Greg McGarity, looking into the abyss

It may have been a moot point at the time, given that, in retrospect, Greg McGarity relied heavily on the guidance of the the search firm he retained to find a replacement for Mark Richt the fix was in, but I, like others, wondered why 2015’s hot coaching name, Houston’s Tom Herman, seemed to receive little more than a cursory glance from Georgia’s direction.  Sure, there were some bullshit rumors floating around about Herman, but given that his name is floating around as a possible replacement after the 2016 season if things go south at places like LSU, Texas or Texas A&M, it’s hard to take any of that seriously.

On the other hand, I can see how this might have stopped things dead in their tracks in Athens.

According to an interoffice memo sent from Houston athletic director Hunter Yurachek to Herman on Nov. 30, Herman would receive a $5 million bonus—payable over two years—if Houston joins “a conference with television of $20 million or more per member.” The Big 12 fits that description. Should none of those super premium jobs open and Houston win a golden ticket into the Power 5, that extra $2.5 million a year combined with his $3 million salary would pay Herman what many of the best Power 5 coaches make. The memo also promises that upon entry to such a conference, the school would immediately renegotiate a contract that would put Herman’s compensation among the top half of the league’s head coaches.

That’s just what Herman had on the table from a mid-major program.  Can you imagine what his agent was looking for from a potential SEC employer, particularly one who had just canned a ten-game winner?  I can only imagine McGarity’s response to having the terms of that memo read to him and then being asked, “and you?”.

At least he’s paying Kirby less than he was paying Richt.