Assistant coaches’ salaries spiking in football

Trickle down economics are alive and well in college football. With many contracts being negotiated or finalized, nearly a dozen schools in the NCAA’s 120-school Football Bowl Subdivision have made deals under which they will be spending at least 38% more on their offensive or defensive coordinator in 2010 than they did in 2009. These increases come a year after four assistants — Tennessee’s Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron, Texas’ Will Muschamp and Washington’s Nick Holt — joined Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher in having deals worth at least $600,000 a year. (Kiffin and Orgeron have moved to Southern California, and Fisher has become Florida State’s head coach.) They also come amid continuing financial distress within higher education. – USA Today

The Firing Line: Leach Among Candidates at Washington

“The Name Game” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on active coaching searches around the country. The latest edition centers on the Washington Huskies…

Coach Mike Leach and the Huskies? Don’t laugh. Word on the street is Leach is ready to get out of Texas Tech and would be highly interested in the UW job. The bigger issue is whether Washington would be interested in him. Its last experience with sort of a nontraditional coach got them a sweater-vest-wearing, job-coveting, NCAA-pool-playing guy, five weeks in a courtroom and the loss of a couple of million bucks for it. – Seattle Times

As the coaching dominoes begin to fall, the highest high and the lowest low of the profession are just miles away from each other in Seattle. On the low end, you have Tyrone Willingham, fired Monday by Washington, at 0-7, in the midst of what will no doubt be the worst season in school history. On the high end is Jim Mora, Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach, signed to replace Mike Holmgren as head coach next year for $4 million a year for five years but mulling overtures from Washington, his alma mater. Mora hasn’t said a word all week, leading to speculation that he will indeed listen to the Huskies, for whom he played linebacker from 1981 to 1983 and where he may find more security. No. 2 on Washington’s wish list reportedly is Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, a Huskies assistant from 1979 to 1990. However, Pinkel is from Ohio. He wouldn’t be coming home, and he has finally closed the recruiting border around Missouri. He has it going. Fired Raiders coach Lane Kiffin and USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian have expressed interest. However, a more realistic option may be Boise State coach Chris Petersen or Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. – Denver Post

Seattle Seahawks assistant coach Jim Mora insists he has just one focus right now, even though many Seattle football fans are wondering whether Mora is taking a serious interest in what’s happening a few miles away on the University of Washington campus. Three days after Washington fired head coach Tyrone Willingham, effective at the end of the season, Mora spoke briefly Thursday, although he did not address the raging speculation about his possible interest in the Huskies’ job. Mora was allowed to talk on condition he only discussed the Seahawks’ secondary. When asked why he wouldn’t take questions about the Washington job, Mora, who has a contract believed to be worth almost $5 million annually to become the Seahawks head coach next season, held firm. – AP

The Name Game: Mora, Calhoun Could Be Candidates at UDub

“The Name Game” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on active coaching searches around the country. The latest edition centers on the Washington Huskies…

The biggest question in Seattle sports walked off the Seahawks practice field without offering any answers Wednesday. Jim Mora hasn’t yet spoken publicly about signing on to fill Mike Holmgren’s shoes for the Seahawks in 2009 so it figures he’d stay silent on the job opening at Washington where Mora played back in the day. Thou shalt not speak about thy next job. That has been the rule of succession established by the Seahawks this season, one Mora has followed by remaining in his lane as the team’s secondary coach and head-coach-in-silent-waiting. Multiple requests were made for clarification from the Seahawks on Mora’s status. No interviews with Mora were granted, no statement was issued from president Tim Ruskell and no answer came from Mora’s agent. Nothing beyond the announcement back in February when Mora was introduced as Holmgren’s successor at a news conference where neither were present. The significance of all that silence depends upon the perspective. Washington fans see it as hope. To them, the lack of a definitive statement from Mora is just like saying that there is a chance he will end up replacing Tyrone Willingham. The Seahawks see the silence as an appropriate response, refusing to dignify all this speculation with a statement to reiterate what was laid out in February. – Seattle Times

Hans Mueh knows the calls are coming. Air Force’s athletic director knows a bunch of college head coaching positions will be vacant in the offseason and his coach, Troy Calhoun, will be courted. Washington already has said its coach, Tyrone Willingham, will not be back next season, opening a job at a school from a Bowl Championship Series conference in the Pacific Northwest - where Calhoun grew up. “I think there will be teams that come asking, just like at the end of his first year,” Mueh said this week at an Air Force practice. “I’d have to be naive to think there aren’t people out there watching and seeing the success. I’m sort of hoping we can hide him, but that ain’t working.” — Colorado Springs Gazette

Rapid Fire: Focus on Groh, Willingham, Rodriguez, Sanford

“Rapid Fire” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on multiple coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy…

Virginia

Sitting at 1-3 and on the heels of a disappointing loss to Duke, Virginia coach Al Groh was certainly sitting on the hot seat. Losing to Duke, in the eyes of the Virginia faithful, was not acceptable. It had been four years since the Blue Devils actually beat an ACC foe. Throw in the off-the-field problems that the Cavaliers’ coaching staff endured and there was ample reason to think Groh”s time at his alma mater was coming to a quick end. Yet magically, in Groh-like fashion,- he seems to coach his best football with his back against the wall - the naysayers were silenced with the current three-game winning streak. Making it to a bowl game, which would require two more wins, would likely buy Groh another year, but another loss to in-state rival Virginia Tech in the regular-season finale would make it an interesting $6 million decision for the movers and shakers. – Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Washington

Tyrone Willingham, Washington: The fit: Kiffin. Knows the West Coast, and his dynamic personality is a perfect fit for a program desperate for enthusiasm — and for millions to upgrade facilities. – Sporting News

Michigan

Michigan athletic director Bill Martin joined Bill Simonson on “The Huge Show” to talk about Rich Rodriguez’s first season with the Wolverines and Saturday’s game against Michigan State. “I have been very, very pleased with Rich in the way he has embraced Michigan,” Martin said. “He’s a good guy. He’s a very experienced coach. Truly, the record we have so far (2-5) doesn’t reflect what his tenure will be as coach. Would I like more Ws? Sure, but it is what it is.” – Grand Rapids Press

UNLV

Recruiting is the lifeblood for any college sport, and UNLV’s defense is anemic because of shortcomings in football coach Mike Sanford’s early classes… But UNLV (3-4, 0-3 Mountain West) has allowed more than 500 yards in each of the past three games and has just six takeaways all season. The Rebels reached this low point for a reason. – Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Firing Line: UDub Looking for Willingham Replacement

“The Firing Line” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy. The latest edition centers on Washington Coach Tyrone Willingham…

Tyrone Willingham, Washington: The final days: Back-to-back home games against Oregon State and Notre Dame will end this failed run. By the time the Irish roll into town and hand the Huskies their seventh straight loss this season (and ninth overall), there will be numerous empty seats at Husky Stadium and the end will come quickly — as soon as the Monday after the Notre Dame game. The fit: Lane Kiffin, former Oakland Raiders coach – NBC Sports

Washington is 0-5, one of two winless teams in major college football, and questions about Coach Tyrone Willingham’s status are not about if he will get fired, but when… With the dismissal of Ty Willingham a seemingly foregone conclusion, the most popular potential successor is Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel, who has turned the Tigers into a national championship contender the last two seasons. Pinkel was an assistant at Washington under Don James, who was his coach at Kent State. Another player on those teams at Kent State was Alabama Coach Nick Saban, who was hired at Louisiana State by the chancellor Mark Emmert, who is now the president at Washington. It’s easy to connect those dots, but James doesn’t believe Pinkel would come to Seattle. He might have a decade ago when, as the coach at Toledo, he lost out to Rick Neuheisel. But not now. “I don’t know why he’d be interested,” James said. “He’s making a lot more than they’re paying here. He’s got the best facilities in the country and his home is in Ohio. He’d have come here from Toledo in a heartbeat, but not now.” – New York Times

