Yesterday’s discussion about Georgia’s spending got off the beaten track a wee bit with an argument over the merits of Cam Cameron’s career, so let me try making my point another way.
In 2014, LSU will pay its offensive coaching staff over $3 million.
In case you’re wondering, the last time LSU finished higher than Georgia in total offense was the 2007 season.
Get The Picture 
It can’t help that Les changes coaches almost every year. I’m all for if you’re not getting the job done, you gotta go, but changing methodologies can’t be good for kids trying to learn a system. Certainly gives credence to Richt’s theory on coaching retention.
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Let’s not forget where McGarity learned the trade. Jeremy Foley wasn’t paying top dollar to the UF assistants who won two championships, and McGarity was there for both.
I’d guess that Foley/McGarity saw UF as a peachy enough post to where they didn’t have to pay top dollar. Talented coaches would flock there for less money just to be seen as a UF assistant. At UGA, could be that McGarity sees having Richt as your boss as worth a 20% pay cut.
Question is, will the assistants see it that way? After Urban left, UF lost some of its peachiness, and by 2011 was paying its staff almost $1 mil more than UGA. Working for Richt might be great, but is it better than a $200k raise & a 3-year contract? Ask your wife what she thinks …
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ask your wife if she would rather her and the kids do without a husband or a father or move every 2-3 years to some other backwoods waypoint. Her and the kids might make due with a few less dollars.
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Coaches’ wives know better than anybody what the lifestyle entails. So, yeah, if you’re gonna be a nomad anyway, you might at least be well-compensated for your troubles.
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But that is the point, right. That creating an environment where that sort of nomad lifestyle is curtailed a little is probably worth a few dollars. I dont think that everyone would immediately just take a few more dollars. Some folks still recognize a good thing when they see it.
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The problem is that it isn’t just a few dollars anymore.
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going from 700k to 800k isnt exactly the same as going from 20k to 30k.
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How ’bout $335K (Bobo’s current salary) to $1.4 million (Cameron’s 2014 salary)?
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I am not so sure I follow this line of thinking:
To say they are taking a pay cut would insinuate that they are earning less than market value, but if the market does not desire their services (Richt has a mightly small coaching tree), then what is the true market value? You can say replacement cost, which the Good Senator has mentioned, but you have options there as well. You can pay an up-and-coming offensive guy from FCS much less than you would need to pay an NFL assistant – no matter how inglorious his career. If Richt traditionally pays his staff less than market value, why has Richt had so little staff turnover during his tenure? Whatever he is doing is clearly making up for the lack of “fair” pay, so why wouldn’t it behoove the AD to continue counting on it until it becomes necessary to bump up the pay to keep the assistants. In other words, it ain’t broke yet, so why do we need to figure out how to fix it? If/when there is a mass exodus of coaches like at Florida under Urban Meyer, then I don’t see a need to figure out how to keep our current coaches.
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Since the end of the ’09 season, I wouldn’t describe staff turnover as “little”.
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While I agree with the premise of your post Senator, in fairness, the staff turnover since 2009 has mostly been involuntary (i.e. got canned) rather than guys leaving for more money elsewhere.
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Fired: Martinez, Jancek, Fabris
Greener pastures: Belin, Searels, Garner
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Wouldn’t you say Searels was “encouraged” to seek said greener pastures? I sure got that impression.
And I’m not so certain we tried all that hard to retain RG.
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Texas almost doubled Searels’ pay, IIRC.
If there’s one thing I can say about RG, it’s that Richt certainly valued having him on the staff. I’ve heard nothing to indicate that changed of late.
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Belin is the only one who was really wanted to be kept. The other 2…meh. Plus you’d have to say that all the replacements so far for the most part have been an improvement over those that departed.
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Movin’ the goal posts a bit… I don’t think the issue here is who you preferred, Mayor.
And it’s pretty amazing that you already know Wilson is an improvement over Garner.
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Getting down to the nitty-gritty, but what makes you think that Richt enjoyed finding out that Garner hadn’t really recruited players as hard in the last two years as he had before? I hear you concerning Garner’s importance and I agree, but the ambivalence in his closings in the last couple of years had already attracted my attention. Because Richt has no words expressed publically, do you think that Garner has been “up to snuff” lately in his career at UGA? If a coach isn’t giving his best after being tenured and passed over for D Coordinator in favor of Grantham, exactly what do you think were the differences expressed between G and G that surfaced when Garner left? It certainly involved players and recruitment.
I think that there is much more info present than is being presented to the public. We probably will never hear it all and conjecture that I espouse may be all that we are left with.
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And we know this how?
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Hate to shoot from the hip with my reply so I will try to compile a list of my suspicion-reasoning later. There were specifics plus allegations in one blog back then concerning Grantham vs Garner on recruiting. There were quotes from D players who were recruited “late” and that we lost. Patterson(one that comes to mind at the moment but in no way comprises a list) was a sure thing for UGA that ended up performing well for Tenn after we didn’t close.
My words deserve your challenge and I’ll work on a reply. Sorry to get back to this so late, but want you to know that I’m not ignoring you because of lack of perceived info (left that opening there for you….). Can’t review two years to where I became unimpressed with his recruiting and closing, but will try to be precise for events surrounding this year and last year’s recruiting.
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McGarity doesn’t have time for this shit. He’s too busy fighting the new recruiting rules for everyone.
