I wish...:hihi: I've been selling to these guys for the better part of 20 years. I know what makes them tick. When they take a job at a winning program its said to be for a chance to win championships. When they take a job at a losing school its said to be for the tremendous challenge. The common denominator is more bling. Cooper would have taken a job at MooU if it meant doubling his salary from 150K to 300K.
Sure the $$ is a primary factor, but I don't think that you can discredit all of the quotes straight from the man's mouth. He is quoted as saying that the chance to win a NC on a regular basis was one of his reasons for making the move. Implicitly, as was said earlier, this is lip service to the fact that an assistant at a NC winning program DOES get more attention than at a losing program and a chance to potentially get back to a HC position at a desirable school. You saw it with Bo, and you see it with almost every decent HC. Stoops was an assistant at FL, all of the guys at USC (and we're not talking about the one in the SEC) who get looks b/c they were Asst Coaches under Carroll. Sure, the $130K raise doesn't hurt, but it's not true to say the chance to come to LSU and win isn't a factor. Case in point, tell me what Cooper's salary jumps (or dips) when he went from Louisville to Alabama A&M, to Wisconsin to Miss St. I've got to believe that money was not the only motivating factor in his career.
Nothing but coach speak. Like I said, he would have taken a job at MooU if it increased his salary from 150K to 300k. You dont think so? Well, he was fired from Louisville. He had to leave Alabama A&M because of a scandal. Wisconsin was where he landed next and he got a promotion and raise to go to MooU then had to leave because Sherril was fired. Three of his 6 moves where forced, the other 3 were for raises. They are all greedy bastids. :hihi:
I agree with you to a point. A coach is always looking to better his career long term. If there's a job that pays a bit more, but he's more likely to not succeed, chances are he'll stay put to not hurt his resume'. But its always smart to endear fans and recruits with a comment like he made. Welcome to LSU, where championships happen!:LSU231:
Since Cooper has been at South Carolina: 2004 - Dunta Robinson 1st Round 2006 - Ko Simpson 4th Round 2007 - Johnathan Joseph 1st Round 2007 - Fred Bennett 4th Round 2009 - Captain Munnerlyn - ? That's pretty damn good output.
It's nice to see that Cooper looks like a tireless recruiter, because we need a defensive coach to file in for Peveto on the recruiting trail (Like Porter and McCarthy on offense, Peveto logged thousands of miles traveling around recruiting players for LSU's D). From an LSU blog: USCe fans lament [Cooper's] departure, and consider him to be one of the most important coaches the Gamecocks have. They say he is one of their best coaches and is their best recruiter ... Cooper seems to excel at recruiting. He is all over the Gamecock commitment lists for the past several years, despite appearing to recruit almost exclusively outside of the Carolinas. He gets most of his recruits from the state of Georgia, so he may be able to keep the recently-opened Georgia recruiting pipelines open for LSU. This avenue was opened by Bradley Dale Peveto, and has given us a number of solid recruits in the last few years. Cooper may be tasked with keeping that window open. He's also recruited Alabama, Virginia, and other states.
:geaux: Just curious, but what is your opinion as to why Rodney Garner turned down "the big bucks" Tennessee offered him and is staying at Georgia. Maybe 'cause he thinks Ga. has a better chance to win? Looks like it ain't always the money/bling. Is Garner in the 1% you mention to whom money isn't a factor? :LSU231:
