Okay, since we keep hearing from the Mac apologists about how ISU can't afford to pay our head or assistant football coaches competitive salaries, I decided to do some digging.
I found some interesting numbers. First of all we know Mac's current salary is $1.1 million and that he ranks in the middle of the Big XII conference for head coaches. Here's how he stacks up with some other coaches from around the country:
SEC
-Les Miles, LSU: $1.25 million
-Steve Spurrier, S.Carolina: $1.25 million
-Ed Orgeron, Miss.: $1.00 million
-Sylvester Croom, Miss. St.: $900,000
-Rich Brooks, Kentucky: $750,000
Pac 10
-Karl Dorrell, UCLA: $800,000
-Walt Harris, Stanford: $600,000
-Bill Doba, Wash. St.: $500,000
-Dirk Koetter, ASU: $950,000
-Mike Riley, Oregon St.: $800,000
-Mike Stoops, Arizona: $800,000
I'd say Mac's salary compares very favorably with all of the above coaches' salaries. I mean, Mac's not even on the same planet as Spurrier when it comes to coaching yet he only makes $150,000 less than the old ball coach. The same's true for Les Miles who coaches one of the premier football programs in the country at LSU.
Mac's making more than over half the Pac Ten coaches including Mike Riley whose OSU team just knocked off USC.
But let's go further. How about our top assistants?:
-John Skladany: $177,000
-Barney Cotton: $173,550
-Tony Alford: $170,000
So how do they stack up with other assistants? Well, Norm Parker and Ken O'Keefe at Iowa both make $190,890 as DC and OC respectively; really not much more than what Cotton and Skladany make. And both have achieved much greater success as well with Iowa making serious runs at Big Ten championships, and appearing in and winning New Years Day bowl games while they've been coaches. Note: Barney Cotton made only $130,000 as OC at Nebraska.
How about a team comparison with say Clemson and ISU?
Clemson
Tommy Bowden: $1.1 million (hey, same as Mac!)
Rob Spence (OC): $175,000
Vic Koenning (DC): $175,000
So, we pay our head coach and top two coordinators combined almost exactly what Clemson pays theirs. Now this is Clemson, mind you, a school rich in football tradition with great fan support, currently competing for the top spot in the ACC Atlantic Division and ranked #19 in the polls.
So, I think this puts to rest the notion that ISU doesn't pay their football coaches competive salaries and isn't or wouldn't be able to attract and retain top assistants because we don't pay them anything. These numbers say otherwise.
I found some interesting numbers. First of all we know Mac's current salary is $1.1 million and that he ranks in the middle of the Big XII conference for head coaches. Here's how he stacks up with some other coaches from around the country:
SEC
-Les Miles, LSU: $1.25 million
-Steve Spurrier, S.Carolina: $1.25 million
-Ed Orgeron, Miss.: $1.00 million
-Sylvester Croom, Miss. St.: $900,000
-Rich Brooks, Kentucky: $750,000
Pac 10
-Karl Dorrell, UCLA: $800,000
-Walt Harris, Stanford: $600,000
-Bill Doba, Wash. St.: $500,000
-Dirk Koetter, ASU: $950,000
-Mike Riley, Oregon St.: $800,000
-Mike Stoops, Arizona: $800,000
I'd say Mac's salary compares very favorably with all of the above coaches' salaries. I mean, Mac's not even on the same planet as Spurrier when it comes to coaching yet he only makes $150,000 less than the old ball coach. The same's true for Les Miles who coaches one of the premier football programs in the country at LSU.
Mac's making more than over half the Pac Ten coaches including Mike Riley whose OSU team just knocked off USC.
But let's go further. How about our top assistants?:
-John Skladany: $177,000
-Barney Cotton: $173,550
-Tony Alford: $170,000
So how do they stack up with other assistants? Well, Norm Parker and Ken O'Keefe at Iowa both make $190,890 as DC and OC respectively; really not much more than what Cotton and Skladany make. And both have achieved much greater success as well with Iowa making serious runs at Big Ten championships, and appearing in and winning New Years Day bowl games while they've been coaches. Note: Barney Cotton made only $130,000 as OC at Nebraska.
How about a team comparison with say Clemson and ISU?
Clemson
Tommy Bowden: $1.1 million (hey, same as Mac!)
Rob Spence (OC): $175,000
Vic Koenning (DC): $175,000
So, we pay our head coach and top two coordinators combined almost exactly what Clemson pays theirs. Now this is Clemson, mind you, a school rich in football tradition with great fan support, currently competing for the top spot in the ACC Atlantic Division and ranked #19 in the polls.
So, I think this puts to rest the notion that ISU doesn't pay their football coaches competive salaries and isn't or wouldn't be able to attract and retain top assistants because we don't pay them anything. These numbers say otherwise.
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