OT: the coaching carousel begins (Houston gives Herman a big raise)
A lot of big jobs are opening up and Houston is doing its best to retain Jim Tom Herman:
Houston announces it's raising Tom Herman's salary to $3M a year. Serious bid to hang on to him.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) November 20, 2015
That's not enough to prevent someone like Virginia Tech from making a run at him, but it makes him the highest paid coach outside of the Power 5 + Notre Dame... by a lot. It will take a big offer from a big-time school to dislodge him. Still, odds are probably pretty good that he'll be a finalist somewhere this year.
Here's a useful list of the highest-paid coaches: http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/
November 19th, 2015 at 8:12 PM ^
Disagree on VATech comment - Beamer makes 2.75M this year. Thats a boatload of money for a non P5. You'd have to go 4Mish to get him to move now - I dont see VATech going up 50% in salary for a guy with 1 year of HC experience.
That would be the 30th highest paid guy in the country in Louisville / West Virginia / Arizona State range.
Dabo Swinney makes $3.3M in comparison. rich rod $3.2M, Jim Mora $3.4M.
Tommy Tubberville at Cincy was the highest non P5 at $2.2M; next was George O'Leary at UCF at $1.9M - thats serious cash for Houston.
I wonder if this is with an eye with the B12 expanding to 2 more teams so they can make divisions and have a championship game.
November 19th, 2015 at 8:18 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 8:41 PM ^
They've lost Art Briles and Kevin Sumlin so they are not about to lose Herman after one year.
November 19th, 2015 at 8:48 PM ^
Houston could have Sumlin back for all Aggie fans care.
November 19th, 2015 at 9:23 PM ^
Not a fan?
November 19th, 2015 at 9:05 PM ^
but I didn't think he was going to leave after this season anyway. I think it's probably still too soon for him to get a top tier job, but he's on the right track.
November 19th, 2015 at 9:33 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 10:34 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 8:18 PM ^
...but since salaries tend to go up, not down, I figured that VaTech will be willing to pay MORE for Beamer's replacement than less.
You're probably right, though, that it might take quite a bit more than $3 mill a year to get Herman to leave now... in which case, Houston is smart to have made the move.
But don't you think that if VaTech would be willing to offer $3.3 million a year, Herman would at least listen, if only to get yet another raise? VaTech presumably has a lot of advantages over Houston.
November 19th, 2015 at 8:33 PM ^
Nah you don't move for a 10% raise after signing a contract a month earlier (coaches will be moving in 3-4 weeks). Also Todd Graham was universally hated for leaving Pitt after 1 year for a lateral move to ASU. Still considered scum by many. Herman wants that?
Again guy has 1 year of experiance - you going to pay him $3.75M for 13 games of success? Look what Hoke did in year 1.
November 19th, 2015 at 9:25 PM ^
Thats all good and fair, but what is the guy supposed to do... not accept the raise?
One bad season and anyone - maybe not Harbaugh, but you never know - is on the hot seat, there's no loyalty in this business, and I don't think his reputation would be ruined if he left for a better job and more money.
November 20th, 2015 at 11:28 AM ^
He hasn't agreed to the raise. the news is that Houston has approval to offer him up to $3M per year.
From the above link:
November 19th, 2015 at 9:15 PM ^
I doubt he sees VT as a dream job. That's probably in Austin and it might be open before too long. Hopping around a year at a time is not the best way to build a resume.
I don't think offering a 10% raise would be a serious attempt to attract Herman. You're asking him to move across the country after one year and immediately after getting a big raise. How long would VT expect to keep him if he took that offer?
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November 19th, 2015 at 9:23 PM ^
Yeah, the hint about his plans wouldn't be the size of the new salary, it would be the size and time-structure of the buyout. I don't see that listed yet.
November 19th, 2015 at 9:32 PM ^
Houston's board just authorized the AD to offer Herman the raise.
November 20th, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
I thought I saw where the buyout is 2.25M. Houston should try and get somethng in place like Colorado St with McElwain
November 19th, 2015 at 8:43 PM ^
Amazing how much salaries have gone up. Lloyd Carr made in the $1M to $1.5M range at the end of his career IIRC. That was only eight years ago. We then paid RichRod about $2M a year and at the time that was one of the largest deals in the country. Now Houston is paying 50% more!
