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Which coach will a school and its alumni most regret giving a huge contract?
James Franklin, Penn State — Has a 10-year, $70 million guaranteed contract that runs thru 2031. Total value of contract is closer to $85 million. Franklin is 72-35 at PSU with one conference title (2016), has three 11-win seasons, but has never lost fewer than two games in a year and is a mere 16-12 from 2020 to 2022, including 5-1 this year.
Mel Tucker, Michigan State — Has a 10-year, $95 million fully guaranteed contract that runs thru 2031. Tucker has limited college head coaching experience (2019 Colorado, 2020-current MSU). He is 16-11 at MSU (10-10 Big Ten) and his 2021 season (11-2) was his only winning season so far as a head coach. They’re off to a poor 3-4 start this year.
Brian Kelly, LSU — Has a 10-year, $95 million contact thru 2031 that could be worth a bit more than $100 million. Kelly has a considerably good head coaching record, including a BCS bowl appearance at UC; a national title game appearance in 2012; and College Football Playoff appearances in 2018 and 2020. However, his reputation for losing big games and not seeming to be a fun coach to play for have followed him to Baton Rouge. LSU is off to a 5-2 start but lost to FSU after special teams gaffes and got blown out at home by Tennessee in a listless effort. The team has also failed to fully use ballyhooed WR Kayshon Boutte.
Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M — Has a 10-year, $95 million guaranteed contract thru 2031. Fisher’s tenure as a head coach seems to have peaked with a 2013 BCS national title at Florida State, surrounded by ACC titles in 2012 and 2014. Without Jameis Winston, the program sagged off, ending with a poor 5-6 mark in 2017 before Fisher bolted for A&M. Since then, he is 37-17 at A&M, including 22-14 in the SEC. His high mark so far was 9-1 in 2020 with a #4 ranking to finish after missing the CFP. This year he is 3-3 including a puzzling loss to App State and a beatdown in Starkville. Mediocre offense and lack of QB development have been a mark of his A&M tenure.
Brent Venables, Oklahoma — Venables has a six-year, $43.5 million contract thru 2027. He spent considerable time as co-DC and DC at Oklahoma before a decade as DC at Clemson, winning two national titles. He has no head coaching experience and is 4-3 this year (1-3 Big 12), including a blowout loss to TCU and a historic 49-0 loss vs Texas (without Dillon Gabriel). This program was stripped of much of its talent when Lincoln Riley left, but the early results are still cause for concern.
It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …
James Franklin, Penn State — Has a 10-year, $70 million guaranteed contract that runs thru 2031. Total value of contract is closer to $85 million. Franklin is 72-35 at PSU with one conference title (2016), has three 11-win seasons, but has never lost fewer than two games in a year and is a mere 16-12 from 2020 to 2022, including 5-1 this year.
Mel Tucker, Michigan State — Has a 10-year, $95 million fully guaranteed contract that runs thru 2031. Tucker has limited college head coaching experience (2019 Colorado, 2020-current MSU). He is 16-11 at MSU (10-10 Big Ten) and his 2021 season (11-2) was his only winning season so far as a head coach. They’re off to a poor 3-4 start this year.
Brian Kelly, LSU — Has a 10-year, $95 million contact thru 2031 that could be worth a bit more than $100 million. Kelly has a considerably good head coaching record, including a BCS bowl appearance at UC; a national title game appearance in 2012; and College Football Playoff appearances in 2018 and 2020. However, his reputation for losing big games and not seeming to be a fun coach to play for have followed him to Baton Rouge. LSU is off to a 5-2 start but lost to FSU after special teams gaffes and got blown out at home by Tennessee in a listless effort. The team has also failed to fully use ballyhooed WR Kayshon Boutte.
Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M — Has a 10-year, $95 million guaranteed contract thru 2031. Fisher’s tenure as a head coach seems to have peaked with a 2013 BCS national title at Florida State, surrounded by ACC titles in 2012 and 2014. Without Jameis Winston, the program sagged off, ending with a poor 5-6 mark in 2017 before Fisher bolted for A&M. Since then, he is 37-17 at A&M, including 22-14 in the SEC. His high mark so far was 9-1 in 2020 with a #4 ranking to finish after missing the CFP. This year he is 3-3 including a puzzling loss to App State and a beatdown in Starkville. Mediocre offense and lack of QB development have been a mark of his A&M tenure.
Brent Venables, Oklahoma — Venables has a six-year, $43.5 million contract thru 2027. He spent considerable time as co-DC and DC at Oklahoma before a decade as DC at Clemson, winning two national titles. He has no head coaching experience and is 4-3 this year (1-3 Big 12), including a blowout loss to TCU and a historic 49-0 loss vs Texas (without Dillon Gabriel). This program was stripped of much of its talent when Lincoln Riley left, but the early results are still cause for concern.
It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …
