So did we rework Lunsford and the assistants contracts?

[NashvilleEagle]

Just make sure we have a large buyout for when he does leave.

[eaglefan200]

This is kind of why I thought we should have started CL a little lower on his initial contract, because we would have had room to give him a decent raise for a couple of successive years if he had good success. For example, if we'd started him out at Summers' salary of $450,000 (which I can't imagine would've been a deal breaker as far as him taking the job), we could be throwing him a 20%+ raise right now, which would seem like a substantial good faith gesture after year 1. And we could do it again next year if warranted. After which he'd be at the same salary he's at today, but with the benefit to us of having "stepped up" fairly aggressively each year (plus we'd have saved around $250,000 to help fund successive raises for him or assistants). Instead, we kind of shot our wad up front to an extent and when it does come time to make a statement with a well-deserved pat on the back (and in the wallet) it will have to be more substantial.

I get a cheapskate vibration here. Going from 2-10 to 10-3. CL and staff deserve every penny earned regardless of salary staring point.

[1peatfor7]

Or we could just pay our coaches the market salary instead of being cheap. You know how we can give higher salaries? More season tickets and donations coming in annually. Even Alabama every year has to worry about NFL rumors.

[KJ Eagle]

This is kind of why I thought we should have started CL a little lower on his initial contract, because we would have had room to give him a decent raise for a couple of successive years if he had good success. For example, if we'd started him out at Summers' salary of $450,000 (which I can't imagine would've been a deal breaker as far as him taking the job), we could be throwing him a 20%+ raise right now, which would seem like a substantial good faith gesture after year 1. And we could do it again next year if warranted. After which he'd be at the same salary he's at today, but with the benefit to us of having "stepped up" fairly aggressively each year (plus we'd have saved around $250,000 to help fund successive raises for him or assistants). Instead, we kind of shot our wad up front to an extent and when it does come time to make a statement with a well-deserved pat on the back (and in the wallet) it will have to be more substantial.

None of that would matter relative to some giant offer from another school, but as it is, we're pretty much only able to say "thanks a lot for a good year, here's a certificate for a Christmas ham" for the moment unless we're planning on digging pretty deep or really getting aggressive.

$450K is low by conference standards. I don't see any reason we should have started that low. Right now, he's in the upper half but I think ULL and Ark St are the highest paying if I remember correctly. I'm fine with where he is now. I just don't see paying a huge raise after the first year.

Everyone that is saying pay him more appears to be doing so in order to keep him when the poachers come calling. Even if we double his current salary, anyone coming for him is going to be offering significantly more than that. So we would be wasting our time and money if that is the reason.

[jcountry]

I know people will disagree, but I’m really thinking we might be able to hang on to Lunsford long term.

Right now, the coach market is very hot. Way too rich in my opinion. When the economy takes a dump, all those crazy high contracts which poach folks away will likely evaporate.

The very top tier will pay well, but mid to upper level schools cannot keep coughing up crazy $$$$.

Plus, I think CL really loves it here. I think it would take a lot to pull him away.

(No one seems to consider why Erk didn’t bail-despite making a very small % of what coaches now make..... There are many ancillary sources of income to be had beyond official salary. Erk wasn’t hurting. Any good coaches who decide to stay can pull down good extra $$$$ with endorsements and board seats.)

[1peatfor7]

$450K is low by conference standards. I don't see any reason we should have started that low. Right now, he's in the upper half but I think ULL and Ark St are the highest paying if I remember correctly. I'm fine with where he is now. I just don't see paying a huge raise after the first year.

Everyone that is saying pay him more appears to be doing so in order to keep him when the poachers come calling. Even if we double his current salary, anyone coming for him is going to be offering significantly more than that. So we would be wasting our time and money if that is the reason.

Satterfield went from $800K to $4M. So no, giving Lunsford a $1.5M contract isn't going to keep him or anyone here.

I know people will disagree, but I’m really thinking we might be able to hang on to Lunsford long term.

Right now, the coach market is very hot. Way too rich in my opinion. When the economy takes a dump, all those crazy high contracts which poach folks away will likely evaporate.

The very top tier will pay well, but mid to upper level schools cannot keep coughing up crazy $$$$.

