Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), Mack Brown (Texas), Charlie Weis (Notre Dame), Pete Carroll (USC), Al Groh (Virginia).
It does not take Big Bird or Cookie Monster to realize that one of these names doesn't belong. All of these football coaches, except one, have managed to take their team to a BCS bowl game in the past few years. Each coach has proven they have the ability to take their team to the highest level in the sport, except, of course, one of them. Yet, these five football coaches, including the lone misfit, represent the highest-paid coaches in Division I football.
Last fall, while putting together a stellar 6-5 regular season, Virginia coach Al Groh was given a five-year contract extension for a reported $1.7 million per year. That is a cool 300 grand per regular season victory. Any fourth years looking for a job?
Groh is given mad props for his ability to recruit top talent to the University of Virginia. This year the "heralded" recruiter managed to put together a recruiting class ranked 39th nationally and 7th in the ACC by rivals.com. When a recruit opts for Rutgers University over Virginia, it is clearly time to reward the coach with an extravagant five-year contract extension.
I decided to do a little research on some top caliber coaches. Lloyd Carr, University of Michigan's football coach, has won a national championship and five Big Ten titles. Evidently, Mr. Carr has not elevated his coaching status to the level of Virginia's coach, since Carr is making about 500 grand less per year.
Jim Tressel, Ohio State University's coach, only managed to get to three BCS bowl games and win a national championship. Unfortunately for him, he finds himself about half a million behind Al Groh in salary.
Kirk Ferentz, coach at the University of Iowa, managed to lead the Hawkeyes to two Big Ten titles. Although Groh does not have a single ACC title under his belt, he still makes a cool 100 thousand more each year.
For comparison purposes, here is Groh's background. His only BCS bowls or ACC championships have been watched on the couch with a bottle of Aquafina, he did, however, lead the Wahoos to the Music City Bowl, MPC Computer Bowl and the Continental Tire Bowl, twice. This lovely resume of bowl games is about as exciting as a viewing of The Little Mermaid.
Groh has failed to win a single meaningful game against a true top-tier team other than a win at home against a struggling Florida State team last year. The Wahoos have yet to participate in a single major bowl game under the tutelage of the $1.7 million man.
When defending the contract size, the Virginia Athletic Department points to the increase in donations to the football program. While I am sure the donations have increased, it does not take a brain surgeon to realize that the donations will run dry if the team continues on its current course. In a sport where momentum is critical, the recent recruiting class shows a sudden halt to any momentum that the program has built.
$1.7 million can fund a large variety of activities, professors, buildings or other academic ventures. Should this money all be spent on one mediocre football project?
Read More
No. 6 women’s squash falls to No. 5 Stanford in first match of the new year
By Peter Kratz | YesterdayThe Cavaliers fall to 0-1 in conference play after their first clash with the Cardinal.
Katie Grimes posts historic debut as women’s swimming and diving annihilates Virginia Tech
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoGrimes broke out as a new superstar for Coach Todd DeSorbo's squad.
Women’s basketball displays stingy defense, but falls short versus No. 14 Duke
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers nearly conquered a ranked rival but could not generate consistent offense.
