High School Football Voaches Cashing In

[MeanGreen61]

Southlake Carroll coach Todd Dodge (left), winner of three state titles in four years, is a relative bargain at $90,010 or $5,625.63 per victory.

HS football coaches cashing in

04:23 PM CST on Sunday, January 8, 2006

By MATT JACOB / The Dallas Morning News

For proof that football is the undisputed king of Texas high school sports, you need to look no further than what area school districts are paying head coaches.

Their average salary is $82,179.16, and nearly half are paid at least twice what an average teacher makes.

The Dallas Morning News asked 37 districts for the total compensation paid to 95 Class 5A and 4A head football coaches for the 2005-06 academic year. Average teacher salaries were obtained from the Texas Education Agency for 2004-05, the most recent data available.

An analysis of the numbers led to some surprising findings. For instance, Southlake Carroll coach Todd Dodge, whose teams are 63-1 the last four years with three Class 5A state titles and two seasons that ended with mythical national championships, ranks No. 22 at $90,010.

ARTICLE

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/...es.2a4475f.html

[ipEAGLE]

Things are getting out of hand...

[Coach]

Their average salary is $82,179.16, and nearly half are paid at least twice what an average teacher makes.

This makes no sense. Why compare a head coach at a 4A-5A school (which are usually athletic directors, which is considered administration) to average teachers? The jobs are entirely different. Teachers are underpaid, but that has no bearing on what these coaches make, rightly or wrongly. Why not compare head coaches to assistant principals, or compare assistant coaches, which usually teach classes to the average teacher? That would make too much sense, and not nearly as startling an article.

By the way, I make less than a third than most of these coaches, and 99% of the coaches in the state are in my shoes, very few get to be in the position these men are in.

Things are getting out of hand...

I agree, compare the average Texas teachers (not administrators) salaries to the national average. Oh well, we will still mindlessly vote for Governer Goodhair because he has a little elephant by his name.

[buff64]

Keep in mind that coaches work 50 or so more days than the avg. teacher, that most coaches are also teachers and teach classes as well as coach, that the survey included only head coaches ( ADs ) and not assistants, middle school coaches, etc. Not to mention that coaches are more apt to be replaced than non-coaching teachers.

[Huff]

I am a former coach who is now a principal. The point that Buff 64 made was a good one. Most people don't realize that coaches (head coaches and assistants) work several more days than do our teachers who do not coach. That figures into their compensation package. I don't regret what we pay our coaches. They earn every nickle of it. I just wish we could pay our classroom teachers more. They deserve more, too.

[catman12]

I couldn't agree more that coaches earn every nickle they are paid. They work so many more hours than the average teacher that it isn't even funny. Add on top of the hours they work the expectations of success from the community, school board, booster clubs, etc. and they surely earn every nickle.

My father was a small school head coach/AD for many years and I can tell you that his salary was typically only slightly higher than most teachers at the school. The coaches mentioned in the article are a small minorty of the coaches that are being compensated a great deal more than the average teacher.

It is my opinion that some of the coaches mentioned in the article are underpaid at $80,000/year. I realize that many would not agree with that, and I can understand your point as well. But to compare Todd Dodge's duties and expectations to the average freshman pre-algebra teacher just isn't fair.

[FirefightnRick]

Things are getting out of hand... 

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It's not getting anymore out of hand than what you have going on in Austin and Columbus Ohio at the college ranks where win at any cost is the norm, yet thousands continue to be proud of it. As it has in baseball, it mostly makes for sorry competition and it will continue to do so until someone finds a way to cap it.

Rick

Edited January 9, 2006 by FirefightnRick

[Coffee and TV]

Oh well, we will still mindlessly vote for Governer Goodhair because he has a little elephant by his name.

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With Kinky and the Republican split the 2006 Gubernatorial election is going to be a lot of fun to watch. I've already seen a Strayhorn commercial.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

With Kinky and the Republican split the 2006 Gubernatorial election is going to be a lot of fun to watch. I've already seen a Strayhorn commercial.

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---I suppose this should not be a political forum... but the current governor and friends have done nothing for education (public schools or universities) or teachers including coaches. Any improvements have been strictly locally funded. The last session could not even pass a budget and all those special sessions (3) weren't about helping education but restructuring the tax system and at the same time creating a system that really helping those ultra-rich with a lot of commericial property not pay their share. [ no wonder some of these don't blink when contrituting thousands, they expect to get it back in tax breaks ] Strayhorn split from them because she too is disgusted with the current group as well.

---This is related to North Texas because the state's actions determine our funding. [ or lack of it ] They did not fund the North Texas Law School that they approved in 2004 and the 2002 legislature decreased all university funding [by almost $700,000,000 ] and let each college set its own tuition to make up the difference and to not take blame for all the tuition increases.

