Jon Solomon does the math on the four CFP teams’ finances. The money shot (see what I did there?) is this:
Clemson’s athletic department spent $73.5 million in 2013-14, while the other three CFP schools all exceeded $107 million for athletic expenses. Interestingly though, Clemson was No. 2 among the CFP teams in two key financial categories: salaries for football assistant coaches and support staff. In those measurements, the Tigers are closer to Alabama than they are to Michigan State and Oklahoma. [Emphasis added.]
That’s a bang for the buck lesson it’s taken a long time for the suits in Butts-Mehre to grasp.
Get The Picture 
Of course IPTAY has money for the assistants 😉
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I assume one of the measures was not pay for players. It hasn’t been called IPTAY for nothing.
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“the Tigers are closer to Alabama than they are to Michigan State and Oklahoma.”
In many more ways than this.
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Does anyone actually KNOW that Richt made the case for higher salaries and more support staff, or are we all just speculating that because of what was building at Alabama that of course Richt would have asked to keep pace. I ask because I didn’t see much in Richt’s personality that leads me to believe he was particularly proactive about anything. Additionally, is it feasible that the powers at BM questioned whether he had the necessary attention to detail to know how and where to deploy those additional resources? The impression I get is that until Pruitt showed up and basically told him what he was doing wrong as compared to Alabama, he was just throwing stuff on the wall to see what stuck.
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Considering Mark Richt gave money to his assistants out of his own pocket in 2011, I tend to believe he wanted then to be paid more
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That was prior to 2011 in the middle o a recession and a state wide budget freeze. I knew someone would bring this up. Totally not comparable at all.
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You asked, “Does anyone actually KNOW that Richt made the case for higher salaries…”? Hard to see how Richt coming out of pocket isn’t a clear indication of priorities, regardless of the circumstances.
Unless you’re convinced that Richt is at fault, of course.
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I could be mistaken (and I’m sure someone will tell me if I am), but I believe that was after the 2009 season when the state placed a freeze on all bonuses to state employees. Paying your assistants the bonuses that they undoubtedly counted on as part of their salary at the end of the year and being on the cutting edge (anyone see what I did there?) of hiring better, higher paid assistants and beefing up the coaching staff aren’t the same thing in my opinion. Everyone else clearly disagrees. That’s cool, maybe I’m wrong and just too entrenched in my position. It’s certainly possible. Not trying to flame anyone.
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State freezes have never slowed down the athletic department. Otherwise, Richt + Assistants wouldn’t have gotten raises or cost-of-living adjustments from 2009 to 2013 at the least.
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Here’s the story. Not a peep about a state freeze in there.
And, again, even if there was a freeze in place, it still doesn’t change the fact that Richt paid these guys.
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Yeah, I had the year wrong too. My bad. I was wrong.
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Move on.
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The fact that Richt ran afoul of the NCAA by paying bonuses to his staff out of his own pocket because BM wasn’t willing to pay them what he wanted makes me think your post is one of the craziest I’ve seen on here in a long time. Don’t forget Pruitt’s arrival also coincided with Michael Adams departure and Jere Morehead’s Ascension to President.
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Somebody has evidently forgotten about Rodney Garner’s perennial job offers from other schools which were leveraged to obtain raises to stay in Athens.
Georgia was about the last big program in the SEC to give multi-year deals to assistants.
The irony of you accusing Richt of malfeasance in this area is that it was out of loyalty to Richt that his assistants put up with these conditions as long as they did. It was after Martinez was canned and Richt had to go out in the market for a replacement that things started changing. Then again, maybe McGarity forced him to offer all that money to Grantham.
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I’m with you..but let’s not pretend schools across the fruited plan were banging down our door for War Willie.
I think we had all sorts of discounts baked in the cake with that one.
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I chuckle at the thought of Martinez being in demand at the time.
But there were Richt assistants who were.
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Do you really think Adams gave a damn about what was happening when all of this was starting? Richt asked for an IPF 10 years ago and was told by Damon Evans to stop talking about it. He paid people out of his own pocket and incurred NCAA violations as a result. I think he had been beaten down by the Georgia Way on the resources front. Adams wanted that money for his places in Costa Rica, Tuscany or Oxford or in the Foundation where he could do whatever he wanted with it.