Rapid Fire: Focus on Fulmer, Tub, Fridge, Willingham & Shannon

“Rapid Fire” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on multiple coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy. The latest edition centers on no less than five jobs which could soon be open…

Fulmer and Tuberville

Beating a mid-level Division 1 team, 13-9, while recording just 10 first downs, or losing 14-13 to the No. 19 team in the country while rushing for just four yards in the second half. Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer and Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville appear to be the same canoe, both with a quarterback to help them paddle before they fall over the edge of a waterfall… Tennessee and Fulmer are rapidly becoming college football’s punchline. Such as the rumor that Fulmer will leave his job to join FEMA, because he’s so good at evacuating 100,000 people in 10 minutes. Tuberville is drawing heat also, because the offensive coordinator (Tony Franklin) and scheme (the spread option) that Auburn switched to doesn’t fit the personnel. The most alarming thing about the Tigers in their 14-13 l oss to Vanderbilt was their 11 penalties. That’s just sloppy, undisciplined football. – Commercial-Appeal

Ralph Friedgen

Ralph Friedgen, frankly, seemed out of answers. He said he is not reaching the players. He said they lacked focus. You know how it is, they have been through this before, like last month in Murfreesboro. But this loss was even more damaging for the Terps… Maryland can win or lose any game left on its schedule. – Washington Post

Tyrone Willingham

But just moments later, Washington athletic director Scott Woodward said that his football coach will not be leaving the program anytime soon, despite the Huskies’ 48-14 loss to Arizona. “I told you last weekend that I was less satisfied than I was the week before, and I’m even less happy today,” Woodward said. “But we have seven games to play, and we’re going to play those seven games. And, no, there’s not going to be a change this week. Like I said, (I will) look at the whole body of work of this season and assess it at the end of the season.” The loss dropped Washington to 0-5, leaving the Huskies and North Texas as the only winless teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. It also was UW’s seventh straight loss, now the longest losing streak in the FBS. Willingham said that his team can play better, but added that he believes his players are still giving full effort. Woodward said he believes that, too. “Coach Willingham’s coaching as hard as he can, and the kids are playing hard,” he said. “I didn’t see quit in these guys. They didn’t play well, but I didn’t see quit. I didn’t see bad dissention. But it’s not good. I don’t want to sugar coat it, but it’s not good.” Woodward said an in-season firing would be bad for the university’s image and also bad for the players, who he believes have enough going on as students and athletes without having to deal with losing one coach and adapting to a new one. – Bellingham Herald

Another night. Another embarrassing loss. Another reason to end the misery now. In the latest installment of dismay, the Washington football team lost 48-14 to Arizona with the resistance of an unlocked door and insisted afterward that redemption could be had. At 0-5 now, the Huskies still look at their seven remaining games as an opportunity instead of a slow countdown to destruction. As new owners of the nation’s longest losing streak (seven games), they still dream of accomplishing more than a coaching search. “We can play better,” Willingham claimed… Because of his own mismanagement, he’s a suffering Dawg, and every game he limps onto the field, overmatched and overwhelmed, dying slowly and cruelly. Lord, please take him. End the pitiful play. End the trampled looks on the players’ faces. End the fan outrage. Fire Willingham for his own good. For his health. For his sanity. For his family, which cannot be fully shielded from the public rancor. This is an ugly situation that, barring a miracle, will only get worse. The season isn’t half over, but we’ve seen enough. We know Willingham won’t be back next season. – Seattle Times

Washington athletic director Scott Woodward pulled the trigger — but it wasn’t on football coach Tyrone Willingham. Not even three weeks into his tenure, Woodward has dismissed Marie Tuite from her positions as senior associate athletic director for sports programs and senior women’s administrator. – Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Randy Shannon

