College Football Power Rankings: Which Coaches Are Not Earning Their Paycheck?
Finding a head coach who can bring a team a national championship is the top priority for any college football problem, especially for those with great legacies.
Having the right head coach in college football can be the difference between an undefeated and winless season, so shelling out the money can be the right move.
That being said, there are many college coaches who make far more than they deserve.
While some coaches in the SEC are lucky to crack $1 million, others are making $5 million. Furthermore, some make seven figures, yet do not have the win-loss record or conference championships to justify their contract.
The following is a list of the top 15 most overpaid coaches in college football, taking records and salary into account. I avoid putting coaches who have won National Championships on the list, but there's an exception to every rule.
15. Turner Gill, Kansas
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I try to avoid putting first-year coaches on this list, but for a couple of them, their previous records don't show a justification for the contract they got.
In four seasons at Buffalo in the MAC, Gill had one winning season and seemed to show promise.
The salary he got for showing promise? $2.1 million in his first year at Kansas, going 3-9.
He has time to turn it around, but he's coaching in a tough division, and Kansas is not exactly a powerhouse.
14. Jeff Tedford, California
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This is a tough one to include, since Tedford is a very good coach and has only had one losing season in nine years as head coach. But that one losing season was this past season.
He has a solid win-loss record, but California is consistently very good, never great.
They made the 10-win mark and took the Pac-10 only once in his tenure and for a guy making $2.3 million a year, he should have been able to get to a BCS Bowl by now.
13. Derek Dooley, Tennessee
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Dooley is in the same situation as Turner Gill.
He was handed the reins to a major conference football program, despite having not really earned it. He went 17-20 in three years at Louisiana Tech.
In other words, he had a losing record in the WAC and earned $2 million this past season in his first year at Tennessee.
He went 6-7 while playing in the SEC in his debut there, so he's showing hope for the future at least.
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12. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech
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Like with Tedford, I was reluctant to put Johnson on this list because he has shown flashes of greatness. He's in his third year at Georgia Tech, and this is the first year he really struggled.
When you pay a guy $2.3 million, you don't want to see a 6-7 record, but I can forgive that as a possible anomaly.
What fans are likely getting frustrated about, however, is the 0-3 bowl record. Winning the division in the ACC is great, but if the season keeps ending in losses, that's going to be a problem.
11. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
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While we're on the subject of the ACC, Dabo Swinney made $1.75 million in his third year as Clemson head coach.
He had a great 2009, but despite the talent on the roster, they went under .500 this past year and will be losing their playmakers to the NFL Draft.
For Swinney, 2011 will be a make-or-break year and he could very well end up on the hot seat.
10. Les Miles, LSU
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Let the flood commence.
I said I would avoid putting National Championship-winning coaches on here, yet there's Les Miles. At $3.75 million, his contract is large, but it's not the worst on here and he's had six great seasons at LSU.
What's the problem then?
If you have actually watched him coach two to three games and kept an eye on what he does, it's shocking that his teams win as often as they do.
He's overpaid because the mistakes he makes seem to come out of nowhere and are mind-boggling at times.
At least he wins bowl games, though, unlike others on the list.
9. Mark Richt, Georgia
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Depending on allegiances, as in the case of Les Miles, you're either wondering why I have him on the list or why I don't have him near the top.
So far, Richt has been very successful at Georgia record-wise, only having one losing season in ten years (this one) and winning 10 games six times.
What's the problem then?
Beyond his $2.8 million salary, he continually seems to field very good teams, even ones who can get to a BCS Bowl. When was the last time the Georgia Bulldogs were a serious possibility for a national championship?
With the talent Richt fields and the pay he receives, they shouldn't be unranked two straight years to end the season.
8. Greg Schiano, Rutgers
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Schiano is one of several decade-long coaches on this list.
While others, like Mark Richt, have come close to a title, Schiano has won 10 games once and has a sub-.500 record.