---All the special sessions (also 3) after 2002 was about increasing the power of their party and party members and not helping the people of Texas. [ Democrats were targeted but rural areas and small towns lost influence as well ] The state had been redisticted by a court after the 2000 census (oddly by three GOP judges, it was after the 1990 census as well ] DeLay who now has all sorts of legal problems was behind the redistricting (to increase his power and influence).

---Vote for who you please but get informed and learn the truth of what has been going on . Don't just vote for a party name.... any party..., there are good and bad ones both places. ....and believe it or not-- one party doesn't have a monopoly on Christianity. If the current party is so conservative--- why have they not balanced at least one federal budget since 1980 (17 failures). The Clinton era balanced the budget 6 of 8 years and had a surplus which they wanted to use to pay down debt and fix social security....they could not get it down due to the opposition.

---Support those who will support education [including North Texas] with actions, not just say they will. On the federal level it likely was not the main reason for the recent tragedy but mine inspections and many other needed federal programs have deceased drasticly since 2001. You get what you pay for..... unfortunately we are now spending billions of our tax money in Iraq, a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9-11 or any international terrorist act against us.....if you think so...name the act.

[Coffee and TV]

I didn't mean to hijack it into any political debate. I was simply stating that as an observer no matter who you vote for, who you're pulling for, or who you hate it'll be fun to sit back and watch.

[Arkstfan]

Wouldn't most if not all of the coaches at the highest classification be guys who were already head coaches elsewhere or who had quite a few years experience as an assistant coach before being promoted?

The average salary would include teachers who are first year teachers.

From what I gathered they didn't compare the coaches to teachers with similar experience.

[FirefightnRick]

---I suppose this should not be a political forum...

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You suppose correctly.

Rick

[MeanGreenTeeth]

Keep in mind that coaches work 50 or so more days than the avg. teacher, that most coaches are also teachers and teach classes as well as coach, that the survey included only head coaches ( ADs ) and not assistants, middle school coaches, etc. Not to mention that coaches are more apt to be replaced than non-coaching teachers.

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I have to call you out on that a little bit. Most coaches I ever had (and I went to a few different schools) always taught the easiest courses (low level math, low level history, government/economics) and I can promise you that they did not put a 1/4 of the effort that most my teachers did. Most (good) teachers I know work about 10-12 hours a day all in all. That's not to say that coaches don't deserve their pay and yes there are probably a few coaches who teach AP Calc, but I call bullcrap on the general "Coaches work more" argument.

[Coach]

Teeth, with the TAKS test and the emphasis placed on test scores, any math or history course is very important, especially the "low level" ones because they have the students at-risk for failing the TAKS. There is much more emphasis on these courses than when I was in high school back in the TAAS days. The old stereotype of an old coach wearing sweatpants to school, drawing up cards during class, and handing out easy A's will take awhile to die, but it is quickly becoming extinct. With the pressure on administrators and in turn, teachers to have students perform well on the TAKS, it is impossible.

Coaches do work more, but that is fine with me, we get a stipend for it. The stipend doesn't equal the extra time, but nobody goes into coaching for the money and the stipend is enough to get by. I get to school 40 minutes before any teacher shows their face. They are all gone by 5 which is an hour or so earlier than I leave on the earliest days. That's exactly what happens at our school every day. So, I call BS on your claim that teachers work harder.

I think that Texas should at least pay the national average to it's teachers, that's all. Just an average commitment to improving the profession and getting the best educators would be a good step.

[MeanGreenTeeth]

Teeth, with the TAKS test and the emphasis placed on test scores, any math or history course is very important, especially the "low level" ones because they have the students at-risk for failing the TAKS.  There is much more emphasis on these courses than when I was in high school back in the TAAS days.  The old stereotype of an old coach wearing sweatpants to school, drawing up cards during class, and handing out easy A's will take awhile to die, but it is quickly becoming extinct.  With the pressure on administrators and in turn, teachers to have students perform well on the TAKS, it is impossible.

Coaches do work more, but that is fine with me, we get a stipend for it.  The stipend doesn't equal the extra time, but nobody goes into coaching for the money and the stipend is enough to get by.  I get to school 40 minutes before any teacher shows their face.  They are all gone by 5 which is an hour or so earlier than I leave on the earliest days.  That's exactly what happens at our school every day.  So, I call BS on your claim that teachers work harder. 

I think that Texas should at least pay the national average to it's teachers, that's all.  Just an average commitment to improving the profession and getting the best educators would be a good step.

