Balas: Herbert wanted to stay, but M wouldn't give him the long-term deal he wanted
According to Chris Balas ($), Ben Herbert wanted to stay at Michigan, and told Michigan what it would take to keep him, and Warde Manuel didn't give it to him. Manuel said at the Sherrone press conference that he was doing his "due diligence" on Herbert. Apparently he didn't do enough of it.
So we can blame Harbaugh all we want but this seems like Warde Manuel's fault for not doing what it takes to retain the most important coach in the program.
January 29th, 2024 at 3:42 PM ^
It was always on Warde. Of course JH wants the best, he's supposed to want and fight for the best.
Unfortunately Warde doesn't seem to share the same passion for retaining the best. He'd rather get value.
January 29th, 2024 at 3:52 PM ^
I am all for piling on Warde, I think he has turned this entire situation into a complete bumblefuck, but I have lost all faith on Balas's "inside" information. He seems to either be completely out of the loop, or has such a fringe source that most of his info is just flat out wrong.
I am probably still bitter from his "Jim is back in Ann Arbor today, in the building talking about passports" post from the day he was in fact still in LA signing a contract with the Chargers.
/incoherent ramble rant.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:00 PM ^
i don't particularly trust Balas or any of the insiders for that matter but unless Herbert's life long dream was to be an unknown NFL S&C coach (which seems farfetched given the environment) this is just more of the same from Warde.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:14 PM ^
Maybe he just took a significant raise for a lot less work to move to California to keep working with a guy he's very close to?
January 29th, 2024 at 4:24 PM ^
Not good enough!
When a person is faced with options like that how do you convince them you want them more, and that you offer even greater opportunities?
Because that's all we expect Warde to do. Exactly that!
January 29th, 2024 at 6:30 PM ^
I doubt Herbert got much of a raise, if at all, but he is probably envisioning the potential of opening his own private gym in LA that he operates alongside his NFL duties. It's not uncommon for strength coaches to run private gyms on the side, and being in LA as a renowned strength coach he will be able to attract top athletes and rich clientele.
January 29th, 2024 at 6:43 PM ^
With 2 pro FB teams in town, plus all the other sports teams.
January 29th, 2024 at 7:33 PM ^
from what I've read, unless Harbaugh is able to ensure Herbert is paid almost 2x what the highest paid S&C coach in the NFL is paid, Herbert is taking a significant paycut to follow Harbaugh.
How that fits with what Balas is reporting, I don't know, but after Balas' "Harbaugh is is back in the building today" nonsense, I don't trust him as far as I could throw him.
January 29th, 2024 at 8:06 PM ^
I was once a Balas fan. After this season he’s been wrong so much I’ve moved on. Even today is article on Herbert leaving it looked like he completely stole all the info from Josh at Rivals.
January 29th, 2024 at 8:34 PM ^
I’ve been seeing $2.5-$3 million per year thrown around online for his LA salary.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:20 PM ^
We literally JUST signed Herbert less than a year ago to a 5-year deal, making him the highest-paid strength coach in college football history. If 5 years isn't enough, what is? Honest question, what actually is the standard contract for strength coaches? I would guess it's probably one of the better contracts in the nation. Are we supposed to give the guy a 20-year or lifetime contract?
Also, yes, Balas is constantly entirely full of shit.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:32 PM ^
Right. The constant piling onto Warde is tiring. Even if this tidbit is true, it’s clearly coming from a biased source, and we have no idea what Herbert was asking for. If “he wanted to stay,” he could have honored his existing contract. Ergo, he wanted something else more than he “wanted to stay.”
January 29th, 2024 at 4:33 PM ^
The market dictates how much is enough...
January 29th, 2024 at 6:13 PM ^
Well, he's literally the highest-paid college strength coach of all time, so...
January 29th, 2024 at 9:47 PM ^
He’s the highest paid S&C coach in college football and he reportedly wanted Michigan to nearly triple that salary.
The market dictating how much is enough doesn’t mean you spend 3x what everybody else is spending. If someone wants to overpay, that doesn’t reset the market.
January 31st, 2024 at 9:34 PM ^
"reportedly wanted Michigan to nearly triple that salary"
source?
January 29th, 2024 at 4:35 PM ^
That was with Harbaugh, the dynamic has totally changed as Moore is now the hc. I’ve heard Herbert wanted a new ten year contract, likely in the event things don’t go well! It’s just the way it is! Can’t fault him if he has a really good offer with Harbaugh and the Chargers to get a better deal to stay and if not move on.
January 29th, 2024 at 5:45 PM ^
Michigan will need a S&C coach in each of the next ten years, right? Herbert has proven himself, so why not give him that request?!