Rutgers had a few good years, but after a weak 2010 season, seems to be on its way back to mediocrity in the Big East.
Schiano makes just under $1.9 million a year and despite that weak record, he has been considered in several coaching searches, namely both times Miami was looking for a new coach.
His contract goes to 2016, so he probably won't be on the hot seat, even if he should be.
7. June Jones, SMU
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June Jones was pretty well known as Hawaii's head coach when he had the air-it-out offense.
However, that offense is a product of Hawaii itself, not Jones. We've learned that now that Jones is at SMU and making over $2 million a year.
SMU has since won two divisional titles and have had their best teams since the 1980s, but if an 8-5 and 7-7 record is the best we're going to see, then perhaps being paid that much is pushing it.
6. David Cutcliffe, Duke
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Duke has never been a football school. It's a basketball school first and it always will be, and they haven't been ranked in football since 1994. As a result, one might let Cutcliffe's 12-24 record in three years slide.
Normally I would let it go, but Cutcliffe is being paid $1.5 million. Duke has to keep at least a .500 record if you're going to pay a coach seven figures.
Graduating your football players at a higher rate than nearly any school is admirable and keeps him out of the top five, but they need to play well, too, and they just don't.
5. Ron Zook, Illinois
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Zook took over at Illinois after serving three years at Florida. In six years at Illinois, he has barely been able to keep them competitive, as he has a 28-45 record and just two winning seasons.
At $1.5 million a year, he makes less than a few Big Ten coaches, but enough that Illinois should be in the top half of the Big Ten, which has only happened twice.
Any time he finally gets a decent team, the players go to the NFL, and he hasn't learned how to be good year in and year out yet.
4. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
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Iowa and Kirk Ferentz rank higher than Illinois on this list, yet they are a much better team. Why is that?
Ferentz has served since 1999 and has continued the legacy of Hayden Fry. He continues to bring very good teams to Iowa and has had four 10-win seasons, but like Fry, has not approached a National Championship game.
If you're making over $3 million a year, you have to at least be contending most years.
The highest his teams have finished in the final polls is seventh, he won the Big Ten twice and he made $3.7 million this past year, one of the highest totals on the list.
This is all without even touching the off-the-field problems that seem to be coming to light in Iowa.
3. Houston Nutt, Ole Miss
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After Houston Nutt turned Arkansas into an SEC power, he joined Ole Miss for $2.5 million a year and looked to be exactly what the team needed.
While the first two seasons were good, as he went 9-4 back-to-back, he had a terrible 2010, only winning one conference game and going 4-8.
You cannot slack in the SEC, and that's what Ole Miss suddenly seems to be doing. He can recruit, but he can't seem to make it happen on the field.
Maybe I'm being harsh given the difficulty of the SEC, but the top two coaches do not have this excuse.
2. Jim Grobe, Wake Forest
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The last and most baffling of the decade-long coaches is Jim Grobe, head coach of Wake Forest.
After struggling for five seasons, Grobe finally had a good year in 2006, Wake Forest's only 10-win season under him, but they have now come off their worst season under him.
The 62-60 coach makes just under $3 million and is under contract through 2016.
I don't understand why.
The ACC isn't that difficult right now, yet this team is going nowhere. At least he has a decent track record and has proven he deserves an opportunity, though it's not working out.
1. Lane Kiffin, USC
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To start the 2010 season, USC gave Lane Kiffin a $4 million a year deal.
Why?
Before that, he was given the head coaching gig at Tennessee, going 7-6 before bailing. He also served as the Oakland Raiders head coach for two years before that and was a bust.
In short, he's never proven himself as a head coach at any level, yet gets one of the most expensive deals in college football.
Yes, he served as offensive coordinator during the championship years with Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, but that's not deserving of that kind of pay.
He could win 10 games the next two seasons and compete for a national title and I'll still consider him overpaid. It was a ridiculous contract given to an undeserving coach.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
