Best bargains among college football coaches - ESPN Insider

[Tin Man]

Bargain coaches are overrated.

Let's look at the precedence. Former Governor or Arkansas and one time college student who wanted so badly to appear cool that he tried to smoke pot but didn't inhale, Bill Clinton plays the saxophone on late night TV, then goes on to unseat the incumbent President in 1992. Have hope, TD3O.

 

[Tin Man]

Rich Rod should be getting a new contract soon. Arizona got him on the downswing & will have to pay up soon.

Didn't Rich Rod get some mining shares on a contingency that he remain HC for a period of years?

 

[TDs3nOut]

Let's look at the precedence. Former Governor or Arkansas and one time college student who wanted so badly to appear cool that he tried to smoke pot but didn't inhale, Bill Clinton plays the saxophone on late night TV, then goes on to unseat the incumbent President in 1992. Have hope, TD3O.

LOL I do have hope, TinMan .... now that we've fired our saxophone playing bargain coach and replaced him with the QB whisperer!

 

[Davis_Mike]

Didn't Rich Rod get some mining shares on a contingency that he remain HC for a period of years?

Yeah, I forgot they gave him a new contract last spring.

He got 175k shares valued at the time at $6,188,000. He has to stay at the school for eight years to receive this payout, whatever it becomes. If the price of the unit goes up in that time, his payout will go up; if the company struggles and the units drop in value, his payouts decrease.

 

[Tin Man]

LOL I do have hope, TinMan .... now that we've fired our saxophone playing bargain coach and replaced him with the QB whisperer!

Oh... yeah... Already, the sun shines brighter on the field.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Oh... yeah... Already, the sun shines brighter on the field.

I certainly hope so, but I also understand that it's not given. Going from Art Briles to Kevin Sumlin to Tony "Who?" Levine as head coaches was akin to climbing two mountains, only to then choose diving off a cliff, since the price of admission was such a bargain. Never, in my opinion, is it advisable to promote the ST coach to HC, even though the cost of doing so might seem to be a bargain.

 

[Tin Man]

Dabo Swinney.

 

[gpm1976]

Saban's inclusion basically discounts the entire list as they seem to be trying to get across the point that some schools have excellent coaches that aren't paid nearly what other elite coaches in college football are making....

If you are going to include Saban, "Based on what he's done for the program he's a bargain as the highest paid coach in college football!!!"? Then where is Urban Meyer? Where is Jimbo Fisher? Heck, where is Dabo Swinney? Talking about guys re-establishing programs and all.... It seems money is no object in their assessment of what a "bargain" is...

Stupid list with criteria all over the map.

This was actually my initial thought as well. I get that Saban brings in the money, but the other coaches on the list make MUCH less and have been successful almost right away. I guess I didn't think we were going to take into account other aspects like that.

 

[theboardref]

"2. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech

Estimated 2015 salary: $2.8 million
Johnson’s teams are often far from flashy, but the bang-for-buck results are inarguable. In his seven seasons in Atlanta, Georgia Tech has played in four ACC title games and twice won 10-plus games. The 11-3 season in 2014, including an Orange Bowl victory against SEC upstart Mississippi State, headed off any thoughts that Johnson could be gravitating toward the hot seat. With eight defensive starters and quarterback Justin Thomas back in 2015, the Yellow Jackets are again poised to be competitive in the league’s Coastal Division."

Hahaha here we go again..... dude runs a high school offense and won 6 games last year. He pulls a rabbit out once every 4 seasons. This was amusing when it first happened, but now it is plain annoying. He is in no way, shape, or form one of the better coaches in college football.

 

[WhiteMamba]

<~~~~~ that guy coached a team that won his conference, coached the schools first ever Heisman winner, beat the returning NC and snapped a 29 game win streak, then lost in NATTY at $2 mil per year.

Just got a little raise.

 

[iowajerms]

<~~~~~ that guy coached a team that won his conference, coached the schools first ever Heisman winner, beat the returning NC and snapped a 29 game win streak, then lost in NATTY at $2 mil per year.

Just got a little raise.

