College football coaches’ salaries
Hot-seat contracts, plus governors vs. coaches
The 2019 college football season is only halfway done, so the coaching carousel hasn’t really started to spin. Rutgers, which fired Chris Ash last month, has been the only Power Five school to make a change at head coach – but if history is any indication, more moves are on the way.
A look at several Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches who are on the proverbial hot seat, how much it would cost their school to fire them without cause and whether the coaches would be contractually required to look for new jobs or offset buyout payments with future salaries.
(Note: All buyout figures are calculated as of the arbitrary date of Dec. 1.)
Charlie Strong, South Florida
Buyout: Unknown Mitigation/offset: Unknown
Strong’s buyout situation is complicated, and murky, because there are two agreements involved: one with the university, and another with the private USF Foundation. The school would only owe him 20 weeks of base salary, which is roughly $192,000. But according to The Tampa Bay Times, Strong also would be due an additional sum via his deal with the foundation.
While the exact amount is not publicly available, the USF Foundation’s new audited financial statement says it has agreements with unnamed USF employees that provided for buyouts ranging from $280,000 to $7.5 million, as of June 30, 2019. Strong would, presumably, be at the top end of that range. Those buyouts “may be reduced or eliminated based on ... compensation from new employment,” according to the audited financial statement.
Clay Helton, Southern California
Buyout: Unknown Mitigation/offset: Unknown
The financial implications here are unclear because USC is a private university and therefore not required to release contract information. After a 5-7 season last year, the Trojans are 4-3 – with Oregon, Arizona State and California left on the schedule. Helton’s future might ultimately be tied to USC’s search for an athletics director. Interim AD Dave Roberts told The Los Angeles Times earlier this month that he intends to leave Helton’s fate in the hands of whoever is hired to replace Lynn Swann.
Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee
Buyout: $9.5 million Mitigation/offset: None
Would the Volunteers fire Pruitt after just two years on the job? The early returns have been rough: Tennessee is 3-9 in conference play under Pruitt, with an average margin of defeat of 25 points. (Not to mention the Georgia State and BYU losses to begin 2019.) Financially, though, the price tag would be significant – especially because UT just paid former coach Butch Jones an $8.26 million buyout, with payments stretching through February 2021.
Lovie Smith, Illinois
Buyout: $4.68 million Mitigation/offset: Both
Smith hasn’t inspired much optimism during his three-plus seasons in Champaign. Even including Saturday’s upset of Wisconsin, Smith is a paltry 12-31 at Illinois with just five Power Five wins. And his contract gives Illinois a clear exit ramp at the conclusion of this year, as Smith’s buyout has decreased by $8 million from a year ago. (It will drop an additional $2 million by the same time next year.) Barring a significant turnaround, it would be a contractually logical time for the Fighting Illini to make a change.
Chad Morris, Arkansas
Buyout: $10 million Mitigation/offset: Both
Yes, Morris is in only his second season at Arkansas. But a home loss to San Jose State in September certainly didn’t help solidify his job status – especially because the Razorbacks went 2-10 last year and Morris was 14-22 at SMU before that. Money could be an issue, though, as Arkansas is still paying former coach Bret Bielema about $320,000 a month through the end of 2020. Could it afford to maintain those payments, shell out another eight-figure buyout for Morris and still have enough money left to hire a suitable replacement?
Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
Buyout: Unknown Mitigation/offset: Unknown
After leading the Commodores to two bowl appearances in the past three years, Mason now finds himself on undeniably shaky ground with his team sitting at 2-5. Vanderbilt has been a difficult place to win, historically, but a 26-43 overall record might be enough for first-year athletics director Malcolm Turner to look elsewhere, even though Mason just received a contract extension in February. It’s unclear how much Mason would be due in a buyout because Vanderbilt is a private school, but he’s believed to have multiple years remaining on his deal.
Mike Bobo, Colorado State
Buyout: $5.5 million Mitigation/offset: Both
After a trio of seven-win seasons to start his tenure at Colorado State, Bobo has now lost 15 of his past 20 games dating to the team’s 2017 loss in the New Mexico Bowl. His buyout has also decreased by $2.5 million over the past year, and it would go down by an additional $2.5 million if the Rams waited until Jan. 1 to make a coaching change.
Tony Sanchez, UNLV
Buyout: $650,000 Mitigation/offset: None
UNLV has reached one bowl game in 18 years, so it’s not exactly a football powerhouse. But the Rebels’ lack of progress under Sanchez – including a 2-11 record in their past 13 Mountain West games – is noteworthy, despite their upset of Vanderbilt this month. If UNLV does move to fire Sanchez, it won’t have to worry much about his buyout, which is among the cheapest in the FBS.
Reporters Adam Sparks of The (Nashville) Tennessean and Blake Toppmeyer of The Knoxville (Tennessee) News Sentinel contributed to this report.