Top 40 or 50?! That’s like saying there’s not much daylight between Georgia and Georgia Tech, Florida and UCF, etc… Even within the B1G or SEC, there is clear disparity between the blue bloods and everyone else IMO. Even if you maximize your potential at a certain school, a blue blood can almost instantly offer more pay and resources.
GT VS UGA and UF VS UCF are unfair comps. You're talking two top 10~ revenue programs VS two ranked in the mid 60s. What makes you think a top 40~ program wouldn't be willing to pay a top 5~ coach that same money? We're talking places like VA Tech, Colorado, Oklahoma State. If you're consistently winning 10 games a year and grab a natty I don't think any of those programs save for a select few (the smaller privates come to mind) wouldn't be willing to pay you and your staff top flight money. The ROI for a top tier football program is just too high and they know it. In terms of resources/facilities, I think there's diminishing returns on that. At a certain point, having the biggest flat screen tvs or the most RGB lights in the locker room doesn't really matter. Although the gap there 1-50 is probably way more substantial than the theoretical payroll gap. Case in point, Houston was willing to match Tom Herman's UT salary dollar for dollar, but the facility and exposure gap there is massive. Same with Fickell and Cinci/Wisconsin.
I don't blame him. The game has changed too much. He was wise to get out before his legacy was tainted. Having said that, Alabama is going to hire Lane Kiffin.
Just to be clear, you are talking about pure salary here? If it’s everyone else included, sorry but it is just not even close. That’s simply the disparity in college sports.
I just heard Dabo Sweeney has $60 mill dollar buyout that has a 1.5 multiplier if he goes specifically to Alabama. $90 million!!!! Shock pikachu face. Sarkisian $15 mill Dan Lanning $20 mill DeBoer $12 mill Lane Kiffen (private) lol
Hard to account for staff salaries as that info isn't as well known. There's a few outliers on the pay to revenue scale. For example, Mark Stoops is getting top 10 money while the UK program is ranked 60th in revenue. Mike Gundy is in the top 15 and OkState is 44th in revenue. Mizzou is 61st in revenue and their coach has a top 25 salary. Point being, I don't think what's holding back lower tier P5 teams is an unwillingness to pay elite money to elite coaches.
If they want to offer like 10yr/100mil do you thing demeco will stay? Not sure if they would offer something like that. He grew up less than a hour from there.
It's still the deep south and the SEC as a whole has had very few black head coaches - and Alabama never has had one. Lots of boosters still out there who grew up decades ago, and they often control these hires.
Although sports typically do keep on moving like a train, think Saban is dead on, that the NCAA has changed for the worse and it's only in decline. Men's basketball has never been the same since one and done and the NIL. It's a shell of its' former self. NCAA football is still getting 3-4 years from its' players currently, but with NIL and the Portal it's a different machine now. And I don't think it can hold its' position for much longer. Once players start leaving schools, rooting interest wanes because even though we still root for the teams, it just feels like a watered-down product. The players deserve the money. They do. And they deserve a choice. They do. But the product is spiraling down a drain into a minor league at best.
NFL HC who’ve had success like Demeco don’t go to college unless they’ve been fired. This was the only job Demeco really wanted. Some 49er beat writers have confirmed it. He interviewed with the Broncos but that was more a formality. His heart was in Houston. John McClain said it’s very likely Demeco gets a contract raise and extension this off-season. But more importantly, and this is something that has been said by a few college beat writers, the college game has changed so much that it’s become a genuine year round hassle. Comparatively the NFL is an easier gig. More pressure and less job security sure but it’s a helluva lot easier.
Agreed, the NIL and transfer portal have changed college sports for the worse IMO, there should be some mechanism to get them paid, but not just the top end players, the entire team through something like revenue sharing on a small scale. The transfer portal while good for the student athlete has to suck for the coaches and the school. I grew up a huge Nebraska fan and that type of loyalty from the players is out the window, now a snotty 2-star player who doesn't get the playing time he wants just moves to a new school..............they deserve it, but the product to me is suffering, I would like them to have some stipulations
So what is the reason in your opinion if the money is relatively equal and there is a diminishing return on resources/facilities? Take Mark Stoops for example, despite being a Top 10 highest paid coach, the dude was waiting on a tarmac in College Station just a month ago.
If I’m Clemson, I’m willing to drop that down if they’ll take Dabo off their hands. Fighting NIL and the portal like he has is a losing battle.
I think the facilities gap (and maybe/likely the staff payroll gap) are bigger than the salary gap. But how much better do you think life is for a coach at Texas or Georgia than at South Carolina or Utah? The lily can only be so gilded as to make a material impact on your job satisfaction.
Unless you’re Steve Spurrier, think it takes a lot more than money and a nice lifestyle when these coaches are making a decision.
