http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/11/19/9766932/tom-herman-h...
The University of Houston Board of Regents approved a raise for head coach Tom Herman, which would bump up his salary to $3 million a year, according to the Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte. Herman made $1.45 million this year, his first as a head coach. A new deal has not been agreed to as of yet, and could possibly even go higher than $3 million a year.
So this is the minimum that the University of Houston is going to offer Hermon after one year of coaching. To put that in perspective Frank Beamer NEVER made that salary and only a few coaches in all of the ACC make that.
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Money ain't everything. Definitely can se they're committed to keeping th program on the rise...and with Herman...I really really want him...
That probably means he's had offers. Like from Whit
Can we offer 3.1?
What's the highest bid, Bob?
Oh snap!
$3M? How cute.
If we go with him, our offer will be for more while being able to offer a better job in general.
And then if he does work here, some SEC school will say the same about us. =\
Meh
Not many are better. If we get to the point where people try to hire our guy away, we are good enough that it won't matter and we'd reload.
I've never been much of an optimist but I like how you think.
Consider the new math of the CFP era. While it's not set in stone, there's basically two major requirements to make the playoffs:
You have to figure, which is the easier path to that? The ACC Coastal or either division of the SEC? If there was a single elite program in the Coastal, it would own the division. Then it's just a question of beating Clemson or FSU in the ACCCG. In the SEC, you've got Alabama, LSU, Florida appears to be improving, Ole Miss looks good, Tennesee might or might not be on the cusp. It's a much harder path simply because the top four or five schools are really good, and you're gonna get at least two of them regardless of which division you play in, and then another in the SECCG.
So the ACC offers an easier path on paper. Then it's a question of finances. Can the SEC outbid us? Yes. Can they do it by a wide enough margin to entice a coach to accept a much greater burden of stress and difficulty? probably not. Would you really give up $3.5 million in Blacksburg for $4.5 million at a program like South Carolina, where fans have ridiculous expectations? It could happen, but just looking at it from a rational perspective, it's unlikely. There are certainly stepping-stone positions in the P5, but we aren't one of them. We're going to be competitive in salary, on par with just about any facilities in the nation outside not bankrolled by a swoosh, and have a national reputation for one of the best fan bases in college football.
So long as Whit does his job steering clear of the obvious ladder-climber candidates, I think our next coach will be in Blacksburg for a while.
I will be shocked if the new coach makes anywhere near three million. That is significantly more than Frank makes and would absolutely gut the budget for the assistant coaches.
Buzz Williams makes more than Beamer (by a hair). We're going to see a whole lot of money invested in this next staff. Likely in the $3.5-4 million range for the HC alone. Whit knows if he makes the right hire, he'll have a chance to raise the money off the excitement from the fan base. It's a risky move, but one Whit needs to make to have any hope of building a consistent winner again.
We're not going to get a good coach that cheap. It's possible, but I've heard Tech is willing to pay 3.5 to 4 million.
See this is what confuses me. Yeah we may be a more storied football program than H'town. But when you think of H'town you think of Texas-sized. When you think of Texas-sized you think of Texas-sized budgets. Plus, H'town is in a major met stat area. Do we really have a larger budget (even for football) than H'town???
Revenue from football at Virginia Tech exceeds the entirety of Houston's Atheltic Department's budget. Stop with HTOWN
Whoa, hey, what's the matter? You live there or something? I'm not trying to offend you or anyone from there. Chill down.
According to This from USA Today VTs total revenue is almost double that of Houstons
Ok. This makes sense. I had a preconceived notion that not all but most Texas programs were certainly not strapped for cash. Thanks. This makes me feel better regarding our chances of hiring him.
Is this more likely to be Herman leveraging a raise from interest in him, or a last ditch effort to keep him with a deal with another school (hopefully VT) already in place?
Is is before the two sides have even sat down to negotiate. They said they are willing to go even higher on the base plus incentive pay. He could be looking at 3.5-4 million at a G5 school.
Not really sure how Houston has the resources to keep this up. I mean what are they not doing with their money if they all the sudden can double his salary. It's not like they are a big time program. So his salary gets bumped up but facilities and resources don't. I thought he didn't like the fact that no one at Houston seems to care about football either. I think it's a ploy to try and keep him.
Houston spent $160 million on new football facility in 2010. That opened in 2014 I think. Houston is dumping ALOT of money into their football program. They have a lot of weathly donors in the Houston and Dalllas areas.
Pour one out
But for real though, RIP P.S.H. What a talented actor. One of my faves.
definitely agree....leg
I don't understand how London makes more than Beamer...
Cause he had a gun pulled on him. He used to be a cop. Did you know that? /s
Never knew that, doesn't explain the 3 million he gets from U.VA but found a good read on him. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/31/AR200908...
