OT: Gus Malzahn to Vanderbilt
He's been mentioned at many smaller schools for a while, now he gets the chance to coach in the SEC. Malzahn to Vanderbilt, according to the Washington Post. Only five years removed from coaching in the 5A state championship game in ARK, very impressive career so far.
December 12th, 2010 at 6:06 PM ^
December 12th, 2010 at 6:33 PM ^
It's not as bad as you think. The spread was designed in part to counteract the advantages big schools with power teams had, which is why it works at WVU, Texas Tech, Boise, etc. It was made for the underdog.
Plus, the SEC East is weak, especially with Florida now struggling, in addition to Tennessee and Georgia. If he can beat two of the three, he'll be a hero, and be the big name looking for an elite job in a few years.
December 12th, 2010 at 6:42 PM ^
Malzahn wasn't going to get an elite job right away, especially not in his first head coaching gig. He gets to coach in the SEC and if he even gets them to a couple bowl games he will be in a position to get one of the big name jobs. ADs just want to see a little success from him as HC and he will get a lot of interviews.
December 12th, 2010 at 7:16 PM ^
December 12th, 2010 at 7:47 PM ^
December 12th, 2010 at 6:07 PM ^
To quote Luke at 11W,
Congratulations to Houston Nutt on his ascension to being the worst coach in the SEC
It had to be him or Dooley, right?
December 12th, 2010 at 6:42 PM ^
I guess since Tennessee prioritized Cutcliffe and couldn't get him.
December 12th, 2010 at 6:10 PM ^
Auburn minus Malzahn and Newton? I guess we scheduled the wrong Alabama team for 2012.
December 12th, 2010 at 7:03 PM ^
I think we have witnessed the apex of Gene Chizik's career.
December 12th, 2010 at 8:28 PM ^
Let's see...he has a Heisman Trophy winner to his credit, and if he beats Oregon, a Nat'l Championship to his credit, with that combination, I can tell ya, there are not may of those around are there? Yeah, if that's the apex, few reach it, so yeah. I love Bo, but these are two things NOT on his resume...where's the justice in that?
December 12th, 2010 at 9:26 PM ^
You do understand the meaning of the word apex, right?
December 12th, 2010 at 11:49 PM ^
I fail to see your point. The high point of his career is National Title and Heisman ain't bad as a high point.
December 12th, 2010 at 9:13 PM ^
The difference between Chizik's horrendous stint at ISU and this season at Auburn is Malzahn and a great pro QB
December 13th, 2010 at 1:06 PM ^
If I were Gene Chizik, I would be asking for an extension ASAP (if he hasn't already).
December 12th, 2010 at 6:18 PM ^
If the 3 million a year rumor is true then Vandy is getting serious about football.
Also Les Miles must love this. His salary is that of the next highest paid coach plus one dollar. If little old Vandy is dropping 3 million for talent, imagine what big programs are going to end up dropping.
December 12th, 2010 at 6:25 PM ^
What happens if another coach had that put into his contract? Never ending dollar raises?
December 12th, 2010 at 6:48 PM ^
Never ending $2 raises.
December 12th, 2010 at 6:25 PM ^
The only problem is their facilities are still extremely lacking, and they should have put money forth for both. But I understand they must have really wanted Gus.
December 12th, 2010 at 6:29 PM ^
I wonder of Vandy will have enough cash left over to hire good assistants and do some facilities upgrades or if they'll hire Gus but have nothing to back it up with.
December 12th, 2010 at 6:39 PM ^
If another SEC coach signed a contract with a similar clause to Les Miles (next highest plus $1) ... would both he and Les Miles be legally entitiled to an infinite salary?
Edit: ^^^ looks like someone else beat me to the same thought! Then again, I have also seen where the clause is actually next highest +$1000; yet both Urban Meyer and Nick Saban reportedly are paid more than Miles. So, have fun lawyers!
December 12th, 2010 at 6:47 PM ^
http://i.usatoday.net/sports/graphics/2009/coaches-contracts/pdf/miles_lsu.pdf
Looks like it was changed to "Total Compensation shall be no less than highest in SEC + 1k". This was due to issues over private schools not releasing salary info and making it harder.
The legalese version is there is a difference between (base) salary and total compensation. So the contact says Les gets the salary +1k, but Meyer/Saban can still have a higher total compensation with bonuses, etc.
December 12th, 2010 at 8:49 PM ^
Meyer and Saban are paid more in money but Miles is paid more in chewable grass.
December 12th, 2010 at 6:38 PM ^
next RR, bringing Vandy to the pinnacle of SEC. SEC is "mulled" over...
December 12th, 2010 at 6:43 PM ^
If this is true it'll be really interesting to see if this is effective immediately or after Auburn's season is over. If this takes effect before the national chapionship game then Auburn might be in big, big trouble. Granted, Auburn didn't have Cam Newton last year, but the difference in the basic nature of Auburn's offense between this year and last year is vast. I really think this would have a huge impact on Auburn, even with Newton in the line up.
December 12th, 2010 at 6:54 PM ^
I wonder if he leaves before the championship game. And who knows whether he'll be anywhere near as good a head coach as he was a coordinator. Finally, I can't believe Vandy would pay their coach almost a million dollars more than we pay ours.
December 12th, 2010 at 7:04 PM ^
Michigan is its own reward.
/ upturned nose
December 12th, 2010 at 7:17 PM ^
RR has a six-year, $15 million contract.
December 12th, 2010 at 7:02 PM ^
Interesting. Makes me wonder if he's breaking camp before all hell breaks loose down there.
December 12th, 2010 at 7:41 PM ^
Looks like this report may be pre-mature according to ESPN.
No announcement has been made just yet.
December 12th, 2010 at 7:50 PM ^
December 12th, 2010 at 9:46 PM ^
I think this will really hurt Auburn. Losing $cam Newton, Malzahn, and several laptops will be tough to recover from.
December 12th, 2010 at 9:53 PM ^
Hopefully the loss of Malzahn hurts Auburn's chances in the NC game. I don't want a cheater winning the NC game just so they can take it away and declare that, well, uhh...I guess nobody won the national championship at the end of the 2010 season.
December 12th, 2010 at 11:08 PM ^
I can't see it not hurting Auburn in the NC game. The difference in Auburn's offense was night and day between this year and last year, Newton not withstanding. The first couple of games, before they really started leaning on Newton, it was a vastly different offense than anything they ran last year. There will probably be enough carryover staff and familiarity with the playbook, but man, I would have to think this really hurts Auburn's chances in this game. They are going to have to be firing on all cylinders to keep up with Oregon, anyway.
December 14th, 2010 at 1:13 AM ^
cnnsi.com reporting the same thing. Looks like he will make over $1 million/year as an OC...
I need a new career.