I certainly haven’t seen anything from the AD and others in the Butts-Mehre complex that they have a clue about how to deploy any of the resources they have responsibility for. We have a basketball arena that is a joke. We have a baseball complex that is decades behind where others are. We have a gymnastics program that was the Alabama of its sport that is now an afterthought. Even the most successful men’s program (golf) is struggling to keep up with programs that have poured money into facilities.
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I give up. No one did more to create The Georgia Way and the “good enough is good enough” culture at BM than Richt. Apparently you can blow a hole in your own boat and then blame the hole for why the boat sunk and no one will connect the dots further.
Happy New Year guys. Go Dawgs.
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About your use of The Georgia Way… I don’t think that phrase means what you think it means.
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Your comment doesn’t even address the real cause of the Georgia Way. It’s at the highest level of the university. As long as the money rolls in and gets sent to the foundation, “good enough is good enough.” Kirby is getting ready to find that out as well … The question is whether he’s going to be able to do things the way he wants them done within the constraints placed on him that never existed for Saban at Alabama.
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grade A bullshit.
The AA didn’t send any $$ to the foundation until AFTER Adams refused to clean up after football games about 5 years ago.
Even now, the AA donates a relatively paltry sum (1 to 2 million per year). This amount is SIGNIFICANTLY better than our peer institutions. for a non-profit organization with a “rainy day fund” close to 100 million and retained earnings of 10 million per year, this is peanuts.
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Ok – the point still stands … “As long as the money rolls in, good enough is good enough”
I’m no insider, but it’s clear the only thing people in the university administration cares about is whether the money comes in. That’s the Georgia Way.
Why then has every one of the university’s athletic programs seemed to have gotten worse over the last 5 years with the exception of the women’s swimming program?
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Jeeze Louise. I guess Richt is to blame for everything that goes wrong at UGA. That Director of Alumni Relations what was abusing hr position? Richt’s fault. The Senior Associate Director of Athletics that was dipping his pen in the company ink? Not his fault. Richt is to blame. The baseball team failing to make the SEC tournament? You got it. Richt.
Richt made McGarity put all that money into the Reserve Fund. Was that he Evil Richt or the passive Richt that did that?
I know you wanted a change in head coaches and why you so wanted. Relax. You won. That horse not only is dead, it has been canned and eaten by dogs through the South.
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“Apparently you can blow a hole in your own boat and then blame the hole for why the boat sunk”
well it sure as hell can’t be blamed on the fishing poles
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Thats a big Bass.
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God gatriguy, you are ignorant.
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But self-aware enough to realize when I’m in the minority and admit when I was wrong for trying to recall from memory instead of taking 2 minutes to look something up. That should count for something.
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I meant about the Georgia Way. I don’t think you’re stupid or a bad person. I think you’re probably just young. Your posts are respectful as best I recall. I just think you have an overinflated optimism of our athletic administration’s willingness to win championships. Agree to disagree and hope that you end up being right when it’s all said and done.
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Appreciate it. 34, so not that young. FWIW, I don’t think BM is in the “championship or bust” mentality, even now with Kirby. I think the expectations are that we should be closer to beating Alabama and Florida than we are to losing to Georgia Southern and a dreadful Tech team.
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I think they are because if Kirby doesn’t, the whole thing will get burned to the ground.
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It was time for a coaching change at UGA, but this is almost laughable.
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Clearly, that seems to be the consensus.
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The thing that is interesting to me about these four schools is that two are “blue blood” teams, and two are not. UGA sits somewhere below Bama and OU, and above Clemson and Michigan State in terms of tradition, resources, most everything. Success brings excitement, draws better assistants, improves recruiting, facilities, spending, etc. CKS needs to point to Clemson especially, at 70 miles from Athens, and say to our players and coaches “Why not us?” Dabo should not be head and shoulders better than we are.
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We also beat that Clemson team like a drum at the beginning of the season last year. The difference is a quarterback from Gainesville, GA.