January 29th, 2024 at 9:51 PM ^
I’d assume in part because any head coaching hire will want his own pick of a strength and conditioning coach… If for whatever reason Moore isn’t here in a couple years, whoever we hire may not want him.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:56 PM ^
Agreed. No concrete information has come out and Balas is unreliable and might just be lead Ann Arbor torch and pitchfork to Warde’s house. Did Warde screw it up? Maybe, but Herbert already had a sweet deal. Until something concrete comes out I’m going to believe he left because Harbaugh really wanted him in LA.
January 29th, 2024 at 5:29 PM ^
Exactly which is why the snake oil salesmen like Balas are just spewing lies. I've said this for the past 10-15 years, since the Les Miles to Michigan bullshit.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:15 AM ^
Just found this from a November 2023 article:
Top 10 Highest-Paid Strength Coaches In College Football In 2024
- 10. Joey Batson, Clemson – $625,000
- 9. Ron McKeefery, Washington – $625,008
- 8. Jerry Schmidt, Oklahoma – $650,000
- 7. Aaron Wellman, Indiana – $710,000
- 6. David Ballou, Alabama – $725,000
- 5. Mark Hocke, Florida – $750,000
- 4. Raimond Braithwaite, Iowa – $760,000
- 3. Mickey Marotti, Ohio State – $882,238
- 2. Rob Glass, Oklahoma State – $1,000,000
- 1. Ben Herbert, Michigan – $1,000,000
Who are the Highest-Paid Strength Coaches in College Football? (thesportsdaily.com)
January 30th, 2024 at 10:03 AM ^
This all seems more like cover for Herbert honestly. If he makes a relatively absurd request and it gets denied, then he can say 'oh well I would've stayed. Guess I'll just go make $2MM/yr with LA. Not my fault'
January 31st, 2024 at 10:49 AM ^
And Harbaugh has a 5-year deal with the Chargers, so if that doesn't work out, Herbert is out there, too. I don't see how it could be about a long-term deal if it's the exact thing he already had.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:36 PM ^
Worse than a bumblefuck. This is a cluster fuck.
January 29th, 2024 at 5:52 PM ^
Where is Ono in all of this? Remember how he was this cool president that embraced athletics and was competitive when it came to sports? How is he not furious with Warde right now for gutting our coaching staff?
January 29th, 2024 at 6:56 PM ^
Herbert already has a 5 year contract that was renewed just a few months ago. His boss, Moore, has a 5 year contract and Herbert wants a longer term contract? This sounds bogus to me.
January 29th, 2024 at 9:00 PM ^
certainly could be bs. could also be true - or somewhere in between, which is often the case.
totally understandable that short of a dream contract in college, herbert intended to accept nfl offer. so he shot for the moon - pay me double or stretch it to 10 yrs or whatever.
maybe he simply works well with harbaugh. not that hed end up in similar situation with moore but he just saw a crazy situation unfold w hoops strength coach.
who knows. we do know he currently has the top contract in college, i believe. hes worth it too, at least according to the staff/players/parents. no one spends more time with players than strength staff. incredibly important position, as evidenced by the uproar here
January 30th, 2024 at 9:56 AM ^
Same. I got a list of problems with Warde, but feel the handwringing over this transition and the aspects he is responsible for, is a bit overboard. Balas (which is his right) is just sharing his agenda. Any opportunity for the fanbase to freak out is fair game as opinion, but as reported fact is bit dubious.
January 29th, 2024 at 3:55 PM ^
I should specify that Balas didn't explicitly name Warde in his comments, but it seems pretty clear that this was Warde's decision, given that agreeing to Herbert's salary request would require Warde's clearance (due to the assistant coach budget being up to Warde). Theoretically, it could have been Sherrone saying no to Herbert's terms, but this is highly unlikely.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:05 PM ^
Idk, with the figures I’ve seen suggested I can’t really blame anyone involved for saying no to paying 3x as much for a S&C coach as any other program
January 29th, 2024 at 4:10 PM ^
If we think he's important enough and we can afford it (which should be all the more true given that we're now paying our head coach significantly less), why should we care what other schools are paying their guys?
January 29th, 2024 at 4:19 PM ^
The powers that be determined that he’s not important enough to warrant paying him that much more than the going rate for a S&C coach. He was already the highest paid in college football and (if rumors are to be believed) nearly tripling that is insane.
The reason you can sit there and say things like “we can afford it” is precisely because we don’t go out and do things like spend 3x what anyone else spends on things like a S&C coach. Just because you can afford something doesn’t mean you should spend well over market value for it.
As good of a strength coach as Herbert is, it’s pretty wild to try and justify spending $2.5-$3 million per year on that position. Tess has been his right hand man for 5 years now and comes with a much more realistic price tag.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:37 PM ^
Exactly this....if the right hand man comes at a discount, why not just move on instead of paying an exorbitant price for a S&C coach. Hard to believe that someone that has been side by side with Herbert for 5 years cannot continue the same practices and procedures going forward.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:56 PM ^
Ryan Day was Meyer’s right hand man, but he isn’t Meyer.
