Bargain Bin Hire?

What current coaches fit this outside of meyer and Stoops
There are actually a lot of them, Ricky.

If you add the condition that they not already be in a head coaching job, that reduces the list somewhat. But should we remove from consideration ALL coaches who already have a job? That certainly didn't stop Bama from going after Nick Saban. So should we drop coaches from the list if they have a job already....?

Mack Brown, Lou Holtz, Frank Beamer, Gary Patterson, Steve Spurrier, Bill Snyder, John Cooper, Frank Solich, Ed Orgeron, Kirby Smart, Gus Malzahn, Les Miles, Dan Mullen, Mark Richt, Tommy Tuberville, Jimbo Fisher...heck, Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, why not...and this is without mentioning the two guys you asked us not to mention (Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer). There are a ton more, I just got tired of listing them.

Are some of those fellas too old to come back to coaching? Sure. But you didn't also say we couldn't consider guys who might only have a few years in them.

The list of guys who have previously won national titles is pretty short, sure. That's the Meyer, Stoops, Saban, Swinney list.

But the list of guys who have at least won a conference title or two...that list gets really long.

NOTE: I'm not proposing we go after ANY of these guys. Some of them, I absolutely would not want under any conditions. I'm just answering your question. :)


p.s. How absolutely hilarious would it be if we hired Nick Saban away from Bama? Not saying it could happen, just laughing out loud in real life at what would follow if it did.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rickyvol77
There are actually a lot of them, Ricky.

If you add the condition that they not already be in a head coaching job, that reduces the list somewhat. But should we remove from consideration ALL coaches who already have a job? That certainly didn't stop Bama from going after Nick Saban. So should we drop coaches from the list if they have a job already....?

Mack Brown, Lou Holtz, Frank Beamer, Gary Patterson, Steve Spurrier, Bill Snyder, John Cooper, Frank Solich, Ed Orgeron, Kirby Smart, Gus Malzahn, Les Miles, Dan Mullen, Mark Richt, Tommy Tuberville, Jimbo Fisher...heck, Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, why not...and this is without mentioning the two guys you asked us not to mention (Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer). There are a ton more, I just got tired of listing them.

Are some of those fellas too old to come back to coaching? Sure. But you didn't also say we couldn't consider guys who might only have a few years in them.

The list of guys who have previously won national titles is pretty short, sure. That's the Meyer, Stoops, Saban, Swinney list.

But the list of guys who have at least won a conference title or two...that list gets really long.

NOTE: I'm not proposing we go after ANY of these guys. Some of them, I absolutely would not want under any conditions. I'm just answering your question. :)
You left off Les Miles form the national title winning coaches list. And using BOTs list of qualifications, Gary Patterson wouldn’t qualify since he’s never played for a P5 championship, let alone win one.
 
You left off Les Miles form the national title winning coaches list. And using BOTs list of qualifications, Gary Patterson wouldn’t qualify since he’s never played for a P5 championship, let alone win one.
I did leave Les off that shorter list. Probably a few others, too. I wasn't trying to make it complete, any more than the conference champ list. So there are certainly more folks who could go on both. The one is much shorter than the other.

As for Gary Patterson, he didn't win the Big 12 title in 2014?

EDIT: he did win it, tied for it with Baylor. That was the year the B12 tried to force the CFP's hand into giving at least one of the two teams a spot in the playoffs by refusing to declare one more worthy than the other via tie-breaker. Back-fired on them, CFP left both out.
 
Last edited:
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?
Dabo actually was a bargain bin hire. People were stunned when they removed the interim tag off of him, and he came *this* close to getting fired after their 2010 season. It's one of the best strokes of fortune that a program has ever had. Nobody, not even Clemson themselves, thought Dabo would turn into a coach anything like he has.

Riley and Day don't really fit that category. While they had never been HCs before, they both were highly-thought-of assistants and were personally vouched for (some would say chosen) by Stoops and Urban respectively.

Dooley, Butch, and Pruitt were all "bargain bin" hires, but calling them cheap hires kind of misses the point. The reason Tennessee hired those guys is because nobody who would have commanded a high salary wanted the job. Especially during the searches for Dooley (because Kiffin had just left) and Pruitt (because we had already botched the search).
 
We go for cheap assistants, mid major level B coaches without a history of building programs. Rather than paying 20 million up front for the talent we’d rather pay then 20 million to go away. Total up CDD, CBJ, CPF and eventually CJP’s total compensation including buyouts and I’d wager the amount we’ve paid to suck is more than Bama has paid Saban, TAMU has paid Fischer, etc.
 
Bottom line is this: Alabama went to Miami to interview Saban and he told them no and sent them packing. They went home, grabbed another duffel bag of cash, and flew back down to Miami and asked again. They weren't giving up until they got their guy. Texas A&M basically gave Jimbo a blank check and said fill it in. Texas is willing to pay above and beyond to get their guy. Ohio State with Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. The list goes on and on. It may not always work out but those programs area clearly fishing in the deep waters and are obviously willing to pony up the funds to get their football programs right.

We want to act like we are a blue blood and in the same league as those places, but we have never done that with a coach. I'm tired of the athletic department pissing on my leg and trying to tell me it's raining. We continue to show through our actions that we are a middling program trying to find that lightning in a bottle (ala Bruce Pearl) and getting lucky on an up and comer instead of paying the going rate for a better chance at success. The only legitimate coach we have hired over the last decade that had a winning legacy was Rick Barnes and I would say he has been worth every single penny.

Go offer Urban Meyer 10 million a year if you are really one of the big boys and want to get serious about fixing the program. If he tells you no, you offer him 12, then 15, etc. You make him say no if that is your guy. Or go offer Bob Stoops that kind of money. Either way, us flirting with Greg Schiano, Jeremy Pruitt, Butch Jones, Derek Dooley, etc hasn't worked so might as well change it up. Otherwise we are basically South Carolina, Arkansas, Miss State, etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rickyvol77
I think Pruitt is much better than Dooley and Jones. I am not sure why big name coaches refuse to come here. I wouldn't think money would be an issue with the Haslams. Maybe it's because the schedule is so brutal year after year. Carry on.
 
Dabo actually was a bargain bin hire. People were stunned when they removed the interim tag off of him, and he came *this* close to getting fired after their 2010 season. It's one of the best strokes of fortune that a program has ever had. Nobody, not even Clemson themselves, thought Dabo would turn into a coach anything like he has.

Riley and Day don't really fit that category. While they had never been HCs before, they both were highly-thought-of assistants and were personally vouched for (some would say chosen) by Stoops and Urban respectively.

Dooley, Butch, and Pruitt were all "bargain bin" hires, but calling them cheap hires kind of misses the point. The reason Tennessee hired those guys is because nobody who would have commanded a high salary wanted the job. Especially during the searches for Dooley (because Kiffin had just left) and Pruitt (because we had already botched the search).

Correct. And the AD at OU (Castiglione) did his homework on Stoops before interviewing him at the DFW airport with the OU president and 2 of the regents. Snyder and Spurrier gave high praise as many others did. Offered him on the spot but Stoops had promised Iowa he would interview with them the next day. Riley was an easy one as he had the backing of Stoops, Switzer and other influential former OU players.
I just don’t think our ADs have ever taken the time to even do what is necessary to vet an assistant coach that can do the necessary work to make a program successful.
 
Bargain Bin hire will be when Phil Fulmer names himself the next head football coach to resurrect the football program. Relying on his so called “Tennessee Legend Coach” status. I believe he’s that kind of guy.
 

VN Store



Back
Top