I agree that he did a great job there and may be worthy of the list. They still didn't have great "recruiting classes" and were in a tough conference, but they were still in established quality team when he took over. I think once Chip's players are out and it is all Helfrich's guys, and they are still great and he still gets paid $2 mil/yr, then he really deserves the list.

Duke was bottom feeders of ACC when Cutcliffe took over and the past few seasons they have been one of the top ACC teams. He literally had to build this team himself.

 

[WhiteMamba]

I agree that he did a great job there and may be worthy of the list. They still didn't have great "recruiting classes" and were in a tough conference, but they were still in established quality team when he took over. I think once Chip's players are out and it is all Helfrich's guys, and they are still great and he still gets paid $2 mil/yr, then he really deserves the list.

Duke was bottom feeders of ACC when Cutcliffe took over and the past few seasons they have been one of the top ACC teams. He literally had to build this team himself.

Chip didn't build it by himself. Helf single handily found MM.

Also, Helf has recruited at the highest possible ceiling for Oregon.

 

[iowajerms]

Chip didn't build it by himself. Helf single handily found MM.

Also, Helf has recruited at the highest possible ceiling for Oregon.

Arizona was horrible when RichRod took over.
Bill Snyder definitely deserves on the list.
I already talked about Cutcliffe.
I personally think BC's Addazio might be a little premature to be on the list.

 

[cwerph]

Don't forget that Saban also had his MORTGAGE paid off by Alabama fans. Which was $3.1 million tax free.

If that was tax free, I would really like to meet his accountant.

 

[963BUSC]

Bargain coaches are overrated.

Saban? I hope SC can get an overrated coach like that.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Saban? I hope SC can get an overrated coach like that.

Seems to me that including Saban on the list aimed to stir controversy and generate interest in the topic, since it is at least somewhat problematic to claim that the highest paid coach in the country is also one of the best bargains. There is a case that supports that claim, since he has also been the most successful coach in the country since he's been at AL, but not all will buy it.

My somewhat flippant reply -- that bargain coaches are overrated -- aimed to express that hiring Tony "Who" Levine to replace Kevin Sumlin, who himself replaced Art Briles, may have been less than a bargain for Houston, even though hiring Levine was relatively cheap. Just glad that we finally cut that cord and spent the money to hire Herman. Hopefully he will be on such future lists as one who aims to stir controversy and generate interest in the topic of "what is a bargain coach?".

 

[tducey]

I agree, Saban's done a great job for Alabama.

 

[963BUSC]

Seems to me that including Saban on the list aimed to stir controversy and generate interest in the topic, since it is at least somewhat problematic to claim that the highest paid coach in the country is also one of the best bargains. There is a case that supports that claim, since he has also been the most successful coach in the country since he's been at AL, but not all will buy it.

My somewhat flippant reply -- that bargain coaches are overrated -- aimed to express that hiring Tony "Who" Levine to replace Kevin Sumlin, who himself replaced Art Briles, may have been less than a bargain for Houston, even though hiring Levine was relatively cheap. Just glad that we finally cut that cord and spent the money to hire Herman. Hopefully he will be on such future lists as one who aims to stir controversy and generate interest in the topic of "what is a bargain coach?".

My opinion is a bargain coach who can move a team up in their win % while being paid less than the average. For instance if Idaho had a coach who was winning 4 games a season and getting paid around the $350 or whatever they pay it would be a great bargain coach since 4 wins is well above Idaho's average since moving back up into 1A. The same win % at Notre Dame the coach wouldn't be a bargain whatever he is paid, he would just be a Horrible Coach.

 

[Boise4Life]

My opinion is a bargain coach who can move a team up in their win % while being paid less than the average. For instance if Idaho had a coach who was winning 4 games a season and getting paid around the $350 or whatever they pay it would be a great bargain coach since 4 wins is well above Idaho's average since moving back up into 1A. The same win % at Notre Dame the coach wouldn't be a bargain whatever he is paid, he would just be a Horrible Coach.

I wonder what Paul Petrino makes at Idaho. If it's $350K per year then he's "earning" about $350K per win. Not too shabby.