MGB: UNT regents to discuss Littrell's contract

[Brett Vito]

MGB: Discussion of budget and scope of new track venue also on agenda

http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2017/02/unt-regents-to-discuss-littrells-contract.html/

[outoftown]

Does that mean they are thinking about upping it or prolonging it already? It was a decent improvement this season, but given the recruiting that seems a bit early.

I would much rather they discuss the contract of Benfords successor.

On the other hand, I am happy the track thing seems to be moving along.

Edited February 18, 2017 by outoftown

[EagleMBA]

I don't profess any knowledge of how football contracts should go. He has already been given a $35K handshake after the bowl game, per Vito's research. I suspect a one-year contract extension, a percentage bump on the base, or perhaps extra perks not already provided. It is also possible they would grant him a bigger budget for assistants and/or staff. Just SWAG.

[outoftown]

3 minutes ago, EagleMBA said:

I don't profess any knowledge of how football contracts should go. He has already been given a $35K handshake after the bowl game, per Vito's research. I suspect a one-year contract extension, a percentage bump on the base, or perhaps extra perks not already provided. It is also possible they would grant him a bigger budget for assistants and/or staff. Just SWAG.

The bolded part and maybe a bump on recruiting money are the only thing I currently really would like to see. I do think it is too early to extend, but getting him more resources to actually succeed could only be good.

[Ryan Munthe]

I think a larger budget for assistants needs to happen. I don't want us to get too excited about Littrell and start giving him a raise and end up with an albatross of a salary like Mac.

[DeepGreen]

My guess is that coordinators, assistants, and position coaches are paid $200,000 to $500,000 at some lower tier P5 and top G6 programs. And these numbers a just a WAG.  My hope is that UNT gets to the point where we pay these these types of salaries to our coaches.

[Cr1028]

Maybe they are upping Littrell's salary to what it was supposed to be before he took a pay cut to get better assistants.

[BTG_Fan1]

Hopefully it is a bit of raise for SL or another year added on(with a higher buyout if he laves), along with a boost in salaries, and budgets as well.

[Harry]

Makes you wonder if someone wasn't sniffing around on Littrell.  Clearly his stagf was decimated.  A feather in his cap, perhaps but I would love to see them up his assistant pool to keep some semblance of continuity.

[BTG_Fan1]

42 minutes ago, Harry said:

Makes you wonder if someone wasn't sniffing around on Littrell.  Clearly his stagf was decimated.  A feather in his cap, perhaps but I would love to see them up his assistant pool to keep some semblance of continuity.

You think someone was?

I'm hoping its just WB being pro-active with the knowledge that with the # of coaches lost, it means people were looking at us.. Giving SL another year, for a boost in terms of the buyout other school would pay seems like a win-win.

Edited February 18, 2017 by BTG_Fan1

[Harry]

23 minutes ago, BTG_Fan1 said:

You think someone was?

I'm hoping its just WB being pro-active with the knowledge that with the # of coaches lost, it means people were looking at us.. Giving SL another year, for a boost in terms of the buyout other school would pay seems like a win-win.

Would love to think we were just being proactive here -- but not historically our way of doing things.  

[GrandGreen]

I hope Baker is not going to make the same mistake, RV made with the McCarney contract.  McCarney had one good year and got a big contract boost despite not showing any ability to recruit.   

Littrell's first year was very promising based on the mess he inherited.  However, if you look at the details; who NT beat and how non-competitive they were in many of the games; everyone should know NT has a long way to go.   I hope Baker waits until a pattern of success is established before making a significantly bigger financial commitment. 

 

[97and03]

Only at NT would the beat reporter call a five win season "highly successful"

[Wag Tag]

It is not like a bump in salary would of kept any assistant coaches that we lost to P5s. i would think it would have more to do with attracting coaches.

[UNT Mean Green]

13 hours ago, Brett Vito said:

MGB: Discussion of budget and scope of new track venue also on agenda

http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2017/02/unt-regents-to-discuss-littrells-contract.html/

Good news. Anytime we are able to allocate more financial resources toward the program it's helpful. This could include, but not be limited to: coaching salary pool, support or administrative salary pool, strength staff pool, operational budget increase (equipment, nutrition, training, etc.), etc. 

It's great seeing this being discussed by the BoR.

[GTWT]

5 hours ago, 97and03 said:

Only at NT would the beat reporter call a five win season "highly successful"

I think any time that you follow a one-win season (that included a blow-out loss to Portland State) with a five-win season, you can call that a "highly successful" season.

Kinda off topic, but does anyone else think that college football is out of control when the linebacker coach gets paid more than many professors, the defensive coordinator gets paid more than some deans, and the head coach is the highest paid public employee in the state? 

[GrandGreen]

58 minutes ago, UNT Mean Green said:

Good news. Anytime we are able to allocate more financial resources toward the program it's helpful. This could include, but not be limited to: coaching salary pool, support or administrative salary pool, strength staff pool, operational budget increase (equipment, nutrition, training, etc.), etc. 

It's great seeing this being discussed by the BoR.

Yes, but remember NT has limited funds available.  Every cent that goes to salaries is taken away from another area.  It is not like UT, Alabama where dollars are relatively easily acquired.  This program is very heavily financed by students, so in my view that should always be considered.  

24 minutes ago, GTWT said:

I think any time that you follow a one-win season (that included a blow-out loss to Portland State) with a five-win season, you can call that a "highly successful" season.

Kinda off topic, but does anyone else think that college football is out of control when the linebacker coach gets paid more than many professors, the defensive coordinator gets paid more than some deans, and the head coach is the highest paid public employee in the state? 