Because Beamer put the school and athletic dept before himself, he didn't push the AD to give him the pay scale he deserved.
Beamer also gave all his assistants raises over himself. He could easily have been paid $3+ but now we're in a good position financially another reason Frank will be missed.
That's quite a pay raise.
I'm thinking VT will be paying a good $3.5 - 4M for the new coach.
Me too. If Whit is willing to spring $2.5 million for a basketball coach, you gotta figure we'd go at least another million on top of that for football.
That seems like an awful lot of money for them. I can't help but wonder if they know that he's going to leave and decided to give him a big contract so the school at least gets a healthy buyout as a consolation prize.
Would he accept a raise with a hefty buyout knowing that he's got an opportunity to move up if he takes it?
Upon closer inspection, I see no claim that he's accepted the deal, just that they've allegedly approved a plan to offer him the deal. Buyout discussions are probably premature
That's what I'm saying.
http://espn.go.com/blog/travis-haney/insider/post?id=4991
There's that also
There has been serious talk recently of the Big 12 expanding. Houston, with Herman on board would be very attractive. So that is a wise investment for Houston to make.
Would the Big 12 add yet another Texas team? I mean at what point does the Big 12 just become all of Texas plus Oklahoma?
They would if they get left out of the playoff for a second year because of not having a championship game. They'll start to get desperate.
IIRC, after this season the NCAA is relaxing the restrictions on championship games, paving the way for the Big XII to host a championship game with less than twelve teams. II(also)RC, the other major proponent of that idea was the ACC, meaning we might be in store for a shakeup of how the teams who play each other in Charlotte are decided.
Who would you add to the BigX
II?By the way, looking at this map and the veritable scatter plot that is conference affiliations, I want more and more to see 4 regional superconferences (P5 schools) paired with 4 geographically overlapping "minor league" conferences (G5) schools.
Oh, I understand what you're saying. As VT_Fencer said, they are probably going to get left out of the CFP again this year. Last year was because of the fact that they didn't have a Champion and this year it's probably going to be because they all beat each other up, unless OSU can come out undefeated. The problem is that conference alignment is so messed up at the moment. As soon as the Big 12 took WVU, they changed things in terms of conferences being regional. I don't know the best way to do it, but it would seem that they wouldn't get much from adding a 5th Texas team.
Houston metro is what the third largest in the country? Adding a team in that market would be ok.
Sure, large market that is going to be still dominated by the flagship program in the state which is UT. Then you have the other major teams, Texas Tech and aTm. Baylor and TCU are blips on the map. Houston doesn't even register.
Source
http://www.hookem.com/2015/09/16/texas-college-football-fandom-mapped/
I think those maps just shade counties based on which program has the most preference. All that burnt orange doesn't mean the other Texas programs don't have any support at all in those areas, just that there's more Longhorns fans than there are fans of other programs. A county that was 51% Longhorns fans and 49% aTm fans would be shaded burnt orange on the map.
I think its based on Facebook likes. Its a good data set to view, not sure how scientifically accurate it really is.
True, but the second one, though only a sample of 1,900 people, gives a breakdown of what they found to be representative of fandom in the state. 32% UT, 16% aTm, 7.3% Baylor, 6.8% Texas Tech, 6.7% TCU, and then Houston at 3.4% with a bunch of smaller schools lower than that and unsure at 19%. Not fully indicative of the whole state, but somewhat paints a picture.
You mean like winner-take-all assignment of Electoral College votes?
Well yes, but my point is that Houston may be a large market, but they don't even have any weight in their own city compared to the other Texas programs. I'd argue that ~40% of Texas are Longhorns, ~20% A&M, ~15% TT, ~10% Baylor, ~5% TCU and ~10% other schools. The first map at least gives an idea of how heavily each team dominates a certain area. So in the case of your 51-49 UT to aTm, you'd see a very light shade of burnt orange.
If you zoom in the map, in the Houston area UT gets ~30% of likes, and Houston is second with 15% of the likes. Considering the P5 bias, that's not bad. If Houston were to stay in the top 25 multiple years in a row and Texas keeps failing to make a bowl, things will probably change.
I have very little doubt in my mind that Texas (UT) owns at least 85% of the state's college football fanbase. I know there are many football programs in Texas but the state bleeds burnt orange, even with these underwhelming seasons they've been having.
You can zoom in on the map and see the percentages. If FB Likes are a good indicator of fanhood, UT maxes out around 70% in the Austin area. They're mostly around 50% the rest of Texas in all other non-major College towns. And 15-20% in areas like College Station, Waco, Lubbock, and Dallas. Again, this is just percentage of FB Likes of X college team of 84 college teams considered in each US county.
eww, what's that mold stain in the middle of the state of virginia?
Must be ODU.
A humongous fungus.
What would the Houston market add to the Big XII? The eyeballs are already tuning in to watch the Longhorns play. it wouldn't expand their media footprint, so it wouldn't help with additional broadcast revenue.