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Coach,

I'm not here saying all coaches are lazy lecturers and all teachers work hard. I'm sure there are tons of both. That being said, the fact that you think you work harder because you stay later speaks volumes. The teachers I know work until 8 to 9 grading papers every night. I doubt your average coach does that teaching "mathematics for home finance" and government/economics (I pick on gov/econ because my coach would literally have us read the chapter in class everyday and do the problems in the back of the book..and yes he generally wore sweatpants and I think anyone who was awake got an A. It probably took him 60 secs to prepare for that lesson. Now it's been 10 years since I graduated high school so it might have changed a lot, but I doubt it could be so significant so quickly.

Now just to note.... I am not a teacher.. I work in a business office... I just know a lot of teachers and I've known a lot of coaches. So I'm just basing my judgement on personal experience. That's not to say any of the coaches here aren't great teachers as well, but of all the coaches I've known I think probably about 1/3 were capable and I would say that I only had 1 really good coach who was also a good teacher..

Edited January 10, 2006 by MeanGreenTeeth

[MeanGreenTeeth]

My post seems harsher than it was intended to be... If any of you are coaches I am not saying YOU are lazy. MY coaches were generally speaking...lazy...

Also. I have no problem with coaches making more money than teachers. I'm just saying my coaches didn't work as hard as my teachers... I make much more money than my teachers did and I don't work near as much either....

Edited January 10, 2006 by MeanGreenTeeth

[Coach]

I will tell you this...it has been 5 years since I graduated high school and things have changed a whole lot since then.

[untgirl04]

Two of my very best teachers were coaches. Both, were coaches for the girl's soccer team. One taught AP U.S. History while the other taught AP Government. Both came to school early to coach, then stayed until 8 or 9pm with students preparing us for the exams.

As a matter of fact, the AP U.S. History teacher/coach was the best teacher I ever had (and I've had some very good ones). The year before I had his class, he had a herniated disk in his back. He could hardly walk, let alone sit down. Well, it was close to test time, so instead of handing his stuff off to a substitute for a few weeks, he had them cart him in at 7:30 am each morning and lay him on a table in his classroom. He then prepared and lectured, using his notes, on his back for the entire day. Someone would come in at lunch and give him a snack (still on his back) then come retrieve him around 4-5pm each afternoon. He has one of the highest passing rates for AP tests in our school.

[LongJim]

As a matter of fact, the AP U.S. History teacher/coach was the best teacher I ever had (and I've had some very good ones). The year before I had his class, he had a herniated disk in his back. He could hardly walk, let alone sit down. Well, it was close to test time, so instead of handing his stuff off to a substitute for a few weeks, he had them cart him in at 7:30 am each morning and lay him on a table in his classroom. He then prepared and lectured, using his notes, on his back for the entire day. Someone would come in at lunch and give him a snack (still on his back) then come retrieve him around 4-5pm each afternoon.

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He sounds like a masochist.

[untgirl04]

He sounds like a masochist. 

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LOL I think you're right. I had his class during 2nd period, where they always do the morning announcements. We had closed-circuit TVs that broadcast the announcements, and turned on automatically whenever it was time to watch them. For a while, he'd turn off the announcements and continue his lecture. But then he got in trouble for turning off the TV, so instead he turned the volume all the way down, and plowed ahead with his lecture. He also held Monday Movie Nights, where we'd watch historical films and discuss their relevance to our studies. The whole time, he was supporting 3 daughters under the age of 6 and a wife who wasn't able to work.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

-----While in HS and while teaching it seems that coaches are usually one of the other --- one of the best teachers on staff or one of the worst.

---Coaches on the middle school and even most assistant coaches tend to be very underpaid. They put in a lot of hours in after school and usually lose many of their Saturdays as well. Often the extra pay divided by the hours put in will not even meet minimum pay standards. Many spend a lot of time in the evening in watching film, especialy football coaches. Basketball and others often have weekday games and especially in West Texas because of distance, that often means lots of travel and getting home extremely late and night and then getting up early to teach the next day.. Considering what a lot of other make for the hours they put in, coaching [ and teaching in general] is a underpaid profession. Despite what a lot of people think, school does not end each day at 3:00 or 4:00. I have spent (dozens) if not hundreds of weekends catching up on grading papers (while semi-watching football etc.) . My wife and I taught but none of our kids do. My sons made more their first day of work as software engineers [ one from NT ] than I did my last day for a public school after many years. In five year they were were making more than almost all HS coaches. Again you get what you pay for, it is tough to find good math/science teacher nowdays, too much money available elsewhere... On the good side, teachers can have two months off to travel in the summer (if they can afford it) and do other things. Many find jobs in summer to help income.

---Meanwhile this legislature can't even pass a school budget...... Shame on them..... and shame on me if that is being political (for a reason).

Edited January 10, 2006 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[BHud]

To me, this is a big ol' so what. Texas HS football generates more income than any other facet of a school.....the coaches more than pay for themselves.