Until yesterday Pruitt & Kiffin made about the same. I hear UT could hire Freeze for cheap. Isn't that bargain bin shopping?

Does it have to do with UT hiring someone who had never been a HC before? Lincoln Riley, Ryan Day, & Dabo had never been HC's before their 1st gig. I don't see anyone referring to those as bargain bin hires. Why? Because they've won. Now they all have fat contracts.

What about schools such as Texas, Michigan, & FSU? Those wouldn't qualify as "Dollar Tree" hires and how's that working out for UM? And how'd that work out for Texas with Hermann and FSU with Taggart?

It seems to be a situational thing. It's a cheap hire if it doesn't work out. But throwing tons of money at a coach isn't necessarily the answer either. IIRC, people had optimism with the Pruitt hire based on his previous success at FSU and Bama. Would anyone have felt better if UT paid Pruitt over $5MM per year? Does anyone, other than OSU, value "The Mullet" enough to have paid him $6.5-$7MM per year and KNOW he could win in the SEC?

What is a bargain bin hire?
Click to expand...
I think the reason that people refer to them as bargain bin hires is because for whatever reason UT can not attract any big name coaches. It sort of appears that the administration and boosters want a coach they can tell what to do. And in my opinion we need at least a known name coach. I think that is where we are lacking in recruiting. We need someone that kids would step back and think, that guy is at UT. Wow! But it appears that UT's reputation precedes itself.
 
#19
#19
airvols said:
The new year is here — and Tennessee football remains completely directionless
Apple news edition, even national news knows what’s going on here. SAD!
Click to expand...
As I said in my post, UT's reputation precedes itself.
 
#20
#20
SmokeyDog1973 said:
Kiffin was the only good hire
Click to expand...

Kiffin was a decent hire. Choosing a hire largely because he'd win the press conference in order to maximize donations during the global financial crisis was stupid. Nuking his buyout to get him under $2MM was asinine.
 
#21
#21
I believe other than maybe a handful of current coaches, every hire is a gamble. More salary doesn't necessarily equate to better win loss record. The thinking behind that is that the few proven great coaches are getting premium dollar. And we would have to offer that and a whole lot more and it still wouldn't be enough to pull Saban, Myer, fill in the blank, from their current situation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Boca Vol
#22
#22
TJSVOLS said:
Did you think that every hire since Fulmer was a crap hire ? Honest question.
Click to expand...
yes.
I thought they all were. Kiffen should have been good, but he was too immature, and it showed at the first press conference.
I was hopeful for Pruitt because he had been around winning football as DC on 3 great teams, but I was disappointed at the same time. All three Fulmer interviewed were nothing special.
 
#25
#25
OrangeBeachVol said:
Maybe its the TN FB program that's the problem, not the coaching hires. Too much meddling from insider/outsiders, AD,?? TN is on the 4th HC since Fulmer and one left on his one and 3 fired. Were they all bad coaches or did the system of not having enough control cause them to fail? I think it a subject worth discussion instead of the constant fire the bad coach and hire the next savior coach. Maybe their is no next savior coach until what's wrong with the FB program is solved. There is a reason no big time name coach wants to come here. Just a different thought on it.
Click to expand...



Tennessee is now like Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Old Miss and South Carolina were for so many many years, but now it seems like there is no light at at the End of the tunnel for our vowels
 
  • Like
Reactions: onevol74
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top