Who is Screwing Up the College Coaching Profession?

Why are there so few Frank Beamers in College Football? Will Les Miles be another Frank Beamer and make LSU his last coaching job? Or will he chase his dream job at his Alma Mater with no guarantees of duplicating his success at Michigan. Rich Rodriguez is coaching his dream job but it seems he's keeping one eye on the next big job.

Have Agents destroyed the loyalty that once existed between a coach and the university that employees them? Maybe it's the press. Are there too many demands on a coach today from press coverage? Or how about the Internet. Lloyd Carr touched on it in his press conference by saying there are some things he doesn't do very well. I personally think he was talking about the importance of the Internet and how fast news travels today. Is all of this too much to handle for one individual who is just hired to coach young college athletes?

What's up with so many recent examples of failure like Saban and Spurrier leaving a great job for something better that turns to crap. The two common links with these two men is a HUGE Ego. Spurrier is now apologizing for placing too high expectations on this team for this season, he wants Florida success now. King Saban is having a mini melt down once again with the media fanning the flames. Are we on the verge of bringing sanity back to college coaching? Alex Rodriguez finally said no to Scott Boras. How much money does one guy need? There is so much resentment in baseball between owners and certain agents. Is the tide turning? Is Les Miles ready to learn from Saban and Spurrier? Will Coach Miles be the next Frank Beamer and will LSU finally have a long term committed coach? It's what Bama paid 32 million for.

I'm just trying to figure out why so many coaches keep one eye on the next job. Is it just money or dissatisfaction with the current job? If a Coach's true commitment is to recruited players then why do they leave their current job so often? Any thoughts on this?

 

Great question, and well stated post.

First, these guys are competitive by nature, they all played football somewhere. They are ambitious and want to move their career ahead. They don't know their own limits, and in some cases, the only way to find out is to try it, and if you fail, you know you're not good at the next level. Plus, they have earned enough money, due to wildly escalating salaries, that they could retire at 50, so if you have the financial security, why not take that shot? Someone will take you if you fail (spurrier and saban), and still pay you well.

So, they move up, high school to small college, to D1 minor program to D1 major program, to D1 elite program or "your dream job", to pro.

Now here's where the rub comes in. What's the difference between a D1 major program and a D1 elite program? The move from college to pro head coach has seldom been a success (Jimmy Johnson proved it can be done). They can let their competitiveness and ambition cloud their thoughts.

Another thing that has changed is the universities loyalty to its coaches. They are much more apt to demand a winner, and not be willing to wait more than 4 years. So if the schools treat the coaches in such mercenary fashion, it will be reciprocated by the coaches, who will move on if they think they have a better opportunity. The fans and their expectations play a role; we demand that the university produce a winner quickly. Its a two edged sword, if there is little margin for error on the coaches part, then it really is just a job.

 

I think it is more of a reflection on society than any particular facet in college football. A year or so ago I recall reading an article about how people in today's work force change jobs frequently as well. If you go back 20 or so years you find people who would stay with the same company for a long time. Now, if I recall the figures correctly, people change companies every few years as well.

A change of scenery, a different challenge, more money...there are a lot of reasons it happens in the everyday world much like there are a lot of reasons it happens in college football.

For me, it isn't a big deal to see a person leave his job and go to another knowing there will be a line for the opening.

FWIW, Beamer has thrown his name in the hat for a few jobs in the last decade as well...not a great example.

 

It's true people move around more today, and this trend started in the 70's when companies started laying people off in droves. From the 1940-60's there was much more loyalty (complacency?) from the employers, slumps in earnings were tolerated, and in return for being carried by companies when times were a little rough, people stayed around (sometimes becoming dead wood).

In the 70's, we started to see mega bonuses in stock options for CEO's to "optimize shareholder value", or get the stock price up. The favorite tool, "corporate restructuring", closing or selling off divisions and laying off all the people.

First corporations became less paternalistic, then employees became less loyal.

But it is true that both are less loyal today than 40 years ago. My dad had one job in his life, stayed there 42 years, ended as the #2 employee seniority wise in that company, behind the founder.

As the universities, driven by the fans, have become more demanding, coaches have viewed their spots, not as any "love of the school" kind of thing, but just as a job. We, the fans, have some skin in this one.

We won't tolerate any stretch of mediocrity, we all want consistent excellence. That's why coaches have not been staying in place as long.

 

I actually agree with Terry on this one. The society we live in today pretty much revolves around money it seems. Loyalty is a hard thing to come by.

 

Terry, what do you think.

 

You're right of course. Look at Saban. How does a man turn down 4 million bucks a year, and pass on that kind of security for his family. At the same time, If Saban doesn't have 'Bama in the SEC CG at the end of his 3rd. year, he'll get tossed straight under the bus by those folks, and he knows that.

Coaches and Administrations held a lot more loyalty for each other when the coach was getting paid as if he was a member of the faculty.:geauxtige

 

Yeah, Terry pretty much wrote what I would have said as well.

I think it IS more about money and a market-based philosophy (which ain't all bad), but it's also about individual personal choices (coaches and administrations) as well. Can't just blame it solely on "systems". End of the day, a few key people make big decisions that drive "systems".

Perhaps now that some of these coaches and programs are proving to be "overvalued", there will be a "market correction". Coaches and administrations might tighten up their willingness to take big financial risks on "unproven" prospects with poor fundamentals but huge hype. Maybe they'll stop throwing huge sums of money around. Kind of like a correction in the housing market or the tech_stocks market. Prove your worth with performance and production and the profits will FOLLOW.

:nope: Nahhhh.....who am I kidding. Too much emotion involved in the boo$ter club$...

 

Still going out, not quite at low tide yet...but getting close. :rofl:

 

These are all good observations. There is nothing like rolling up your sleeves and tackling a big project. Look at it this way. In Spring time and your yard is dead from winter. If you spend a weekend or two fertilizing, planting new flowers, pruning and etc, you will have a beautiful yard all year given you maintain it. Your joy comes from the enjoyment of your hard work, not what someone has paid you. I personally believe college coaching is one of the most beautiful opportunities for job satisfaction from hard work. Society can be screwed up and money can invite corruption but opportunity to just go out and do a good job is still there. I run a small business and it is hard as heck to find anyone who will share my dream delivering a high quality product through hard work. And I pay good for hard workers delivering a high quality product.

Here's the rub. Everyone wants the money before doing the job that must be done. You can't tell me Saban is the same person who coached LSU. With all the accolades he receives from the media, former coaches and players, combined with millions of dollars in guaranteed money Saban has changed. At LSU he had a realistic pay scale with incentives. I now think he's fighting the demons which comes with guaranteed wealth.

Les Miles is a great example of a man who is not well spoken but is well respected for the job he quietly goes about doing. He also brings fiery emotion to his work ethic. He speaks his mind and is a strong leader. With all he does he wins games. With some luck he will add 2 championships to his list of achievements. How he sorts out all this crap he finds himself in will determine his legacy in his profession. I think keeping close to his values and work ethic will serve him well. Which I believe is true for all of us in regards to what we do.