“We’re that close,” Shannon said. Close, of course, isn’t good enough for the Hurricanes, who are reeling once again. Saturday’s 41-39 loss to Florida State was Miami’s 12th defeat in its last 15 Atlantic Coast Conference games, its fifth straight league loss at home, and left the Hurricanes at the bottom of the standings. A different play here against North Carolina, a different play there against the Seminoles, and Miami could be in first place, probably back in the national rankings for the first time in two years as well. Instead, the Hurricanes (2-3, 0-2) now stand on the brink of a second straight disappointing season… All of it, he insists, is correctable. And with seven games left, starting Saturday at home against Central Florida, he believes there’s still time to save this season. “You’ve got to keep banging away on pride, the pride factor that you have inside of you,” Shannon said. – Sporting News

Rapid Fire: Focus on Groh, Bowden & Willingham – 10/02/2008

“The Firing Line” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy. The latest edition centers on Virginia Coach Al Groh, Clemson Coach Tommy Bowden and Coach Tyrone Willingham…

Reliability and steadiness are usually welcome traits for any team. Unless, that is, those apply to Virginia’s football program over the last year. Rarely a month passed in the offseason when there wasn’t some roster attrition. And just five weeks into the season, the Cavaliers (1-3, 0-1 ACC) would be shackled with their worst start since 1982 if they can’t surprise Maryland (4-1, 1-0) at Scott Stadium on Saturday. It’s the worst sort of consistency imaginable, especially since it is nearly impossible to escape the constant stream of setbacks facing the program. Groh’s future is a popular topic, with murmurs circulating of a possible firing if the Cavaliers can’t reverse a woeful September. The month ended with Saturday’s 31-3 loss at Duke, which snapped the Blue Devils’ 25-game conference losing streak. But it isn’t so much that Virginia is struggling a season after Groh was named the ACC coach of the year for producing a 9-4 season filled with fortuitousness and a New Year’s Day date in the Gator Bowl. It’s that a brutal offseason filled with academic and disciplinary matters sapped the Cavaliers of much of their remaining talent. Groh, whose contract was extended through 2011 last year, is believed to be making about $1.9 million this season. Yet the accumulation of losses and off-field imbroglios - and fan frustration with both - could create an environment conducive to a coaching switch regardless of finances. That is, unless things change - a prospect that would dim if Virginia can’t take advantage of a three-game homestand beginning Saturday. – Washington Times

Clemson athletics director Terry Don Phillips is not going to fire Bowden midseason. Besides, how are those angry fans going to react if Clemson wins the ACC title and plays in the Orange Bowl? The best approach for Clemson fans is to wait and see. If Clemson fails to win the Atlantic Division, or if the Tigers lose to Duke or Virginia, then it is time to question whether Bowden should be the coach. This is not professional football, in which midseason coaching changes often make sense. Seldom has such a coaching change panned out in the college ranks. By changing coaches during a season, a school loses its appeal to potential recruits, a coach operates as a lame duck and players aren’t motivated… Phillips’ error in dealing with Bowden might have occurred in December. Following another disheartening regular season in which Clemson finished second in the Atlantic Division, Phillips weighed possibly losing Bowden to Arkansas against locking him into a long-term contract… Phillips signed Bowden to a contract through 2014 with an annual salary in the $1.8 million range. Phillips and Bowden both believed Clemson was on the verge of greatness, and there was every reason to think 2008 offered the best chance in years for the Tigers to win a conference crown. Bowden said in the preseason this was his most talented Clemson team… Just when it seems the string finally has run out on Bowden’s career, he rallies the troops. Who would be surprised if Clemson runs the table this season, concludes the regular season with a 10-2 record and plays for the ACC championship? That is why it is too early and unwise to call for Bowden’s firing five weeks into a 3-2 season. Give him the remainder of the season to correct his team’s problems. He has proved quite capable of doing so. Now, if Clemson falters the rest of the way and again falls short of an ACC championship, then it is time to plant “For Sale” signs in his front yard. Then it is time to ask Phillips if Tommy Bowden is the right man for the Clemson job. – The State

