Tennessee Leadership better pay attention to Coaching Salaries

[K-town Vol Fan]

That’s national championship money.

At least let him win the east before paying him that much money.

Ole Miss just got played by kiffin. No way he he is in the same class with the top 4 at this point in his career.

Saban, Smart, and Fisher have all won National Championship. Kelly has been in the CFP 3 times and just won the west.

I think 6-7 would be fair market value at this point.

Assuming Leach and Pittman get raises, that's bottom tier in the SEC. We finally have a coach, let's not be cheap.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

If I told you to guess where Heupels salary ranked in the SEC, at $5M per year, where would you guess?

It is 11th out of the current 14 SEC teams

It is 13th out of the future 16 SEC teams

That…has to change if Tennessee is serious about keeping Josh Heupel.

As much as Coach may love Knoxville, the prospects of doubling your salary isn’t something you want creeping in the back of your mind.

Now, I see no signs that Tennessee wouldn’t be responsive. We did in fact give him $1M raise last summer.

But…I can’t help but think of how tight Tennessee has been with its purse strings in previous attempts to land future head coaches.

Given what we have, given the fact that we have leadership in place that seems aligned, here’s hoping they have paid attention to the market where revenues are flowing higher, TV contracts are higher, and therefore are realizing that supporting a higher salary is more justifiable.

Anyhow, here’s the data

1. Saban - $10.9M ($43M buyout)
2. Smart - $10.3M ($103M buyout)
3. Kelly - $9.8M ($79M buyout)
4. Jimbo - $9M ($86M buyout)
5. Kiffin - $9M
6. Stoops - $8.6M
7. Napier - $7.2M ($39M buyout)
8. Pittman - $6M
9. Leach - $5.5M
10. Auburn - ?? (Was $5.1M)
11. Heupel - $5M ($26M buyout)
12. Drinkwitz - $4M ($9M buyout)
13. Clark Lea - $3.8M
14. Beamer - $2.8M ($5.5M buyout)

It seems ludicrous to me thst Pittman, Kiffin and Napier make more.

Hopefully that is corrected in the off season

 

[EZE]

I’ve posted this almost every week of this season. It is embarrassing what Tennessee is paying it’s Head Football Coach. And we wondered why we could never get big name coaches interested…. This is why.

 

[Grouse Stalker]

Coaches are getting some insane contracts and extensions even after mediocre performances. I’m specifically thinking of Stoops and Kiffin. Can’t help but look back at Mel Tucker as well as Jimbo and scratch my head. Are these teams that afraid to lose their coaches that they’ll cast aside any notion of fiscal responsibility?
Where does this leave Danny White?
Is he forced to enter the madness?

It's a real dilemma. One thing about the portal that Mel Tucker had proven is that you can use it to bring quick improvement but not necessarily continual improvement. At some point you have to develop players.

Heupel has a great offensive system but he needs to learn how to scale it back and manage the game. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your defense when you really need a stop is to give them a breather. You can't always outscore people. If you are just trading scores then it doesn't take many mistakes to get yourself beat. Scoring every 30 seconds is not a reliable prescription.

My personal opinion is that if he never figures that out then the Vols will probably fire him after 6-8 seasons of"underachieving."

 

[EZE]

Given this list, what do you say Heupel deserves?

He needs to make more than Stoops IMO.

But really, we need to anticipate what another school might offer. The market sets the rate. Not what we think.

 

[EZE]

It's a real dilemma. One thing about the portal that Mel Tucker had proven is that you can use it to bring quick improvement but not necessarily continual improvement. At some point you have to develop players.

Heupel has a great offensive system but he needs to learn how to scale it back and manage the game. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your defense when you really need a stop is to give them a breather. You can't always outscore people. If you are just trading scores then it doesn't take many mistakes to get yourself beat. Scoring every 30 seconds is not a reliable prescription.

My personal opinion is that if he never figures that out then the Vols will probably for him after 6-8 seasons of"underachieving."

