Michigan Monday: NCAA Coaches Play Contracts Like a Fiddle

We all know big time college coaches in football and basketball are hired to be fired.  It's the life and profession they pick.  

We also know that when coaches have even a little bit of success, they can work the system like no other.

Current LSU football coach Les Miles has received numerous raises and contract extensions due to "conversations" he has had with Michigan regarding their head football coach openings. I truly believe when Les Miles retires he should start a Michigan scholarship fund.

Let's take a look at two other examples in which coaches used vacancies at other schools as leverage with their current employer.  

The first is Purdue's head basketball coach Matt Painter, who flirted with the opening at Missouri a couple of weeks ago.   Was Matt really considering leaving Purdue for Mizzu?  Of course not!  He just wanted a raise from Purdue and got one. 

Matt was on vacation when this entire thing went down.  Not too bad to get a big raise while laying by the pool and making a few phone calls. I hope he got his room upgraded at the hotel. 

The second is Gary Pinkel, Missouri's head football coach.  He is quoted in an article (regarding why he didn't interview for the Michigan job) saying, “That was a really difficult situation just because I grew up in Ohio and my whole life I hear about Ohio State and Michigan. To have an opportunity like that is sort of a once-in-a-lifetime thing. For me it still boiled down to I just feel so much a part of Missouri now.”


“The reason I didn’t pursue it was because I feel so much a part of Missouri. I’m so committed personally to continue to build the opportunity I was given. And family, a combination of those things. So, I bowed out of it. I feel really good about it. I thought a lot about it. It got really close. But before I went to the interview, it was a matter of hours before when I decided I wasn’t going to pursue it and I wanted to stay at the University of Missouri. So, that’s kind of the conclusion I came to.”

Gary just signed a two-year extension and is now under contract until 2017.   Shocker!  He didn't even talk to Michigan and still got an extension.  We don't know any details of the search but I'm willing to bet Gary's "people" reached out to Michigan Athletic Director David Brandon about interviewing for the open position in Ann Arbor.
 
Coaches and agents have some special talent in getting more money and extensions when their names are linked with other jobs. Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops should have Bill Gates type money by now with all the potential jobs he has been linked to.