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The rise of their program and the fall of ours can be traced to quarterback play to a large degree. And, yes, it is ironic that another premier Georgia quarterback left the state. But Dabo also deserves credit for Clemson’s success, IMO. His energy, optimism, and coaching have turned that program around. I would not be surprised to see him back at Bama one day, after Saban leaves.
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Dabo has made them believe in the program – no doubt about it. I still don’t think he’s that great of a coach. He didn’t become this master tactician like Saban in the last 15 months. He appears good at the “soft skills” of the job. There’s no way Clemson is #1 and playing in a national semifinal if Deshaun Watson isn’t playing QB. I would also suggest Richt would still be gainfully employed in Athens if Watson were wearing red and black.
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Clemson is as good as they’ve ever been. Dude can recruit and he can lead. He’s hired well, too. Props to Clemson.
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That’s exactly my point. He’s very good at the soft skills of the job. That’s the part of the job that we have no idea (other than recruiting) about how Smart is going to do.
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yeah getting yourself a heisman candidate at QB seems like a great way for a coach to look really really smart. I would recommend Kirby go get that guy as soon as possible. Is Eason that guy?
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It’s worth noting that Richt recruited Cam to play Tight End and didn’t even bother with Watson.
But those guys are from Georgia so he probably didn’t have time to check them out.
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Watson was baffling, the Cam thing I get. Hell even UF kicked him to the curb.
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Matthew Stafford was at Georgia when Cam graduated. If he had stolen a laptop in Athens, he would have never played at Georgia either, but your point is taken.
We recruited Watson, but he wanted to go somewhere else according to people in Gainesville. I had always heard Bobo wouldn’t commit that he would be the only QB recruited in the class. The truth is probably between those extremes somewhere.
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Cam managed to get thrown off the team at Florida while Meyer was there…let that sink in for a minute. Of course, had he not, Urban would probably still be there, UF would probably have won another NC, and our 3 game win streak would never have happened. So, bright side, eh?
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Urban’s problems at UF started when Mullen left for StarkVegas. Cam probably would have still left in 2010. Point taken … Yikes
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$cam got shitcanned at Hogtown because his daddy threatened Corch with exposing how much they got paid. This was in payback for $cam riding the pine behind Tiny Tears the GPOOE. The laptop wasn’t stolen by $cam. It was sold to him. Wonder how that happened?
$cam got sold more times than a Butler’s Island field hand.
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Never read that before about $cam. My memory is that he was about to be academically dismissed for cheating and withdrew before the university convened the tribunal. It is amazing, as you pointed out, that a QB of his talent had to leave Urban Meyer.
You posted some interesting stuff.
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He only became an academic cheat after Corch realized the “stolen” laptop charge wouldn’t stick. Cheating and lying are routine at FU. By then, Cecil had cut the Miss. State deal for cash. Hell ain’t hot enough for the Reverend and Irvin Meyers. $cam made Tiny Tears look like a middle school player.
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Is it really “worth noting”?
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As I look at the list of teams, one other thing jumps out at me. Mark Dantonio. What a job he has done, at the “second school” in his state, a school known lately for its basketball. What an athletic department at MSU, by the way, with two of the best coaches in the NCAA coaching basketball and football. He is a solid guy who has won with class. I would not mind seeing MSU win it all.
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+1 on MSU. That is a tough, gritty bunch. I don’t know if they can score enough to beat any of the other 3 teams, but I’m pulling for them too.
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Dantonio has done a hell of a job at MSU. He would have been a guy I would have backed up the Brinks truck to gauge his interest in another job. I don’t want the B1G to win the national championship, but he and Izzo are a great combination.
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Izzo and MD are absolute perfect fits for rust-belt, blue collar, lunch pail East Lansing, MI. They win with toughness, physicality, and defense.
That said, I’m not sure if they would work everywhere. There is definitely a cultural aspect to consider and I don’t see either one of them killing it in the Sunday School and chicken dinner circuits of the south. I think they are perfect where they are. If either ever left, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t for the Lions and the Pistons.
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Yep, good point but I think both like the college lifestyle. I’m sure Izzo in particular has had opportunities to go to the NBA but doesn’t seem to want it.