He proved plenty capable of managing games this season. That question is answered.

 

[Grouse Stalker]

And where is he gonna go? Oklahoma? Maybe but not this year. He's not taking a job with fewer resources just for more money. He wants to win. He can win in Knoxville.

 

[volfanhill]

It's a real dilemma. One thing about the portal that Mel Tucker had proven is that you can use it to bring quick improvement but not necessarily continual improvement. At some point you have to develop players.

Heupel has a great offensive system but he needs to learn how to scale it back and manage the game. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your defense when you really need a stop is to give them a breather. You can't always outscore people. If you are just trading scores then it doesn't take many mistakes to get yourself beat. Scoring every 30 seconds is not a reliable prescription.

My personal opinion is that if he never figures that out then the Vols will probably fire him after 6-8 seasons of"underachieving."

Which game was that a problem in this year?

 

[MOOOOONEY]

Just look at the salaries in the SEC. If you want a big time coach you have to pay big time money. We could probably go out and get Dooley again if we want to only pay 3 million. 9 million would still only be barely top 5.

If you beat South Carolina and go to the CFP then, I could see a bump to 9 mil.

Lyle pi$$ed away 2 sec east titles and was rewarded with a raise and look what that got us.

Not taking anything away from the season. It was a great season. We held on to beat a bad Florida team, beat what would be considered a down Alabama team, beat a good LSU team on the road before they got kinda hot. Lost to Georgia (never really in the game) and got blown out by South Carolina with a clown coach.

CJH hasn’t even won the east and our fan base wants to pay him championship money.

Stop being a coach fan and start be a fan of the university of Tennessee.

 

[MOOOOONEY]

Assuming Leach and Pittman get raises, that's bottom tier in the SEC. We finally have a coach, let's not be cheap.

6-7 million isn’t cheap for a coach who hasn’t won anything.

A 10 win regular season with a chance at 11 with a bowl win is fantastic, but it’s not championship money worthy.

What happens if the wheels fall off next year? You know how fickle the Tennessee fan base is.

 

[BreatheUT]

If I told you to guess where Heupels salary ranked in the SEC, at $5M per year, where would you guess?

It is 11th out of the current 14 SEC teams

It is 13th out of the future 16 SEC teams

That…has to change if Tennessee is serious about keeping Josh Heupel.

As much as Coach may love Knoxville, the prospects of doubling your salary isn’t something you want creeping in the back of your mind.

Now, I see no signs that Tennessee wouldn’t be responsive. We did in fact give him $1M raise last summer.

But…I can’t help but think of how tight Tennessee has been with its purse strings in previous attempts to land future head coaches.

Given what we have, given the fact that we have leadership in place that seems aligned, here’s hoping they have paid attention to the market where revenues are flowing higher, TV contracts are higher, and therefore are realizing that supporting a higher salary is more justifiable.

Anyhow, here’s the data

1. Saban - $10.9M ($43M buyout)
2. Smart - $10.3M ($103M buyout)
3. Kelly - $9.8M ($79M buyout)
4. Jimbo - $9M ($86M buyout)
5. Kiffin - $9M
6. Stoops - $8.6M
7. Napier - $7.2M ($39M buyout)
8. Pittman - $6M
9. Leach - $5.5M
10. Auburn - ?? (Was $5.1M)
11. Heupel - $5M ($26M buyout)
12. Drinkwitz - $4M ($9M buyout)
13. Clark Lea - $3.8M
14. Beamer - $2.8M ($5.5M buyout)

You move Heupel up some but not a lot. He doesn't have a long track record. He start pulling good back to back seasons then his salary will commensurate with it. Overzealous posters probably were probably making this case for Butch at the time.

You put the guy at $9 and he goes 6-6 next year then you have a 7-6, then for now a 10-2, 6-6 coach making $9M and people will go on a binge in the opposite direction. $6.5M is about right after this year.

 

[Grouse Stalker]

Which game was that a problem in this year?

Alabama. It was just a straight shoot out until time expired.

