Bertman was quoted on the Advocate as saying there would be NO buyout clause... part of the price of having a top tier coach
Buyout clause won't work The only time you can negotiate a buyout clause is in a situation where you're equal or stronger in bargaining power. That isn't the case here--Nick Saban knows we're dying to get him, and if we insist on a buyout clause he'll insist on an equally large increase in the salary itself. Buyout clauses are useful only when you're dealing with a person who is likely to bolt because the person doesn't know whether he'll be happy here--a good example is when Nick CAME here originally--that would have been a time in which a buyout clause would have perhaps been worth trying to get, because if Nick hated the humidity or his kids were unhappy he'd leave quickly. Now that we know he's happy, getting a buyout clause (and PAYING FOR IT UP FRONT WITH AN INCREASE IN SALARY, which we'd have to do since we don't have the bargaining power to insist on it otherwise) isn't important. If he leaves, he leaves, but we know already he isn't a jerk and that he'll consider his options carefully and that he is not the type of person who will just jump for no reason. Michigan State was the #2 program in Michigan, so it makes sense he wanted a state where he was #1. In all of college football, except maybe Notre Dame, there isn't a better job right now--some people might say Florida but I don't think Nick would even entertain that, since he's too classy. Anyway, I will just tell you that there is no need for a buyout. And I'm a lawyer whose specialty is writing contracts. Contracts are written to deal with situations where you're dealing with a jerk. With an honorable person, a handshake is truly enough. Nick Saban is honorable. He'll only leave when the time is right and he won't leave the place in a shambles like a Tuberville did to Ole Miss or Francione did to Alabama.
I'll answer my own question (I've a habit of doing this because I get impatient and stuff): it looks like Bob Stoops DOES have a buyout clause, albeit a pretty minor one (if you assume he'd only leave for the NFL) of $200,000. http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2001/01/06/spt_sullivan_stoops_says.html I think the terms of his contract stayed the same when he got his 2 yr extension last season, so this still applies (I think).
I like hearing this 10 and 15 year stuff, sounds like we are on the right track to locking up Saban for years. Hopefully, if we can get this contract nailed down then Saban will be like the other top long term coaches in the league who's name doesn't pop up with every single NFL job opening.
ESPN NFL Live Cast just took on the issue of Atlanta and the hiring of their next head coach. Saban's name came up way too much for my comfort level. Let's lock him in and win a few NCs!
Could be a coincidence but, Saban was in Atlanta this weekend beating the Georgia Bulldogs, then Dan Reeves gets fired today. This just in..... My brother just called me. My brother's friend is a big wig in Atlanta. He said that Saban was in the Atlanta airport today. This guy is a friend of the family and an LSU fan. He wouldn't start any rumors. I hope his information was bad. Saban has it perfect here. I think that LSU will do everything it can to keep him. More importantly, I hope this doesn't become a distraction for the BIGGEST LSU GAME IN 45 YEARS on Jan 4th.
he's out recruiting! Atlanta's airport is the biggest hub in the Southeast, and this is recruiting time. If he's flying around seeing recruits in Florida, for instance, he's going to have to change planes there. Meanwhile, if he DID check out the NFL job, it could possibly just be for leverage. Finally, I don't think Reeves was fired today. I think he took the opportunity to ask if he was going to be renewed after the game this weekend, was told no, and then asked to be fired right now. I do not think it had anything to do with the timing of our game. So relax.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- LSU plans to reward coach Nick Saban with a more lucrative contract after the Tigers play for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl. Chancellor Mark Emmert and athletic director Skip Bertman just aren't sure how valuable the deal will be. ``Skip and I are in agreement that we want to make sure Nick is our coach for a long time,'' Emmert said. ``We need to make sure there are immediate rewards and long-term rewards that provide the kind of incentives that make Nick want to stay. But there's been nothing more than preliminary conversations, mostly ideas of what that might look like.'' Saban's current package, drawn up shortly after LSU beat Illinois in the Sugar Bowl two years ago, pays him $1.6 million per year. It also contains an annuity that will pay him $1 million if he stays at least two more years and a clause that guarantees Saban at least $1 more per year than the current highest-paid coach if LSU wins the national championship. That coach is Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, whose package guarantees him $2.5 million annually. I assume yall have seen this... GEAUX TIGERS!!!