The drumbeat for Willingham’s job increased with Saturday’s loss against Stanford. Monday, that left the coach, who has an 11-29 record in three-plus years at UW, to list the reasons he should remain the coach. “I have the enthusiasm for it, the focus and the concentration for it, and I’m still very much into what I’m doing,” he said. Few others seem to be enthused: The Huskies are the only winless major-conference team in America. With a loss to Arizona on Saturday, Washington would start a season 0-5 for the first time in 39 years. The team has yet to record a sack, bad news against a UA squad that averages 36 pass attempts per game. And the Huskies will give redshirt freshman Ronnie Fouch his first career start Saturday after star Jake Locker had right thumb surgery Monday, sidelining him for six to eight weeks. – Arizona Daily Star

Scoop: Syracuse, Virginia, Memphis, Washington & ECU Updates

Memphis: There’s considerable pressure on Memphis Coach Tommy West. Early names: Former Southern Miss Coach Jeff Bower, current Florida DC Charlie Strong…

Syracuse: AD Daryl Gross’ ties to former Raiders Coach Lane Kiffin and USC OC Steve Sarkisian make them popular guesses. Illinois OC Mike Locksley has been working behind the scenes for months to position himself to take over. Syracuse alum and current UConn Coach Randy Edsall is probably the most-sure fire hire – if Gross can lure him away. Saints OC Doug Marrone also figures to be a player…

Virginia: There are a lot of boosters who believe ECU Coach Skip Holtz is the answer…

East Carolina: If Skip Holtz lands another job (likely), there are several names being floated to replace him. Illinois OC Mike Locksley, South Carolina DC Ellis Johnson and South Carolina State Head Coach Buddy Pough are the most popular at the moment…

Washington: The early favorite to replace the soon to be fired Washington Coach Tyrone Willingham is Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel. Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham’s name is also being floated.

“Scoop” posted on FRM is gathered from around the country from numerous sources within the coaching community…

The Firing Line: Focus on Tyrone Willingham – 10/01/2008

“The Firing Line” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy. The latest edition centers on Washington Coach Tyrone Willingham…

Booing has become a new tradition at Husky Stadium. Washington fans and students have been angry for a long time and they’ve been eager to jeer anybody wearing purple. Certainly coach Tyrone Willingham hears them. No doubt, he even feels the sting. This is his program. These are his players. He has been in their living rooms. He has met their parents. He has seen them play in high school. He has envisioned their potential. He never expected this. After Saturday’s loss, Willingham was more introspective than he has ever been. He talked, albeit briefly, about the swirl of speculation around the program and the effect it is having on his team. The speculation, of course, is about Willingham’s Washington future, which at this 0-and-4 low point, is vanishing. All of the early mornings and late nights, all of the adjustments, the personnel changes, the recruiting coups, haven’t led to wins. Nothing Willingham has done to stop the flood of losses has worked. And at the end of this, his fourth season, he will be gone. – Seattle Times

Haven’t heard a word out of the Washington brass on the topic and probably won’t for weeks or months. But it sure seems like Tyrone Willingham has just eight games left in his UW coaching career. The loss to Stanford last weekend was, from this vantage point, the knockout blow: Willingham, waylayed by his former team, the school he left for greater glory. Even if the winless Huskies refuse to capitulate after the brutal schedule and bad losses, the officiating blunder, Jake Locker’s injury and a home loss to the unranked Cardinal, there’s no way Willingham can reach the win total he needs to save his job. My understanding, based on conversations in recent months with people who know Willingham and/or know the UW decision-makers, is that he needs a bowl bid in order to be retained for a fifth season. Short of that, he needs an extraordinary circumstance (ie: no bowl bid but five consecutive wins to end the season) — something that energizes the UW football community. At this point, with no wins, no Locker and no defense (the Huskies made Stanford look like a juggernaut), there’s no chance of either scenario unfolding. At this point, 4-8 seems like a stretch. So Willingham is, unofficially, done. The only question is whether the Huskies keep playing hard and win a few, or tank. – Mercury News