I would said a very successful season.  I wonder when the new MBB coach wins 5 conference games is NT going to give him a big raise because compared to Benford he had a great season.  

Obviously, college football will eventually collapse if the ultra spending continues.   At some point, most schools are just not going to be able to keep up.  So either there are going to have to be spending controls, or a big reorganization relegating most fb programs to a second tier.

The tv contracts are already going down and there is a limit to how much you can soak the students which more and more care less and less about sports.   

[GTWT]

9 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

Obviously, college football will eventually collapse if the ultra spending continues.   At some point, most schools are just not going to be able to keep up.  So either there are going to have to be spending controls, or a big reorganization relegating most fb programs to a second tier.

The tv contracts are already going down and there is a limit to how much you can soak the students which more and more care less and less about sports.   

It's just as obscene with the big boys.  These are, for the most part, state universities.  No coach, even at UT or TAMU,  should be paid ten times what a tenured professor in business, physics, or engineering is paid.  Athletics are a valuable part of the university experience but are not the university's reason for being.

You're right about the probable course of affairs in college athletics.  I would hope that that 'second tier' would end up being more compelling than the semi=pro first tier.  College athletics should be for student athletes.  Students who play for their college and for the love of the game.  Screw the Alabamas & Oklahomas, and the athletes who skip their last college game to avoid an injury that might compromise their draft position.

Rant over.

 

[Harry]

32 minutes ago, GTWT said:

It's just as obscene with the big boys.  These are, for the most part, state universities.  No coach, even at UT or TAMU,  should be paid ten times what a tenured professor in business, physics, or engineering is paid.  Athletics are a valuable part of the university experience but are not the university's reason for being.

You're right about the probable course of affairs in college athletics.  I would hope that that 'second tier' would end up being more compelling than the semi=pro first tier.  College athletics should be for student athletes.  Students who play for their college and for the love of the game.  Screw the Alabamas & Oklahomas, and the athletes who skip their last college game to avoid an injury that might compromise their draft position.

Rant over.

 

I agree with you, and in it is obscene.  The kryptonite to the argument is why can some schools with lessor resources that UNT, like Western Kentucky, UTSA or Ark State etc seem to patch together more success?  SMU has paid a ton to Chad Morris and his staff and in return they have maintained a fair amount of stability since Jones left.  It seems like from the recruiting it is paying off.

What I think we can all agree on is that it is a very complicated formula with many variables to field a successful FBS G5 football program. 

I seriously doubt that Littrell factored in when he took the job that half his staff would be poached in the first year.  Sugarcoat it all day long but that's a tough blow to a coach trying to develop a winning culture.  Perhaps this is a movement to show our support and desire for him to stay awhile longer and provide stability.

[outoftown]

2 hours ago, Harry said:

I agree with you, and in it is obscene.  The kryptonite to the argument is why can some schools with lessor resources that UNT, like Western Kentucky, UTSA or Ark State etc seem to patch together more success?  SMU has paid a ton to Chad Morris and his staff and in return they have maintained a fair amount of stability since Jones left.  It seems like from the recruiting it is paying off.

What I think we can all agree on is that it is a very complicated formula with many variables to field a successful FBS G5 football program. 

I seriously doubt that Littrell factored in when he took the job that half his staff would be poached in the first year.  Sugarcoat it all day long but that's a tough blow to a coach trying to develop a winning culture.  Perhaps this is a movement to show our support and desire for him to stay awhile longer and provide stability.

I am sure it was a blow to him. One of the things I think would be good, is not just an increase in the assistant pool, as that will still be behind most P5 schools after that, but a more long term commitment from UNTs side to the assitants. What I mean is that most assistants right now get one year contracts. If the university was willing to give them two years to most of them, then poaching schools have to buy out a year, making it less interesting. And if they do, at least we get money to put back into the assistant pool. In return, assistants get a bit of security. But this does take the willingness of the university to swallow most of their buyouts if ever we get rid of SL.

[GrandGreen]

4 hours ago, Harry said:

I seriously doubt that Littrell factored in when he took the job that half his staff would be poached in the first year.  Sugarcoat it all day long but that's a tough blow to a coach trying to develop a winning culture.  Perhaps this is a movement to show our support and desire for him to stay awhile longer and provide stability.

NT lost 3 coaches to P5's, NT is not going to raise staff pay enough to counter this or should they even attempt to.    Losing coaches is just part of the job at the G5 level.  NT got hit hard, but it's not like NT is getting raided by peer programs.     

[hickoryhouse]

Getting picked apart by P5 schools tells me that we have been doing a better job identifying talent in the coaching world and that gives me much trust in Littrell.   I would like to see a bigger salary pool for those coaches, however that might require the program to bring in a bit more money...   sell tickets and such...

[97and03]

8 hours ago, GTWT said:

I think any time that you follow a one-win season (that included a blow-out loss to Portland State) with a five-win season, you can call that a "highly successful" season.

No. It is more like "improved by leaps and bounds" or "really took a large step forward" compared to last year. Highly successful starts with a winning season. Winning five games should never be the bar for success. 

[greenminer]

I call it progress, not success, but whatevs.

[GMG24]

On 2/17/2017 at 8:50 PM, DeepGreen said:

My guess is that coordinators, assistants, and position coaches are paid $200,000 to $500,000 at some lower tier P5 and top G6 programs. And these numbers a just a WAG.  My hope is that UNT gets to the point where we pay these these types of salaries to our coaches.

Baylor former quality control, then WR coach was making 180