By moving on from Frank Wilson and assuming his multi-million-dollar buyout, UTSA is confident that a portion of the buyout will be reduced when Frank lands another job, which he will have no trouble finding. On another note, I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes the year off, which will be costly for UTSA; however, like other folks have mentioned, maybe Les Miles will do UTSA a solid and hire Frank, we all know Kansas surely needs all the help they can get. Better yet, he may end up being one of those Nick Saban “Alabama Analysts” that gets paid very well and are essentially another coach on the staff. Now you may call that a loophole, but either way, UTSA will greatly benefit from an employed Frank Wilson.
UTSA already paid Frank Wilson about $1.2 Million per year and his salary pool for the coaching staff was around $1.4 Million (not including the strength and conditioning coach(s) and any “analysts” on staff). Now that was the Old benchmark; however, attracting a new coach with some praiseworthy experience and potential will cost more money. Especially, if he is expected to hire and retain a solid coaching staff. UTSA also needs to be judicious with this new contract where its balanced from a buyout standpoint, which can be tricky when college coaches are currently getting some pretty nice guarantees.
Let’s assess what other head coaches and their staffs made in C-USA this past season (Per USA Today and Coaches Hot Seat):
-Highest paid at $1.87 Million per year is Seth Littrell (UNT).
-Second highest paid at $1.5 Million per year is Mike Bloomgren (Rice). So, Rice isn’t required to release salary details but located a site that claimed he made the amount listed above.
-Third highest paid at $1.45 Million is Bill Clark (UAB).
-Fourth highest paid at $1.44 Million is Lane Kiffin (FAU).
-UTSA came in at fifth at $1.2 Million.
-C-USA average came in at just over $1 Million per year.
-The top three assistance salary pools ranged between $1.5 Million and $1.72 Million per year (Lead by UNT, then FIU and then FAU).
-Other factors to consider are Lane Kiffin’s possible raise to keep him in Boca Raton and how much is Old Dominion willing to spend on their new coach. This could all affect the salary averages for the conference.
-Note: The American Athletic Conference average came over $2.2 Million per year for their head coaches.
Now that we know where the numbers stand and that UTSA still needs to continue improving the athletic facilities, which will cost a considerable amount of money, where should the New benchmark start? Other questions that need to be addressed are how and where will the money be allocated for this new hire? However, things to also consider are, UTSA made the commitment to release Frank knowing worst case scenario they owe him over $2 Million. This should point to some evidence that UTSA is prepared to make a financial commitment and should have booster commitment that will ease the financial burden of this transition if the right hire is made.
If UTSA made a financial commitment of about $2 - $2.5 Million per year for the head coach and about the same amount for the assistant salary pool, that kind of a salary range will reach a considerable number of candidates. This will also show that UTSA is serious and committed to win. Other selling factors for a candidate are UTSA’s presence in a large city with a good-sized TV market, they have minimal local competition from only the Spurs and there is fertile recruiting potential within and around the city. A solid candidate normally asking for more money at other programs where winning would be difficult (P5 jobs in a tough division or with programs with unrealistic expectations) could fall for a discount in this price range. Also, if UTSA looks to hire a coordinator from a P5 school, most candidate worthy coaches already make $1 Million plus per year.
Now throwing money at a problem is not always the answer and $2 - $2.5 Million per year is a lot of money. Also, UTSA may find the right coach for less money, but this is definitely a topic that hasn’t been discussed as much as I thought it would have, so it’s some food for thought.
Go Roadrunners!!
UTSA already paid Frank Wilson about $1.2 Million per year and his salary pool for the coaching staff was around $1.4 Million (not including the strength and conditioning coach(s) and any “analysts” on staff). Now that was the Old benchmark; however, attracting a new coach with some praiseworthy experience and potential will cost more money. Especially, if he is expected to hire and retain a solid coaching staff. UTSA also needs to be judicious with this new contract where its balanced from a buyout standpoint, which can be tricky when college coaches are currently getting some pretty nice guarantees.
Let’s assess what other head coaches and their staffs made in C-USA this past season (Per USA Today and Coaches Hot Seat):
-Highest paid at $1.87 Million per year is Seth Littrell (UNT).
-Second highest paid at $1.5 Million per year is Mike Bloomgren (Rice). So, Rice isn’t required to release salary details but located a site that claimed he made the amount listed above.
-Third highest paid at $1.45 Million is Bill Clark (UAB).
-Fourth highest paid at $1.44 Million is Lane Kiffin (FAU).
-UTSA came in at fifth at $1.2 Million.
-C-USA average came in at just over $1 Million per year.
-The top three assistance salary pools ranged between $1.5 Million and $1.72 Million per year (Lead by UNT, then FIU and then FAU).
-Other factors to consider are Lane Kiffin’s possible raise to keep him in Boca Raton and how much is Old Dominion willing to spend on their new coach. This could all affect the salary averages for the conference.
-Note: The American Athletic Conference average came over $2.2 Million per year for their head coaches.
Now that we know where the numbers stand and that UTSA still needs to continue improving the athletic facilities, which will cost a considerable amount of money, where should the New benchmark start? Other questions that need to be addressed are how and where will the money be allocated for this new hire? However, things to also consider are, UTSA made the commitment to release Frank knowing worst case scenario they owe him over $2 Million. This should point to some evidence that UTSA is prepared to make a financial commitment and should have booster commitment that will ease the financial burden of this transition if the right hire is made.
If UTSA made a financial commitment of about $2 - $2.5 Million per year for the head coach and about the same amount for the assistant salary pool, that kind of a salary range will reach a considerable number of candidates. This will also show that UTSA is serious and committed to win. Other selling factors for a candidate are UTSA’s presence in a large city with a good-sized TV market, they have minimal local competition from only the Spurs and there is fertile recruiting potential within and around the city. A solid candidate normally asking for more money at other programs where winning would be difficult (P5 jobs in a tough division or with programs with unrealistic expectations) could fall for a discount in this price range. Also, if UTSA looks to hire a coordinator from a P5 school, most candidate worthy coaches already make $1 Million plus per year.
Now throwing money at a problem is not always the answer and $2 - $2.5 Million per year is a lot of money. Also, UTSA may find the right coach for less money, but this is definitely a topic that hasn’t been discussed as much as I thought it would have, so it’s some food for thought.
Go Roadrunners!!
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