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I remember when Clemson couldn’t afford to fire their Bowden and go out and hire the best coach possible. Instead they had to settle for their own WR coach.
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I know this. UGA’s reserve fund managers are laughing at the Clemson, UA, MSU and OU reserve fund managers and calling them chumps!
If only they gave a National Reserve Fund trophy and fans could get their picture taken next to it at Wal-Marts, proudly wearing their UGA caps and polo shirts!
A AD can only dream?
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Nobody wants to admit to Dabo actually being competent, but the man has proven he knows how to build and run an organization. Their structure is totally different than it was under Bowden, and just as importantly, their mentality is totally different. He gets his guys to buy in as well as anyone.
This is not an effort to bash Richt, but while I would say that I’d take Richt all day and twice on Sundays when it comes to coaching X’s and O’s, Dabo has done a better job than Richt did as far as being a CEO of his program. Above, eethomaswfnc describes these as “soft skills”, but I think that’s a little unfair. If that’s how you are choosing to run your program, as more of a CEO (like Bobby Bowden) than a hands on micro manager (like Saban), then in my opinion, those skills become your hard skills.
A prime example of the contrast between Richt & Dabo’s success as a CEO type of coach is recent succession planning. When Chad Morris left Clemson, there was no hesitation, Dabo already had 2 guys he had been grooming for a while because he knew that Morris was gonna be a head coach sooner than later. So when it happened, he was prepared, and their offense hasn’t missed a beat under the new Co-OC’s. And yes, having Watson helps that, I’m not discounting that, but I’m telling you that their offense is actually a better, more balanced offense under the new guys. They’ve made a commitment to the running game, whereas Morris was quick to abandon the run if it didn’t work early. But the transition from Morris has been seamless, and actually has led to improvements.
Contrast that to Bobo leaving, we had nobody on staff apparently capable of stepping into that role, Richt made a bad choice, and here we are. The differences couldn’t be more stark.
Another comparison is when they ditched Steele and got Venables. Steele didn’t have a horrible year that year…….it wasn’t great, but wasn’t terrible, then of course they got lit up in the Orange Bowl. But overall, their D wasn’t awful. It had a very similar feel to our results at the end of the year before Martinez got fired (when he was given another year despite a lot of evidence that he shouldn’t be) and when Grantham was being brought back until he decided to go to Louisville (No, I don’t have inside info, but I have no reason to believe that Grantham wouldn’t have been back if Louisville had not made him that offer). But Dabo knew it needed to be better. Instead of waiting a year or two too long to make the change, he went ahead and made the move and got Venables. And I don’t have any inside knowledge but I bet he also has a succession plan in place for Venables, as you gotta figure he’s gonna get an opportunity before too long to be a HC as well.
At some point people are gonna have to acknowledge that Dabo is a really good head coach. If you want to qualify it by saying he’s a really good “CEO” type of coach, then fine, but he’s getting the results either way.
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I’d also add roster management. Dabo doesn’t seem to constantly have years where they’re breaking in 4 new starters in the secondary or OL. Maybe they do and I just don’t follow Clemson closely enough, but it seems like they’re never trotting out the “this is a young team” line.
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I mean they have their issues like anyone else. They’re starting a true freshman at LT this year. They had to replace 8 starters from last year’s defense, which was a good defense. Yet…….like you said, Dabo didn’t let his guys fall into a mindset of using those as excuses. Like I said, he gets his players to buy in as well as any coach out there. He builds a strong staff, has built a good recruiting operation, and sets the tone for the mentality of the program with his energy and attitude. I’m not saying he’s on the same level as coaches like Saban, Harbaugh, etc. But he’s a whole lot more competent than most college fans want to give him credit for.
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When I said he’s good at the “soft skills,” Reverend, that wasn’t meant as a backhanded compliment. I work in a job where the soft skills are the hard ones to master and the differentiator between good and great. He’s very good at that.
Anyone who doesn’t think Deshaun Watson has made a huge difference just doesn’t understand the game. Dabo deserves a lot of credit for taking him out of northeast Georgia right under our noses.