January 29th, 2024 at 5:07 PM ^
RDay was Chip Kelly's right hand man as Chip Kelly is left-handed.
January 29th, 2024 at 5:42 PM ^
Ryan Day is also 56-8 (.875) and has made the CFP three times in 5 years. Meyer went 83-9 (.902) and made the CFP twice in 7 years (CFP only existed for 5 of them). The difference between the two is that Meyer had inexplicable blowout losses to the likes of Purdue and Iowa, and that Day has struggled to beat Michigan.
But all in all, if you could get Day for 1/3 the price you’d get Meyer, that’s not a bad deal.
January 29th, 2024 at 7:35 PM ^
Meyer also won 3 NCs and was - for the most part - a killer in big games. Yes, he lost a handful that he shouldn't have lost but he was at his best in games that were huge
January 29th, 2024 at 8:50 PM ^
Meyer won one NC at OSU. Which I think is more relevant to what he accomplished there and what his right hand man accomplished in the aftermath of his exit than something he accomplished at a completely different school a decade before leaving OSU
January 29th, 2024 at 9:15 PM ^
Seriously? Meyer coached at OSU for seven season. He won outright or tied for the Big Ten East Championship every year, beat Michigan every year and won a National Championship. He finished in the top 6 nationally every year but one, and they were 10th and 12th in the polls that year. If you gave OSU fans the choice, they obviously wouldn’t take Day at 1/3the price.
January 29th, 2024 at 10:10 PM ^
Harbaugh was still figuring things out when Meyer was at Ohio State. Harbaugh darn near (should have beaten) Meyer in 2016 and would have in 2017 with John O'Korn if J.T. Barrett didn't get hurt.
Harbaugh would have beaten Meyer in 2021 and 2022 and probably in 2023.
January 29th, 2024 at 10:13 PM ^
Again, the literal only difference there is Meyer lost his games to cross-over opponents while Day has lost to Michigan. That’s the difference between finishing at the top of the division or in 2nd place. Michigan being elite. Day has 3 conference losses, ALL to Michigan. Swap a couple of those out for a blowout loss to Iowa and Purdue, and you have the same resume Meyer does. Including the fact that Day has finished top 6 every year except one, finishing #10 this year. Let’s add in the fact that Meyer had his own set of close calls with Michigan, nearly losing after some questionable officiating in 2016 and almost losing to John O’Freakin Korn as well.
While we’re giving Meyer credit for a national title, Day is a shanked field goal by an otherwise reliable kicker away from walking to a title in 2022. You’re talking about circumstantial differences between the two.
The point is, the right hand man of a great coach has also been great. And you’re trying to use it as some counter-point to going with the right hand man when the OG is asking for something outrageous.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:45 PM ^
The university of Michigan is a business, and the athletic department is part of that business. There are many other parts of Michigan's business which it needs to keep in alignment. Many of UM's undergraduate and graduate programs are perennially top-ten in the country. I assume we pay the deans of those departments a top-dollar salary, and we also pay those departments' key professors a top salary.
For a top athletic department performer like Herbert, we have seen the university is willing to pay top dollar - he's reportedly the top-paid S&C coach in college football. The university was willing to make Harbaugh the top-paid coach in football.
If the university were to have jacked up Herbert's pay substantially above the maximum paid by any other football program, the line of deans and professors outside President Ono's door would be quite long, as the "Herbert precedent" would echo loudly along the academic corridors of the university.
Blame Warde all you want, but the reported salary request (by Herbert) was a non-starter for President Ono and the entire university.
January 29th, 2024 at 7:22 PM ^
Wait. You actually believe that deans and professors would be able to get raises because some dude on the Athletic Department payroll got a raise? That is NOT how universities work. Not even close.
January 29th, 2024 at 10:17 PM ^
I mean if I saw a S&C coach getting 3x the amount the next person in their profession is getting, I’d be inquiring about a raise. 3 times the next highest in the profession is crazy.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:25 PM ^
Why?
Those same sources are saying the Chargers are!
January 29th, 2024 at 4:30 PM ^
The Chargers have a significantly larger budget to operate with than Michigan athletics, and that still doesn’t mean it’s a wise investment on their end.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:37 PM ^
JH thinks he's worth it... Warde doesn't.
It's that simple.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:51 PM ^
I mean if we’re ignoring that the Chargers more than double the revenue of the entire UM Athletic Department and the operating income is ~50x higher, meaning they have a ton of additional money on hand to spend… then sure it’s as simple as Harbaugh thinking he’s worth it and Warde not.
January 29th, 2024 at 5:19 PM ^
But Jim isn't paying him, Warde is. What a weird comment.