The only, and I mean only, thing they would do is get 1 school closer to allowing a championship game. That's it.
That and the fact that most of the Big 12 teams (specifically Baylor and Okie St) have played sisters of the poor for their OOC schedule.
http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-15/big-12/2015-baylor-bears-football-sch...
http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-15/big-12/2015-oklahoma-state-cowboys-fo...
"Who would you add to the BigXII ?"
Pretty sure the Texas schools wouldn't want Houston.
They should definitely think about going after Memphis. Get a school that is hot right now like Houston, especially if they keep Fuente. Gives them someone closer to WVa. #50 media market (depending on source)and gets a foot in SEC territory.
Pair that with someone like Cincinnati. #36 media market and another team close to Memphis and WVa. Get all of the Ohio kids that didn't get into anOSU and give them the chance to play for a P5 school.
media market sauce
television market sauce
Houston wouldn't make this move if they didn't feel threatened...They definitely think they got something special in Herman. I tend to agree. They'll be in terrific shape if they can hang on to him. For our sake, I hope they can't.
I have to agree with you. I really like Herman. I don't like him just because of what he did at Ohio State, but also because of how he is recruiting to Houston. He currently has a top 35 recruiting class at a non-P5 school. Most of his commitments are also from Texas, which is a place where he didn't have many ties to going in. Now he has a lot of ties in the Ohio River Valley (He's from Cincinnati), but he now has ties in one of the hotbeds of high school talent in Texas.
umn.....Herman spent 10 years coaching in Texas at five different colleges he had plenty of ties
Looks like someone is trying to get into the Big 12.
I'm not entirely sure why anyone would be clamoring to get into the Big XII. I mean, yeah, its probably better than what Houston is getting now, but the Big XII is the ONLY P5 conference to have unequal conference revenue sharing (thanks to UTex's ultimatum).
Plus, I'm kind of hoping that the Big XII some how misses out on the playoff this year. I think that will send a message to the league that Conference Championship games are important. Until they get one, they're not a good place to be for teams who want to be in the playoff discussion. Herman may be better suited leaving for a job at a school that already has a decent shot (ACC, B1G, SEC, PAC1?)
Assuming any one of Baylor, Ok, or OkSt wins out, I think the PAC will be the one to be left out this year. Especially if Stanford loses to ND.
I wouldn't be surprised to see the ACC get left out. If Clemson loses they're out. No question. The ACC is pretty awful right now. I could see UNC beating Clemson in Charlotte paving the way for ND to sneak in with the B1G champ, PAC champ, and SEC Champ.
To me this looks like a win-win for Houston and Herman.
Houston gets another year (or so) out of Herman to get the program more solidified and in a better bargaining position for Big12 membership.
It makes it much easier for Herman to wait at least another year for a tier 1 job (the only one open now is USC) and at the same time be able to say he wasn't just a 1 and done mercenary.
Yeah I don't see it. What more does he have to prove at Houston? And really, when a Tier 1 job (Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Texas, USC.... and that's really about it) opens, they'll almost certainly go for a coach who has proven himself at the Power 5 level. They'd be looking at the Art Briles, Gary Patterson, Chip Kelly, Dabo Swinney level of coach.
The point is that it buys Herman and Houston time to put themselves in a better position
And I could easily see a place like Penn State or UCLA (borderline tier 1) or Georgia or Auburn or LSU going after Herman after next season rather than the names you mention for a variety of reasons. Just look at who Texas and Florida hired recently...neither came from a power 5 school or a long record of big success.
I don't follow PSU very closely but isn't Franklin killing it there in recruiting?
He has shown a few similarities to Time Cop as far as X's and O's and game management. But yes, he is a heck of a recruiter. Source for both points: Penn State grad coworker.
With all the emphasis on recruiting, is no one concerned that Herman is winning with players NOT recruited by him?
I'm not sure how you see that as a negative. The biggest argument against Loeffler is that he couldn't win without his guys. Now you're criticizing a coach for winning with someone else's recruits?
BTW, he's already historically changed the recruiting at Houston. They have a top 40 recruiting class lined up already, in his first year, and he's not at a P5 school. He's recruiting Houston better than half of the ACC. Let that sink in for a moment.
Its not an invalid argument...
Larry Coker won a national title with Butch Davis' kids, and then turned the program into what they are now. Being able to win with your own guys is definitely something I would like to see out of a coach.
it just seems funny to me that we are all ready to run one of our coaches out of town because he can't win with the players he has which shows an inability to adjust to his personnel. That's a huge criticism of a coach. It's been said that if a coach can't adjust to his personnel and produce that's a big red flag.
Now, instead of seeing Herman's ability to win with someone else's players as a positive, we're arguing that he must only be able to win with other guys' recruits and we're not sure he can win with his own guys. It's a non sequitur.
