The most overpaid coach in college football?

[Coach Andy Mac]

Seth Littrell | North Texas

Total compensation: $1,897,500

Although making nearly $2 million is nothing to sneeze at outside the world of college football, North Texas’ play on the field lately doesn’t even justify Littrell making that. Hovering around .500 with a losing record in each of the last three years would be pink-slip time for most coaches. Plus, Littrell has lost all five of his bowl games. He came into 2022 with the oldest starting quarterback in the nation with a chance to make some noise in Conference USA. Should the Mean Green fail to show significant progress, the buyout would be $1.575 million if he is relieved of his duties on Dec. 1. 

Follow Scooby Axson on Twitter @ScoobAxson

READ MORE:  https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/sports/ncaaf/2022/10/13/overpaid-college-football-coaches-contracts-jimbo-fisher/8130700001/

[MrAlien]

Not a lot of established coaches are lined up to coach at UNT.  So in order to lure an established coach here they will have to pay above market price. 

[KingDL1]

42 minutes ago, MrAlien said:

Not a lot of established coaches are lined up to coach at UNT.  So in order to lure an established coach here they will have to pay above market price. 

Not true

[Coffee and TV]

lol no, it's clearly Jimbo. 

[untjim1995]

4 hours ago, MrAlien said:

Not a lot of established coaches are lined up to coach at UNT.  So in order to lure an established coach here they will have to pay above market price. 

I don't agree at all.

SL got his extension (which was deserved) because his agent, Jimmy Sexton, completely swindled our leadership, who hadn't had any coach to fight over or for ever before. The problem wasn't issuing the contract--it was accepting that this contract couldn't ever be bought out if SL started sucking. Instead, we saved money while the product got worse and worse. And, now, we are staring at this abyss ahead--not knowing who will coach next year and for how long. Will it be someone knew? Will it be SL in his last year of a contract? Will it be SL with an extra few years added to his last year? None of those three questions help you with recruiting, retention, or fundraising/attendance.

Edited October 13, 2022 by untjim1995

[Texas Stranger]

OU fans will vehemently disagree

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

28 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

I don't agree at all.

SL got his extension (which was deserved) because his agent, Jimmy Sexton, completely swindled our leadership, who hadn't had any coach to fight over or for ever before. The problem wasn't issuing the contract--it was accepting that this contract couldn't ever be bought out if SL started sucking. Instead, we saved money while the product got worse and worse. And, now, we are starting at this abyss ahead--not knowing who will coach next year and for how long. Will it be someone knew? Will it be SL in his last year of a contract? Will it be SL with an extra few years added to his last year? None of those three questions help you with recruiting, retention, or fundraising/attendance.

Yet, I find it funny how many people give Wren a pass for getting completely hosed on this extension

[GMG_Dallas]

"Seen as one of the top young offensive minds in all of college football, the" ... "will be in the mix at Wisconsin, where he played, and at Arizona State, which is in need of a major reboot on that side of the ball. Since being hired in 2018," ... "has accounted for two of the five bowl appearances and one of the two division championships in program history."

I took out the name of the excerpt above for y'all to read. It looks like something that could have been written about Littrell early in his career here. Shows how fast things can change. For those wondering where that excerpt above is from, scroll down on the link of most overpaid coach down to "Which 5 college football coaches are ready to cash in? Let’s start with Kansas’ Lance Leipold." The above is about Kent State coach Sean Lewis. Since taking over in 2018, Kent State hasn't won more than 7 games in a season and they currently sit at 2-4 this season. Shows how some places are viewed as perennial losers and any sliver of success there gets a HC on the poaching list. I wouldn't be surprised if UNT wins 8+ games this year, we see SL get hired by a P5 program because of the outside perception of our program. Based on historical results, they wouldn't be wrong either.

 https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/sports/ncaaf/2022/10/13/up-and-coming-college-football-coach-list/8130792001/

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

35 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

"Seen as one of the top young offensive minds in all of college football, the" ... "will be in the mix at Wisconsin, where he played, and at Arizona State, which is in need of a major reboot on that side of the ball. Since being hired in 2018," ... "has accounted for two of the five bowl appearances and one of the two division championships in program history."