Willingham, meanwhile, was promised a year by UW president Mark Emmert, making him the very definition of a lame duck in the eyes of Seattle Times columnist Jerry Brewer after the Huskies’ 35-28 loss to Stanford dropped them to 0-4. “It’s no longer worth wondering if Willingham can save his job,” Brewer writes. “He’s finished at Washington. Basic arithmetic suggests he could still win enough this season to be retained, but if there were mathematicians at Husky Stadium on Saturday, even they would agree it’s over.” Perhaps Emmert is on to something. The Wall Street Journal’s Darren Everson points out that teams with new college-football coaches this year are struggling mightily. – Wall Street Journal

Hanging by a Thread: Eight Coaches Who May Not Return in 2009

By our count, there were at least eight coaches Saturday who exponentially increased their chances of joining the unemployment line. Let’s cover them one by one:

 

Al Groh – Virginia:  Groh led his Virginia team to a 9-4 mark last year, winning several games by single digits.  This season, it seems thing are back to business as usual in Charlottesville.  The Cavaliers are 1-3 following a 31-3 trouncing by… (drum roll, please)… DUKE!  The Blue Devils ended their 25 game ACC losing streak.  We think it’s only a matter of time for Groh.  He has not endeared himself with prominent boosters.  Most power brokers around the football program do not like him.  It will take a near-miracle for Groh to return in 2009.

 

Phillip Fulmer – Tennessee:  The Vols couldn’t beat Auburn, who in eight possessions in the second half managed six punts, one turnover and one kneel down.  Tennessee is 1-3 with Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt remaining on the schedule.  7-5 looks like a best case scenario, as we can’t see how the Vols can stay on the same field with the Tide and Bulldogs.  Throw in another loss and Fat Lady can begin warming up her vocals.

 

Joe Glenn – Wyoming:  After the 5-7 finish last season, Glenn’s Cowboys are off to a 2-3 start after being blown out Saturday 45-16 by Bowling Green. The heat is rising and we think there’ll be a new sheriff in Laramie very soon.

 

Kirk Ferentz – Iowa:  The Hawkeyes are 3-2 after losing to Northwestern Saturday.  Ferentz was widely respected when he took over the Iowa program coming from the NFL.  He had an immediate impact, but the luster is long gone as the Hawks have fallen to the middle of the pack (6-6 last season).  Ferentz should have taken another job long ago.  Now, with the program engulfed in turmoil with several arrests over the past year, we think a change in leadership is very likely.

 

Greg Robinson – Syracuse:  The Orange lost to Pitt Saturday in a competitive game.  However, it really doesn’t matter at this point.  Robinson can’t save his job.  Every coach in American knows this one is only a formality.

 

Tommy Bowden – Clemson:  Clemson is a difficult spot and Bowden has done an admirable job – even though he has yet to win an ACC title.  However, the Tigers are 3-2 after a loss at home to Maryland.  Bowden just signed a long-term extension – and we think he deserves to return.  Nevertheless, the natives are restless.

 

Stan Brock – Army:  The Knights were 3-9 last season and are currently 0-4 following a valiant effort against Texas A&M.  It’s clear Brock is not getting the job done.  A change is likely.

 

Tyrone Willingham – Washington:  At the time of publication, the Huskies were trailing to Stanford 21-14 in the second quarter.  However, we included him in our list because Tyrone Willingham is in the same situation as Greg Robinson at Syracuse:  he can’t save his job.  It’s not if, but when.  Washington will have new coach in 2009. 

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