December 6th, 2016 at 11:55 AM ^
I mean... can one even survive in Battle Creek / Kzoo on $3 million a year?
December 6th, 2016 at 2:13 PM ^
I can tell you that I would struggle to make it on $3 Mil a year. I am going out an a limb to that I am better off sticking with my teacher salary. PJ Flex with all the people he rubs elbows with will probably be able to provide for his family? Probably?
Go Blue! Committ weekend (crosses fingers) and beat FSU
December 6th, 2016 at 12:31 PM ^
Maybe he thinks he is on the level of those 20 coaches. Why not take more money and go to a bigger program that can contend for a championship if the right coach is in place? A place like Oregon is not bad and there will be others open up. Why not take a short term deal and bet on yourself? He has a lot of options and all of them have him a wealthy man.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
are insane. That would be one of the best deals ever signed by anybody. Talk about a gig with zero pressure! Plus he'd still be in his mid 40's when it was done
December 6th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
It doesn't say $3 million/year. It says $30 million over 10 years. It could start at $2 million per year and end at $4 million. It could all be guaranteed. There could be incentives in the contract to increase his salary if he wins bowl games or makes the playoffs. There is to much that could be in the contract to say that it's stupid for him to take the contract.
December 6th, 2016 at 12:33 PM ^
him $3 million every year. I'd assume a signing bonus, stay bonuses and a lower salary that increases every year. The buyout clauses would be a big factor too.
December 6th, 2016 at 12:37 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 11:33 AM ^
I'm from Kzoo, and this is all hearsay so believe what you want, but while WMU's athletic budgest would never be able to afford this, Western does have a surprising (for a directional MAC school) amount of deep-pocketed donors willing to put up for Fleck's salary.
IMO not a great move, since the end game here is what, becoming a MAC powerhouse? Not worth 3M a year.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^
End game might be moving up and out of the MAC
December 6th, 2016 at 11:40 AM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 11:46 AM ^
You'd be praying for an AAC invite like the rest of the MAC. I know that's UBuffalo's dream
December 6th, 2016 at 12:40 PM ^
he Big XII is desperate....jj...but still
December 6th, 2016 at 1:22 PM ^
On the one hand, you're absolutely right. On the other hand, the Big Ten took Rutgers.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:42 AM ^
Not a great plan. Where would they move to? The American is the only even remotely feasible conference, and it probably wouldn't take them unless they sustain this success for a while, and even then, the travel expenses for all of WMU's teams would probably kill whatever benefit they get.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:45 AM ^
I kind of feel like having a directional Michigan name will forever bind them with Central, Eastern, and the MAC (and Northern to a lesser extent). If they really, really want to spread their wings and fly then a school name change may be in order and I'm not sure that's really a great move.
December 6th, 2016 at 12:11 PM ^
is rumored to be putting up that Binford money so PJ can keep rowing the boat in Kalamazoo.
HOHHH HOHHH HOHHH
December 6th, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^
The Cotton Bowl payout is probably worth $4,000,000.
Art the Styrker family WMU boosters?
It'd be cool if a directional school could keep a good coach, but it isn't going to happen.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:46 AM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 11:48 AM ^
and Tom Gores brother, he played football there. he paid for the new scoreboard
Western medical school is named after homer stryker
December 6th, 2016 at 12:57 PM ^
Great name for my next life.
December 6th, 2016 at 12:08 PM ^
Yes, the payout is $4M. But...first piece goes to expenses. Let's say they take a bus, stay at a Motel Six and eat at McDonalds; the trip only costs $100K. Ridiculous, but that's an absolute minimum. Now there's $3.9M. The 12 schools in the MAC split that--WMU gets 2/13, everybody else gets 1/13. That leaves $600K for Westerrn Michigan after EMU and all of the other MAC schools get their $300K each.
Also, Western Michigan is required to buy $2M worth of tickets to sell. So, before ticket sales, Western Michigan is starting out $1,400,000 in the hole. If they sell their entire allocation, they make $600,000. Plus merchandise sales, but those have to be split with the bowl if the word "Cotton Bowl" appears on them.
There is no way WMU comes out ahead more than $1,000,000 or so, and it's quite possible that this ends up being nothing better than break-even for them. So giving a coach a $30,000,000 raise is not going to be based on any bowl revenue.
December 6th, 2016 at 12:20 PM ^
I've seen where they are staying. It ain't a Motel 6. And it shouldn't be. This isn't a once-in-a-generation team at WMU, it's a first and only ever team.
Dr. Dunn, the school president, is a big supporter of the football team and the band. He's not going to cheap out on this; it's very hard earned and likely won't happen again for decades.
