Who is the most overpaid/underpaid coach in FBS?
Good compilation by USA Today of salaries of D-1 coaches. Most of them are present, but some of the salaries for coaches of private schools (such as Harbaugh at Stanford, etc.) are not present, as they do not have to be reported.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2009-coaches-contracts-…
So who's the most overpaid and the most underpaid coach in D-1?
November 10th, 2009 at 5:16 PM ^
One thing that is interesting is how little we pay our assistant coaches relative to other schools (ex, Texas Tech and Arkansas pay more than us). We got the $$$, let's shell out some good money for the top coaches.
Personally i'd love to see an old player or 2 come back to coach positions (LB specifically).
November 10th, 2009 at 5:21 PM ^
Not sure I agree with that 100%. We're at about $1.9 mill for all of our assistants. That's more than MSU (~$1.6 mill) and just under OSU (~$2 mill). So it seems in line with other schools.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:34 PM ^
I was just surprised that we weren't in the top 10, maybe not even the top 15 (should verify though, I didn't count).
November 10th, 2009 at 5:24 PM ^
I would probably have to say Chris Petersen from Boise St is the most underpaid. And IMO Steve Spurrier is the most overpaid. What has he ever done for the Gamecocks.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:25 PM ^
Pat Fitzgerald looks like a comparative bargain.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:28 PM ^
Underpaid would be Chris Petersen, hands down. $950K for guy that has gone 44-4 in his tenure at BSU; best bang for your buck. Navy's coach is doing pretty well (15-9, beat ND and nearly beat OSU) at $468K.
On the other spectrum, going off wins and losses only, Rich Rod isn't looking too hot (8-14) at $2.5M. Didn't know that Bobby Bowden was raking in $2.5M; FSU performance the last few years sure don't reflect his high pay (35-26 the last 5 years with a 4-5 record this year). But Al Groh is easily, hands down, the most overpaid coach in CFB. $2M for a team that has gone 59-49 in his tenure? That's pretty ridiculous salary for a 54% winning percentage.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:12 PM ^
Chris Peterson for $950K is crazy. After 2006, he could have cashed in big time and gone to some SEC school or Big 12 program that would have smothered him with cash. Instead, he stayed and has kept Boise State in the national spotlight every year. I have no doubt that he will cash in some day, but staying there as long as he has says a lot about him.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:09 PM ^
Just last year I think before they hired Meyer's OC, but not sure how much they offered him.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:33 PM ^
Completely agree about Al Groh. He is completely overpaid. I've never been a fan of Mangino and thought he was overpaid, but Groh even makes him look like a bargain.
I think Turner Gill is underpaid, as is Robb Akey who has turned Idaho (Idaho?!) into a bowl-bound team at 7-3.
I am quite shock to Ferentz is making $3 mill a year at Iowa. They're having a great year this year, but you ask this question a year or two ago, and he's got to be one of the most overpaid.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:15 PM ^
Yeah, but the nice thing about paying Groh that much is that we can offer it to the next coach and be able to attract a better crowd of candidates, and don't have to convince the pointyheads to give a raise to a new football coach.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:15 PM ^
I figured that Ferentz's monster salary at Iowa was a big reason that he did not take the UM job as he would have been taking a pay cut of 0.5 Mil assuming he was offered the 2.5 M that RR got.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:47 PM ^
I think Steve Kragthorpe, clocking in at a cool $1.2 million, is a serious candidate for most overpaid coach. Petrino may be a "weasel coach" if you asked Gregg Easterbrook (ugh), but Louisville really has taken a pret-tay, pret-tay steep nosedive after his departure.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:14 PM ^
I love Curb Your Enthusiasm, and I constantly try to fit pret-tay, pret-tay into everyday conversation (resulting in a lot of blank stares).
November 10th, 2009 at 6:03 PM ^
Top 3 Overpaid
- Greg McMackin, Hawaii, $1.1mil
- Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville, $1.2mil
- Rich Brooks, Kentucky, $1.6mil
- Chris Peterson, Boise State, $1.1mil
- Ken Niumatolo, Navy, $468
- Turner Gill, Buffalo, $401k
November 10th, 2009 at 6:19 PM ^
I'm right there with you on Butch Jones. I'm really interested to see what happens when his golden goose is gone. I wonder sometimes where Brian Kelly would be if CMU's starting QB didn't get hurt at the beginning of the year in 2006. The kid was only a sophomore, and it is entirely possible that LeFevour wouldn't have played until this year (if at all).
November 10th, 2009 at 6:23 PM ^
Niumatalolo could go to major conference program, he'd be another Paul Johnson.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:07 PM ^
Overpaid...
Fat Charlie, ND (~$4 million)
Stan Parrish, Ball St ($350,000)
Underpaid...
Kevin Sumlin, Houston ($750,000)
Butch Jones, CMU ($308,000)
November 10th, 2009 at 6:23 PM ^
Agree with Weis and Jones; not so sure how CMU will fair without LeFevour
November 10th, 2009 at 7:18 PM ^
If UM were to make a HC change in the near future, I think going after Kevin Sumlin would be a GREAT choice. My other pick would be Gary Patterson.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:28 PM ^
Houston is 11th in C-USA and 116th in 1-A in total defense. Not the change we need.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:13 PM ^
...but
I believe Michigan should pay its coaching staff equivalent to expectations. Which is minimum top 15, more realistically in the top 10, at least.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:22 PM ^
Who would you guess is the highest paid individual at Notre Dame?
If you guessed Jabba the Overrated Coach, you'd be wrong. It's actually Ty Willingham.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:01 PM ^
I think Weiss is the most underpaid coach in America. I mean how much talking and manipulation does it take to squander 4 million a year from Notre Dame for 2 close losses to USC and some "stellar" recruiting classes? The guy has a gift, it may not be coaching but he definitely has something going for him.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:29 PM ^
Most over paid is Jay Hopson. Not sure what he makes but it is too much.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:36 PM ^
Underpaid: Chris Peterson (Boise State) - Consistently produces elite teams for just over a million when bonuses are added in.
Overpaid: Greg McMackin (Hawaii) - Produces crappy to mediocre teams for the same price as Chris Peterson.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:13 PM ^
Wasn't McMackin promoted from the Hawaii staff to head coach just this year?
November 10th, 2009 at 8:14 PM ^
Actually, yes, he was. That's too early to judge in my opinion. They're bad this year, yes, but it's also a coaching change year from June Jones.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:57 AM ^
But an unproven coach at a middling WAC school shouldn't be making that much either.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:06 PM ^
I guess I would have to say that the most overpaid would be Good Ole Front-butt Weiss and the most underpaid would be (big surprise here) Peterson.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:49 PM ^
I think it would be pretty unanimous if he were listed but Willingham is still pulling a paycheck from both ND and UW and he isn't even doing anything except golfing.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:50 PM ^
So I ask the ND fan, is it worth it to pay him not to be on the field?
November 10th, 2009 at 9:53 PM ^
If it means I never have to follow his recruiting again, probably
November 11th, 2009 at 1:28 AM ^
JoePa. Assistants at Tennessee (I'm assuming Monte Kiffen, but still) make more than he does.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:32 AM ^
He makes just over a million, looks like, but I don't think that's a case of senility convincing him that one million (!) dollars is a huge sum, Dr. Evil-style. IIRC, Paterno makes a conscious effort to keep his salary down and doesn't want the multi-millions that other big-name coaches are making.
November 11th, 2009 at 1:37 AM ^
In principle I think almost all CFB coaches are overpaid. They're simply raking in more money than the presidents of the institutions that they work for. IMHO, the NCAA should cap coaches salaries for programs who's athletic departments are not money makers for the institutions that they represent.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:34 PM ^
That's a good idea in principle and it would be really good for Michigan. However, I think that system would make D-1 football coaching positions tiered between the rich and poor programs. I do think something is wrong when the athletic department isn't financially independent from the University and the football coach is paid 2-3xs what the President makes.
In the case of Michigan and other schools which have independent athletic departments I have no problem with paying coaches at the current going rate.