November 19th, 2015 at 8:48 PM ^
A Harbaugh lifts all boats.
This is why MAC schools are doomed. Any decent coach won't have a half life of 3 years. Shocked Fleck is not gone already, dude from Bowling Green just popped champagne tonight as well.
November 19th, 2015 at 8:59 PM ^
I'm a big Fleck guy, but his 6-5 record doesn't exactly help his cause. He could be a great coach or he could end up being the next Darrell Hazell. It would be risky for someone like Illinois to take a gamble on another MAC coach.
November 19th, 2015 at 9:05 PM ^
Yep he is a great recruiter for that level school. I think WMU had better classes than 4-5 Big 10 schools last year. But as we know well here that is only half the job.
row that boat.
November 19th, 2015 at 9:20 PM ^
can't overcome their disadvantages in recruiting.
November 20th, 2015 at 8:50 AM ^
MAC schools have never been able to compete with bigger conferences for coaches' services. This is nothing new.
November 20th, 2015 at 12:14 PM ^
Dino Babers (BG coach) is going to be a good HC at a major program. He was a HC in a lower division prior to BG and also at Baylor with Briles. He would be a perfect fit for a middling power 5 that gets a lot of 3 stars.
Fleck in my opinion is all show no tell. Yeah he gets everyone jazzed up with his slogans and videos but where are the results? BG, Toledo, and NIU have all done much better IMO.
November 19th, 2015 at 10:28 PM ^
Tom Herman is a good coach, but he is not worth $3 million/year. How can Houston's athletic department afford that?
November 19th, 2015 at 11:37 PM ^
November 20th, 2015 at 8:52 AM ^
The explanation is that they don't want to be a non-P5 school anymore. Remember that they used to be in the Southwest Conference, along with Texas, A&M, and the rest. They don't think of themselves as belonging to a second-tier conference.
November 20th, 2015 at 8:54 AM ^
Instate is roughly $9,700 per year (tuition only)
Out of state is approximately $24k
November 19th, 2015 at 9:07 PM ^
has already gotten their next coach. I heard from someone inside, that they have already agreed to terms with the next guy, it just isn't announced yet. He is currently a P5 coach though.
November 19th, 2015 at 11:05 PM ^
November 20th, 2015 at 8:25 AM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 8:07 PM ^
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November 19th, 2015 at 8:08 PM ^
they better hope this year isnt a flash in the pan
November 19th, 2015 at 8:11 PM ^
That's a ridiculous offer from a school like Houston, and as good as they've been this year, is doubling the salary of your coach after ten games really a great idea?
November 19th, 2015 at 8:32 PM ^
Notre Dame and Charlie Weis don't see what the problem is.
November 20th, 2015 at 8:27 AM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 8:33 PM ^
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November 19th, 2015 at 8:57 PM ^
People thought highly of him when he went to Houston; I thought he would have been a great backup plan if Harbaugh hadn't come here. He has responded by winning everything so far, including some reasonably big games.
There's money to spend here for Houston, and a guy like Herman could trigger a Boise-like glory period for the program. Perhaps (as someone like Smartfootball or Stew Mandel, I forget which, speculated on twitter) even a move to a power conference like TCU. Get a few good years out of Herman and this contract pays for itself.
November 19th, 2015 at 8:09 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 8:11 PM ^
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November 19th, 2015 at 8:29 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 9:01 PM ^
I believe he conceded as much when he referred to him as an offensive mastermind
November 19th, 2015 at 9:57 PM ^
He's not even through his first year as HC, and you're writing him off as doomed because he hasn't built his defense yet? Wow.
November 19th, 2015 at 8:11 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 8:13 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 8:19 PM ^
according to the USA Today story that I linked to above.
November 19th, 2015 at 9:09 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 9:49 PM ^
November 20th, 2015 at 12:28 AM ^
November 20th, 2015 at 10:03 AM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 8:15 PM ^