I took out the name of the excerpt above for y'all to read. It looks like something that could have been written about Littrell early in his career here. Shows how fast things can change. For those wondering where that excerpt above is from, scroll down on the link of most overpaid coach down to "Which 5 college football coaches are ready to cash in? Let’s start with Kansas’ Lance Leipold." The above is about Kent State coach Sean Lewis. Since taking over in 2018, Kent State hasn't won more than 7 games in a season and they currently sit at 2-4 this season. Shows how some places are viewed as perennial losers and any sliver of success there gets a HC on the poaching list. I wouldn't be surprised if UNT wins 8+ games this year, we see SL get hired by a P5 program because of the outside perception of our program. Based on historical results, they wouldn't be wrong either.

 https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/sports/ncaaf/2022/10/13/up-and-coming-college-football-coach-list/8130792001/

Yeah, that one I am extremely confused about. If anything, he has accomplished less than SL which is actually saying something. Maybe they could mean as an OC, but even then, their offensive points per game has dropped dramatically every year: 2020- 49.8 but they only played 4 games, 2021 - 33, 2022- 27.2 so far. Either way, I would be ecstatic if SL wins 8+ games this year and is hired away by a P5 as a HC or OC. Perception looks better than firing your coach and we all get the fresh start in the American most fans are looking for. 

[MrAlien]

if I am so wrong, then who are these established coaches that are lined up to take SL's job for less money? 

The only ways the next coach is cheaper is either going to with a first time D1 head coach on a "prove your worth deal" or is going to be a coach that failed elsewhere and is trying to resurrect his career.

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

9 minutes ago, MrAlien said:

if I am so wrong, then who are these established coaches that are lined up to take SL's job for less money? 

The only ways the next coach is cheaper is either going to with a first time D1 head coach on a "prove your worth deal" or is going to be a coach that failed elsewhere and is trying to resurrect his career.

#fUeNTe

[GMG_Dallas]

14 minutes ago, UNT Texas Hooligan said:

Yeah, that one I am extremely confused about. If anything, he has accomplished less than SL which is actually saying something. Maybe they could mean as an OC, but even then, their offensive points per game has dropped dramatically every year: 2020- 49.8 but they only played 4 games, 2021 - 33, 2022- 27.2 so far. Either way, I would be ecstatic if SL wins 8+ games this year and is hired away by a P5 as a HC or OC. Perception looks better than firing your coach and we all get the fresh start in the American most fans are looking for. 

I think it's just outside perception of certain programs. You go back to when there were talks of SL going to K-State, it's not like we were at the top of the G5 world. We had a good offense and had back-to-back 9 win seasons. No 10+ wins, no bowl wins, no conference championships, but to the college football world, two 9 win seasons as UNT was a big deal. I think if he made about $1.5 million, he wouldn't have made this list of overpaid coaches. I also don't think an AD at a P5 is going to read this article and scratch SL off their list of future head coaches. If he gets to 8+ wins this year, he'll have led us to 6 bowl appearances and 1 (maybe 2) conference championship game appearances. Many think that's good for UNT.

[greenjoe]

I see what you did there.  Very cleaver.

[GMG_Dallas]

13 minutes ago, MrAlien said:

if I am so wrong, then who are these established coaches that are lined up to take SL's job for less money? 

The only ways the next coach is cheaper is either going to with a first time D1 head coach on a "prove your worth deal" or is going to be a coach that failed elsewhere and is trying to resurrect his career.

... there are 131 D1 FBS programs in the country. Which means there are only 131 D1 FBS head coaching positions. Being a D1 FBS head coach means you're at the top of the coaching world, outside the NFL. It's a big deal. If the UNT position came open, there would be plenty of qualified applicants. Not sure what you view as qualified but based on the other part of your comment, I'm assuming you mean somebody who's actively a college head coach. If the position came open, you'd definitely have current college head coaches trying to move to a bigger program applying for the job.

[MeanGreenTexan]

52 minutes ago, MrAlien said:

if I am so wrong, then who are these established coaches that are lined up to take SL's job for less money? 

The only ways the next coach is cheaper is either going to with a first time D1 head coach on a "prove your worth deal" or is going to be a coach that failed elsewhere and is trying to resurrect his career.

Why does NT have to pay less to the next guy than what we're paying Littrell?   I don't understand that part.

And there's no public line of guys screaming, "I'll coach UNT for $2mil!!".   Why?   Because NT already has a coach, and to campaign for a job that already has a seated coach would be crass & unprofessional.   

That certainly doesn't mean there wouldn't be a huge amount of interest in coaching an AAC team for $2mil/yr from very-well-qualified coaches... once the job is actually open.

You keep asking this same dumb question... I don't know what you're expecting to hear.

[NT80]

10 hours ago, MrAlien said:

Not a lot of established coaches are lined up to coach at UNT.  So in order to lure an established coach here they will have to pay above market price. 

We were in a worse situation after Benford destroyed the basketball program.  Wren let Benford stay a year too long, like his is doing with Seth, but Wren did a great job finding Benford's replacement.  I think he will get us an upgrade over Seth too!