No, I'm not concerned that Herman is winning at Houston with someone else's players. That team won 7 regular season games last year. They've won 10 regular season games this year and could potentially win 2 more. That shows improvement. Herman has also assembled an impressive recruiting class for Houston. The two knocks on our coaching staff over the last few years seem to be that we can't adjust to our personnel and get the best out of what we have to work with and that we can't recruit at a high enough level to stay competitive. Herman is currently showing that he can clearly do both of those things at a non-P5 school.
When a coach is doing something that you've been pining for in your own coaching staff for half a decade and those results are twisted into an argument against said coaches credentials it smells an awful lot like an agenda against him. I just don't understand it.
I'm not saying I agreed with the argument, just that its not necessarily one you should ignore.
I think between what he did with the Ohio State offense throughout last year and what he has done with Houston, he's proven he can bring the best out of a team. He will find what works, and run with it.
All I'm saying, is lets not knock Bud for recruiting, and get the same starry eyes for someone who won with other coach's recruits like a certain Timecop
They are two different arguments. Not winning with what you have is useless excuse making. In the quick turnaround world of college football, you don't need 3 or 4 years anymore to win. You are either a good OC (Herman) or a bad one (Loeffler).
But winning with other peoples guys highlights Herman's biggest weakness: he doesn't have enough experience yet to show he can recruit to his philosophy and build a program (like, say, Richt has....or to a lesser extent, Fuente). Certainly there are projections that demonstrate he can, but it's projections at this point.
I'm not sure how to take this. It says that Herman hasn't signed. If he's negotiating with another school, $3m may be an empty offer from Houston...the 'Well, we tried to keep him!' offer.
or it could be great for Herman to make $3M for a year until LSU, aTm or Texas open up. But that's some risk on his part because those schools may go to more accomplished coaches than him.
or it could be what it seems, that Houston has stepped up and Herman will stay. B12 invite a possibility, etc. That just seems the least likely scenario to me, that "Houston is Serious". It's still Houston, they still don't have any fans at their games when ranked and undefeated.
For VT, it doesn't matter that much. If Herman is coming here, we were going to pay him $3M+ anyway. If he's waiting out a bigger job than VT, he wasn't coming here anyway so this doesn't impact us. And there are a lot of other choices.
Also, it telegraphs that Houston is willing and able to spend $3M on a football coach. That's insurance in case he bolts; it becomes known that Houston can pay well for a replacement, which will attract attention from better candidates who may otherwise assume that Houston is still a lower rung on the ladder.
Great point.
Who wants to be the guy to follow Herman, though? Especially if he ends up going undefeated (sure, not guaranteed, but at this point, a real possibility). I wouldn't want to be the guy who Houston paid double for to coach when Houston loses a game.
Yeah, but they need to be able to attract a $3M coach. It's more likely that the next Houston coach will be another top flight assistant. Those guys don't get $3M out of the chute. Like, say, Meacham at TCU or the younger Briles. You pay those guys $1.5m.
I'm sure Houston is tired of seeing great coaches like Art Briles and Kevin Sumlin walk out the door.
Houston and Ark. St. seem to turn over great coaches every year or two. Those ADs need to find work at a higher level.
The AD who hired Herman at Houston is now the AD at Mizzu.
so you're saying he's up to the task
This just makes me want Herman a little more.
Human nature being what it is.
And $3m might not even be enough. Not sure the validity on this. Initially it appears that it is a troll job.
If true WOW.
Not quite Saban range, but that is an insane amount of money for College ball.
I'll wait for a more reliable source to report on this before I begin to believe it
Sadly, Bleacher Report has gained some ground after getting bought by Turner and CNN using them as their Sports news source.
There are literally 3 people who have put Herman and South Carolina together on a tweet today. The person who 'broke' the story, one making a joke, and another SEC guy spamming everyone at ESPN with the "what do you think of this hire".
Doesn't appear to be real to me. Could be wrong, but this has all the makings of a fake story.
Looking at this guys other tweets and I'm thinking he wants to throw something out there and if by the smallest of margins he is right will look like a genius with the right connections and #sauces.
Hey, I don't think it's legit either. I'm just saying that Bleacher Report isn't quite the joke that it was 5 years ago.
Troll confirmed.
I can't wait until our new coach is named...this whole coaching transition thing isn't exciting at the moment. I'm glad we haven't been through this in almost 30 years...this constant chatter is becoming white noise that is drowning out and detracting from the #ThanksFrank movement.
A bunch of news coming out now that Memphis has made a huge offer to keep Fuente.
All these smaller schools are going make pitches to keep their coaches on the off chance that they do end up keeping them. However, they have to know that those coaches are very likely to leave especially with this many P5 programs and 2 or 3 top level schools having coaching vacancies.