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I’m glad you returned to the dilemmas of the horn. The protestations of low pay for our O coordinators should not be perceived as increasing the SEC money arms race. Pay raises turn on what the current pay for those positions are in the SEC and whether we subscribe to defending the record and playmaking ability of the O that Bobo (and Richt) have created. We defend their good work , not for last year’s effort, but for the O machine that has been built with little fanfare at UGA and that will continue forward into the football future. If you don’t really see it and think that a few of us are just going “Rah-Rah!” then you should look damn close again. At one time it was suggested that we should blind D-1 O coachs’s names, look at their records and choose the best one. Often you will end up with Bobo on the top of the list(and don’t get me started with Richt’s coaching record and credentials before he ever set foot in Athens.).
Objective examination alone will suffice to warrant a pay raise of good and lasting proportions to the O coachs that many of you won’t appreciate until they are gone. Evidence that other institutions will pay is in front of our faces. We should embrace our coaches with the Dawg Pride they deserve and show the rest of the SEC that we take them seriously as a force that will bring great honor to the University and make fans and alumni proud. Some of you old money people should step to the fore and demand that with your contributions. Become a kick-ass fan of the team and coaches again. It really makes for a wonderful football year.
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+1
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Considering the amount of Athletic Association money going to the UGA Foundation to cover state budget shortfalls, the chances of UGA joining a sports arms race are very low.
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-02-20/more-state-budget-cuts-threat-uga-higher-ed-adams-says
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It seems to me that we are being presented with an opportunity here given that UGA is one of the most profitable sports operations in the NCAA. Personally, I’m all in favor of an arms race as long as the UGA Administration quits raiding the AA. Isn’t that exactly how the USofA crushed the Soviet Union? Monetarily rather than militarily.
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After days and days of Bluto’s devastating incoming on the unprovoked uncalled for escalation of the you’ve got a friend salary wars by LSU aimed primarily at Nick but with collateral damage to all and whether we may or may not be thinking about having a plan to defend against that unchecked aggression, Greg finally tires of the siege and reaches for head to see if his helmet is strapped on. Jeremy knows how he feels.
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Don’t know if Cam is worth his pay grade yet —–time will tell. It certainly points to a trend in college ball that in order to win you must buy the best. That definition of best is open for review…. but lookey here–> “Morris makes $1.3 million, the highest-paid assistant coach at a public school. Not too shabby considering he was a high school coach making $125,000 three years ago.” Apparently Dabo thinks he merits this kind of cash flow. Gee even a 10 year NFL vet might be considered overpaid at those rates. 😉 In hindsight I probably share Bluto’s attitude about these expenditures. I think they are ridiculous and they whore up the market. Anyone that thinks you should spend… spend…spend… are probably retired government employes with NO idea of how to balance a budget. But I digress. When something gets hot it gets expensive…. It wasn’t too long ago when land prices in Oconee County went out the roof. Yes I listened to “that is what the market is telling us it is worth” bs. Potential loft sites in Midtown Atlanta prices got crazy and tile masons there where charging more than my attorneys were. In the end we developed in Jackson and Barrow county and brought labor in from Orlando, Florida to work in Atlanta. I guess I just said screw this ….. I believe in paying what something is worth. I just refuse to be bent over cause someone else has allowed themselves to be. Coaches salaries are getting ridiculous. Conference expansion is ridiculous. If we are not careful we will be trying to watch semi-pro ball and will be deceiving ourselves into calling it college football.
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But the coaching salaries bubble looks less burst-worthy, at least to me. I remember hearing similar arguments about coaching salaries back when SOS was the only $1 million+ head coach in the SEC 15 years ago.
(Which is to say I can’t see the equivalent of one of those formerly low-six-figure Atlantic Station high-rise condos for $80K now with coaches. At least not without the sport itself collapsing too.)
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Whooaaaaaaaa…….gaaaahhhhhhgggg Condo’s? Not even in the same conference. Spot market …. blah. Get in .. get out… get out of the way….! My favorite attorney was into condos. He was also an elected politician. Both went upside down and his house is in foreclosure. Shat happens. I will need to find new talent to fill his void and my youngest is miles away from being ready. Sucks for me. Yeah …condos don’t count here per bubbles.
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I don’t know if ya’ll are arguing over the coaches salaries arms race, or coach Bobo’s salary? But, there are a few things this brings to mind. I remember hearing about Coach Richt paying his own money to supplement salaries for his coaches. I also remember that the coach who just left Wisconsin after taking them to the Rose Bowl several times stated that one of the reasons he left was because he couldn’t hold on to his assistant coaches and wanted to be in the SEC. I think Coach Bobo deserves a raise, not because LSU is spending like a drunken sailor, but because Bobo has shown he can be devastating even with our admitted weaknesses. When our offensive line was weak a few years ago, we cobbled together a bunch of hard hearted guards and put up good numbers. When our running backs were uninspired, we still pumped out yards. We were/are prolific in the passing game whether we are throwing to a superstar like AJ or exposing raw talent like Bennet or Mitchell and too many others to mention, no offense intended. If you don’t think Bobo has shown that he can stand toe to toe with most of the defensive coordinators in our conference, you’re looking through “I blame Bobo glasses”. I also think it is important to note that our head Coach does like to retain his staff, but I don’t think he would ever hold anyone back from advancing themselves. That’s just not in his DNA
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+1 I’m beginning to believe Bobo’s agent. Maybe the “I blame Bobo” meme has hurt him.
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Thank you for this summery of fact. I have no doubt if money was needed to keep someone it would be found. I also know hving a non- a-hole boss is actually worth money too.
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