Just crazy... and it keeps happening over and over again. Same thing Notre Dame did with Charlie Weis and Ty Willingham. They win a few games and the boosters' egos convince themselves that they've made the greatest hire ever and nobody could ever do the job as well. Good for him, but I swear I don't understand how Athletic Departments continuously let themselves get taken to the cleaners.
Ultimately it boils down to agents (professional negotiators well-trained and experienced in the art of dealmaking) taking athletic directors (most of which are bureaucratic, admin-oriented people) to the cleaners. ADs are so out of their element in situations like that, and there is tremendous pressure to win.
However, I don't care how inept of a dealmaker you are...the one thing I still do not really understand are the buyouts. I get that coaches have very low job security and some kind of buyout is reasonable. However, you also have instances where Auburn fully guaranteed Gus's contract extension, which was earned basically on the basis of 2 games in the 2017 season. Jimbo's A&M contract is fully guaranteed.
I don't care how "driven to win" somebody is...if your employer is going to pay you $75m no matter what, regardless of performance, that is absolutely going to affect how hard you work. It can't not affect it. What is in it for the school at that point if you fully guarantee the contract? If my employer guaranteed a fat salary for the next 7 years and the only way to not get it was to commit some sort of gross misconduct or quit...I think of myself as a hard-worker who wants to do well, but it absolutely would impact how I worked. If they didn't like how I was doing, they could just fire me and I'd collect my buyout.
If they can't work on bringing the buyouts down in a meaningful way, ADs have got to work on making these contracts more incentive-laden. A coach that wins a national title is worth every bit of $10m that season. Give them the opportunity to make that, but through incentives. I'd have no problem with Josh Heupel making $10m net year if he won a national title. Pay these guys a reasonable base salary, and give them the chance to be the highest paid coach in the country any given year by winning hardware.