 

[Kngsport VFL]

He should have a performance based flexible salary. Bonuses for games won, and big payoff for bowls and championships. He should get a reasonable raise at the end of this season,
and an opportunity to substantially increase his pay with success. So far he has turned $#it into gold, but the fans want diamonds!

 

[volfanhill]

Alabama. It was just a straight shoot out until time expired.

Sure but that doesn't suggest he would have been more prudent to slow things down offensively. Nothing about that game suggests we should have slowed tempo down.

 

[volfanhill]

It's not even about what we will pay him. It's how much would it take to lure him away. We need to be above that number.

 

[EZE]

If you beat South Carolina and go to the CFP then, I could see a bump to 9 mil.

Lyle pi$$ed away 2 sec east titles and was rewarded with a raise and look what that got us.

Not taking anything away from the season. It was a great season. We held on to beat a bad Florida team, beat what would be considered a down Alabama team, beat a good LSU team on the road before they got kinda hot. Lost to Georgia (never really in the game) and got blown out by South Carolina with a clown coach.

CJH hasn’t even won the east and our fan base wants to pay him championship money.

Stop being a coach fan and start be a fan of the university of Tennessee.

Look at that list of coaches and the salaries. Many haven’t won their division. I know it is a lot of money and might seem ridiculous, but that is the market rate for even a decent head coach. He is better than decent.

 

[JBVolunteer]

Earlier in the year; I was thinking Tennessee would need to make a significant move there but i think things have cooled significantly since then. I’d bump him to $7 mil just below Napier. Heupel still has a lot to prove as a head coach before his paychecks join the ranks of the SEC elites. If anything more; give him whatever he needs to get some top notch defensive assistants.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

6-7 million isn’t cheap for a coach who hasn’t won anything.

A 10 win regular season with a chance at 11 with a bowl win is fantastic, but it’s not championship money worthy.

What happens if the wheels fall off next year? You know how fickle the Tennessee fan base is.

Did you see the list in the OP? 7 is less than Stoops and Napier. You won't convince me he's not worth more than them.

 

[DaddyChad]

Probably for the best to take a wait and see next season approach before giving him a new contract. My problem with new contracts, is the guaranteed money the university won't have if things go south. If he makes the playoffs, then he definitely deserves a new contract.

Well then you better kiss him goodbye. Beat Bama, Florida and LSU in the same year. Pay the man or risk losing him.

 

[DaddyChad]

6-7 million isn’t cheap for a coach who hasn’t won anything.

A 10 win regular season with a chance at 11 with a bowl win is fantastic, but it’s not championship money worthy.

What happens if the wheels fall off next year? You know how fickle the Tennessee fan base is.

What happens if he leaves and the wheels fall off right now? What happens to that recruiting class they have coming in?

 

[Sarms58]

Set up a variable contract - something like paying a base of $4 million and a performance bonus of $500k per win against power 5 schools.

 

[loservol]

Well then you better kiss him goodbye. Beat Bama, Florida and LSU in the same year. Pay the man or risk losing him.

If it was just giving him a raise of 8 or 9mil a year, then it would be ok. It's the unreal 8 or 9 year contract with all the guaranteed money that sinks a school.

 

[Vanhalo]

Saban and Kirby are in a different league.

Everyone one else 5m

5m is a lot of freaking money.

 

[DaddyChad]

Set up a variable contract - something like paying a base of $4 million and a performance bonus of $500k per win against power 5 schools.

No one would sign that though. Maybe Freeze would. Coaches want the security of a guaranteed contract. It’s stupid money but it’s the going rate.

 

[Other_Guy]

Sustained success… Stoops has a 10-3 season sandwiched between a 5-6 and 7-5 season. That’s a roller coaster, not sustained. In his BEST season at Kentucky he couldn’t beat Tennessee. He is 2-8 vs Tennessee during one of our worst stretches as a program. That’s all that needs to be said.

Hence the reason he said "much tougher job"