Plus, I think CL really loves it here. I think it would take a lot to pull him away.

(No one seems to consider why Erk didn’t bail-despite making a very small % of what coaches now make..... There are many ancillary sources of income to be had beyond official salary. Erk wasn’t hurting. Any good coaches who decide to stay can pull down good extra $$$$ with endorsements and board seats.)

Did the coaching contracts take a dump in 2008 or 2009? 2001? No. Facts.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the only reason Erk stayed was his age, and he said so himself. Also the money back then was nowhere were they are now.

[SouthernPride]

Tulane, Army, and Navy are not P5 schools. We need to be paying a competitive enough salary that our coaches will stay unless a P5 school comes calling. There is no reason why our coaches should get poached by a fellow G5 program.

Houston is a G5 and they just signed Holgorsen for $20 million over 5 years. We could never compete with that kind of money.

[eaglewraith]

I know people will disagree, but I’m really thinking we might be able to hang on to Lunsford long term.

Right now, the coach market is very hot. Way too rich in my opinion. When the economy takes a dump, all those crazy high contracts which poach folks away will likely evaporate.

The very top tier will pay well, but mid to upper level schools cannot keep coughing up crazy $$$$.

Plus, I think CL really loves it here. I think it would take a lot to pull him away.

(No one seems to consider why Erk didn’t bail-despite making a very small % of what coaches now make..... There are many ancillary sources of income to be had beyond official salary. Erk wasn’t hurting. Any good coaches who decide to stay can pull down good extra $$$$ with endorsements and board seats.)

Whenever someone comes along with deep enough pockets, Lunsford will be gone. We may be insulated from someone like Tulane in the future, but not from a P5 that wants a winner.

As for Erk, you're talking about 30-35 years ago. That's several lifetimes ago at this point. The game was different than it is now. The first million dollar contract in ~96 to Spurrier changed the coaching world forever.

[pete4256]

Whenever someone comes along with deep enough pockets, Lunsford will be gone. We may be insulated from someone like Tulane in the future, but not from a P5 that wants a winner.

As for Erk, you're talking about 30-35 years ago. That's several lifetimes ago at this point. The game was different than it is now. The first million dollar contract in ~96 to Spurrier changed the coaching world forever.

Yep. Just seventeen years ago, UGA was paying Richt something like 300K-400K. We're talking about Monopoly money these days.

Here's something that cheers me up: GS hired Lunsford because he was the last man left standing on that staff, and he did a good job as an interim coach. However, he's never been a coordinator on either side of the ball, so he can't label himself as "innovative" in that way.

He made good OC and DC hires here, but the DeBesse hire was a no-brainer (as everyone thinks of us as "Option U") . After a two-season stretch in which UNM fired DeBesse, Tulane fired Ruse, and PJ moved on, I don't think there will be too many G5 teams (and no P5 teams) willing to throw money at an option coach. And without that, Lunsford doesn't yet have a clear identity. He's "merely" a charismatic leader of young men who's hired some good assistants and gotten his guys to play hard.

I may be fooling myself, but . . . I think we'll be ok for a few years unless he wins at the rate Erk and PJ won in Statesboro.

[garns 4]

Yep. Just seventeen years ago, UGA was paying Richt something like 300K-400K. We're talking about Monopoly money these days.

Here's something that cheers me up: GS hired Lunsford because he was the last man left standing on that staff, and he did a good job as an interim coach. However, he's never been a coordinator on either side of the ball, so he can't label himself as "innovative" in that way.

He made good OC and DC hires here, but the DeBesse hire was a no-brainer (as everyone thinks of us as "Option U") . After a two-season stretch in which UNM fired DeBesse, Tulane fired Ruse, and PJ moved on, I don't think there will be too many G5 teams (and no P5 teams) willing to throw money at an option coach. And without that, Lunsford doesn't yet have a clear identity. He's "merely" a charismatic leader of young men who's hired some good assistants and gotten his guys to play hard.

I may be fooling myself, but . . . I think we'll be ok for a few years unless he wins at the rate Erk and PJ won in Statesboro.

+1, CL ain't going anywhere untill you see at least 4 more straight 10-3 type seasons, might want to throw in a conference championship too.