If they can figure out a way to keep Fleck there, where he seems genuinely happy and is clearly successful, and it doesn't result in more fees or tuition increases, all the power to them. Let the wealthy donors/alums step up if they enjoyed this season and want to see more like it.
December 6th, 2016 at 12:26 PM ^
Understood--that was kind of my point. Obviously they are going to travel in what the average fan would see as ridiculous luxury, and they are going to spend the entire bowl allocation on the trip.
There won't be anything left over, so yes--hopefully for WMU the donors step up. The top floor conference room at the Westin in Dallas might help loosen a few wallets, so maybe it will be money well spent.
December 6th, 2016 at 4:54 PM ^
There not allowed to stay at a Motel 6. The have to stay at a hotel that signed a contract with the Bowl Committee and paid the Bowl a big kickback to make the deal. Bowl finance is something else - the schools end up subsidizing the bowls rather than vice versa. The NCAA really needs to step in and clean this up. I can't imagine the bill that EMU is going to have for the Bahamas Bowl.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^
built up in Kalamazoo that consistently kicks ass.
Great for Southwestern Michigan.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:37 AM ^
If it's private donations or largely private donations then I could see it paying off from a student recruiting perspective.
Either way, I see this being a Houston & Tom Herman situation. You can try and try to keep him around but ultimately the allure of a big time program will yank him away
December 6th, 2016 at 11:39 AM ^
It all makes sense when you realize there are secret negotiations between the B1G and the MAC to swap Western for Rutgers.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:55 AM ^
to the MAC!
December 6th, 2016 at 11:39 AM ^
Western Michigan is number one in the nation in turnover margin. People might want to hold off on throwing piles of cash at Fleck until he proves he can replicate this season with more normalized turnover luck. Otherwise, they risk getting another Darrell Hazell.
December 6th, 2016 at 12:38 PM ^
One big year in the MAC is only worth so much on a resume. He'll need to interview like Ed O at LSU.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:39 AM ^
They're going to use their payout from the Cotton Bowl to keep their coach there.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:41 AM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 11:57 AM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 11:57 AM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 11:42 AM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 11:43 AM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 12:26 PM ^
Western's making him the MAC version of a Godfather offer. He could stay at Western, burnish the credentials, and be the first choice in East Lansing in 5-10 years when Dantonio's leaving, still putting Fleck as a P5 HC before he's 50. Plus with his family situation, that's a win for everyone.
December 6th, 2016 at 12:28 PM ^
Fleck could also be thinking that he'd be a potential candidate in Ann Arbor should Harbaugh leave in 3-5 years....
December 6th, 2016 at 12:34 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 12:40 PM ^
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December 6th, 2016 at 12:41 PM ^
Dantonio doesn't have a widly successful coaching tree or young assistants waiting in the wings in East Lansing. Narduzzi's settling in at Pitt, and Fleck would probably even today be more attractive than Narduzzi regardless. Add in 3-4 years with a continued demonstration to recruit, 2 or 3 more MAC titles, and he'd be a Sparty Savior.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:44 AM ^
If you think Western's facilities and PJ Fleck will be sufficient to reload and replicate years like 2016, you're a WMU alum or naive. It's a cute story, but..
Fleck needs to sell high. I'm telling you, this is the same problem they had with Gary Darnell.
December 6th, 2016 at 11:49 AM ^
football facilities then some big ten schools. The Seelye center is top notch
December 6th, 2016 at 11:51 AM ^
December 6th, 2016 at 11:54 AM ^
Hey, if PJ can get a decent amount guaranteed then maybe this is selling high. What's the alternative? Taking $4mil a year at a big school and getting fired after 3 years?
December 6th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
Only if you assume he's going to get fired at his next job. Most folks (non-WMU alumni) assume he wont go 12-0 every year at Western. At what point does $3m (if true) make the inevitable 7-5, 5-7, 6-6, 8-4 seasons a massive overpay?
December 6th, 2016 at 1:29 PM ^
5-7? Have you seen the recruiting classes he's pulling in relative to the rest of the MAC? Which 5 MAC teams are going to beat them, do you think?
If he wants to stay - I have no idea if he does and expect Fleck to leave just like Peppers will - but if he wanted to stay, there's no reason to think he couldn't tear up such a weak conference for years on end. Boise State's worst year since 2001 was 8-5 in tougher conferences.
December 6th, 2016 at 6:41 PM ^
December 7th, 2016 at 10:30 AM ^
Because MAC. And this comes from someone that loves MACtion.
Name one (1) program that made a leap to become an annual power. Just one. And don't say Marshall because they weren't in the MAC very long and, well, they resumed obscurity upon exiting.
Actually, let's name one (1) MAC program that has sustained 8-4 level success for more than, say, 3 years.