[untjim1995]

38 minutes ago, NT80 said:

We were in a worse situation after Benford destroyed the basketball program.  Wren let Benford stay a year too long, like his is doing with Seth, but Wren did a great job finding Benford's replacement.  I think he will get us an upgrade over Seth too!

It’s so much easier to get a program turned around in basketball than it is in football. One or two guys can totally reverse the course for hoops. On a football team, you need about 20 guys to fix the team. It’s why the allowance of letting SL back to save money and keep the BMDs happy will be a gigantic mistake in hindsight. 

[NT80]

11 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

It’s so much easier to get a program turned around in basketball than it is in football. One or two guys can totally reverse the course for hoops. On a football team, you need about 20 guys to fix the team. It’s why the allowance of letting SL back to save money and keep the BMDs happy will be a gigantic mistake in hindsight. 

A new HC with new energy is one major need.  But one (1) quality QB for football will make the team "Fine" again!

[Glory to the Green]

2 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

It’s so much easier to get a program turned around in basketball than it is in football. One or two guys can totally reverse the course for hoops. On a football team, you need about 20 guys to fix the team. It’s why the allowance of letting SL back to save money and keep the BMDs happy will be a gigantic mistake in hindsight. 

Even if we lose some transfers due to a new head coach, this team is not 20 players away from being competitive. This team is already competitive. This team is a handful of players away from competitive AAC play (if you count Memphis, we are already there).  I’m excited to see this team close out the season.  GMG!

[El Paso Eagle]

48 minutes ago, Glory to the Green said:

Even if we lose some transfers due to a new head coach, this team is not 20 players away from being competitive. This team is already competitive. This team is a handful of players away from competitive AAC play (if you count Memphis, we are already there).  I’m excited to see this team close out the season.  GMG!

We have not been competitive against good teams in the last three years. We have played 3 mid range G5 schools this year and lost all 3. SMU has lost 3 games and they kicked our ass.UNLY tore us up, and we caught Memphis on a very bad day for them and still lost. I realize you have your green glasses surgically attached, but stop kidding yourself - This team has not been competitive against good teams for years.

[outoftown]

16 hours ago, Coffee and TV said:

lol no, it's clearly Jimbo. 

if you go to the article, Jimbo IS first on their list. But SL still makes the list. That tracks to me.

[NT93]

We’re not 20 players away.  A good QB would improve us tremendously.  The QB makes such a difference.  I already knew it, but it really hit home watching atm and Bama.  If Bama has to play too many games without Young, they may be in trouble.  

That being said, we need to fill a few holes defensively.

[GMG_Dallas]

17 minutes ago, NT93 said:

We’re not 20 players away.  A good QB would improve us tremendously.  The QB makes such a difference.  I already knew it, but it really hit home watching atm and Bama.  If Bama has to play too many games without Young, they may be in trouble.  

That being said, we need to fill a few holes defensively.

I think sometimes we underestimate the value an elite QB can have on all three phases (ha!). If you're putting up points and can get out to an early lead, you force the opposing offenses to be a bit more risky to keep up and you can be a bit more aggressive rushing the opposing QB. Not always true and like you implied, we still need more talent on defense, but a really strong offense can force opposing teams out of their comfort zone. From a special teams aspect, punting from your 20 following a 3-and-out versus punting from your 50 can swing the field positioning battle in your favor and also help your defense.

Edited October 14, 2022 by GMG_Dallas

[wardly]

We are not going to get" more for less" if we replace Littrell. An O.C. like Rilley at TCU might find $2 million + very attractive. I don't know what the average H.C. makes in the AAC but it's got to be more than CUSA.

[MeanGreenTexan]

12 minutes ago, wardly said:

We are not going to get" more for less" if we replace Littrell. An O.C. like Rilley at TCU might find $2 million + very attractive. I don't know what the average H.C. makes in the AAC but it's got to be more than CUSA.

Next season's AAC: (Per: https://www.coacheshotseat.com/CFBCoachesSalaries.htm)
Rhett Lashlee - SMU - $3mil/yr
Ken Niumatalolo - Navy - $3mil/yr
Stan Drayton - Temple - $2.5mil/yr
Jeff Scott - SoFL - $2.5mil/yr
SETH LITTRELL - UNT - $2mil/yr
Ryan Silverfield - Memphis - $2mil/yr
Willie Fritz - Tulane - $2mil/yr
Phil Montgomery - Tulsa - $2mil/yr
Mike Houston - ECU - $1.5mil/yr
Jeff Traylor - UTSA - $1.5mil/yr
Bryant Vincent - UAB - $1.5mil/yr
Mike Bloomgren - Rice - $1.5mil/yr
Jim Mora - UConn - $1.5mil/yr
Willie Taggart - FAU - $1.5mil/yr
Will Healy - Charlotte - $1mil/yr