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Yes no doubt about Watson. But without the recruiting operation and overall program that Dabo has built, Watson probably doesn’t end up at Clemson in the first place. That’s why when people say “Yeah Dabo only looks smarter because he has a Heisman Trophy candidate QB now”, that’s just as short sighted as saying Watson isn’t a big reason for the difference in their on field results. And it also discounts the successes they’ve had under Dabo. Under Dabo, they’ve won a conference title, played in 2 BCS bowls, beaten Ohio State, UGA, Auburn, and LSU, all of these were done before Watson set foot on the field. So again, I don’t discount Watson at all, I think he’s a wonderful QB and you are right that if UGA had landed him, Richt is probably still our coach. But people consistently discount what Dabo has done for no other reason than he just comes across as a bit of a goofball. But he’s apparently a goofball that knows how to build a football program.
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I’m going to ask the $4m question. What’s the difference between Swinney and Richt? The on the field results show a 38-35 win for Dabo in Clemson two years ago and a 45-21 win for Richt in Athens last year. I would suggest Dabo in the ACC is a much friendlier neighborhood than Richt in the SEC for bowl games, road games, etc. I would also suggest Watson vs. Lambert is a big difference as well when you look at this year in particular. I would take Pruitt over Venables all day long but would take Clemson’s situation over CBS (but not CMB).
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I would suggest one is undefeated and in the playoffs, and the other isn’t. 😉
On a serious note, Clemson hasn’t lost to an unranked team since 2011 (another reason why “Clemsoning” is a term that really doesn’t make sense anymore), I think it’s a streak of 39 games now. I listed some of the quality out of conference wins that they’ve had in recent years. And I can only think of two times where it was just like they didn’t show up to play – that Orange Bowl, and the FSU game where they got blown out a couple of years back. That’s two in Dabo’s entire tenure. Whereas we were good for 1-2 a year. Again, I’ve said it above, but Dabo gets his guys to buy in as well as anyone. They show up ready to play far more consistently, win or lose, than Richt’s teams did.
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Of course, now that I’ve said all that, they’ll come out on Thursday and lose 55-0 or something like that. LOL.
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We blew them out in Athens. Everyone forgets we had a late TD called back for a penalty, or we put up 50+ on them.
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I’m not sure what that means in the scope of what all I said though. They didn’t not show up in that game, we wore them down. Yes, we could have had 50, but also remember it was tied at the half, and that it was a 3 point game going into the 4th quarter. It’s not like we dominated from start to finish. We wore them out with Gurley, Michel, and then brought Chubb’s fresh legs in during the 4th quarter. I don’t see that as any sort of indictment against Dabo as a coach.
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Everyone after the game talked about how Clemson sucked and Dawgraded the win immediately but then talk about how we didn’t show up in Clemson the year before in a 3 point loss. It came down to QB play and LOS – Mason outplayed Stoudt and Watson and the Georgia lines of scrimmage were better. Dabo isn’t light years better of a head coach than Mark.
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You seem to be measuring them strictly on the two times they went head to head. I’m not saying Dabo is light years better, never said that. But a 39 game winning streak against unranked opponents (winning the games you should win) and having your guys consistently show up to play are two areas that Dabo has consistently outperformed Richt, I don’t think that can be disputed. You asked me the difference between them, so that’s what I outlined. 🙂
Again, not saying Dabo is light years better, but overall, I would say he has done a better job of managing his program than Richt did towards the end. Again, my point in all this isn’t to bash Richt – it’s trying to get people to acknowledge that Dabo is actually a dang good coach, it just really shocks me how people refuse to believe that any of Clemson’s success could be because of their head coach (and I’m not pointing the finger specifically at you, there’s lots of people that feel that way).
Also, go back and look at the stats, Mason didn’t outplay their QB’s. Both teams had 18 completions, Clemson had about 70 more passing yards, but also had 1 interception. Overall, I’d call the QB play in that game a draw at best. We simply wore them down then dominated the LOS in the 4th. And how depressing is it that 80% of that same offensive line was back this year, and couldn’t wear ANYONE down? Ugh!
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Great posts Reverend.
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