Thinking about college football coaches in a new season

There have been rumblings across the college football world this week. Some of it has come from Nick Saban again becoming college football’s highest-paid coach. It is possible to think many coaches are overpaid and at the same time realize a different standard should be applied to Saban. The GOAT has elevated Alabama in so many ways, it is almost impossible to overpay him.

A few days before a new season’s first game, college football fans are filled with anticipation. We miss the game so much during offseasons. The week zero games will be a joy.

Before happily diving into another season, there is time for reflection. One thought is a byproduct of the huge growth in coaching salaries is we fans inflate mere mortals into demigods. We also view some as demons. The perceptions are perhaps more distorted than when college football coaches had yet to make $1M in a season.

Bobby Bowden’s first contract at FSU in 1976 was $37,500. In 1982, Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant made a combined total of just over $400,000 from his Alabama salary and TV and radio deals. Bryant’s income was supplemented by other business and promotional deals throughout his career.

In the mid-1990s, it was Bowden at FSU and Steve Spurrier at Florida who became the first college football coaches to make $1M in a year.

College football has always had player and coach heroes. They have brought joy and pride to fans and often presented positive role models to the world. Fans have also always disliked, even hated some rival coaches and even players.

Today, the too frequent hate may have gone too far. Or maybe it is mostly good, healthy fun with the coaches, at least, being fair game.

I confess to being no different from many fans. It is easy for me to demonize rival coaches. Because of that, I miss Gus Malzahn at Auburn and Ed Orgeron at LSU. If they were not easy to demonize, they were easy to make fun of at every opportunity. Given Bryan Harsin’s situation, it is hard to generate similar disdain, even with him being an Aubie.

Josh Heupel is on my dislike list for no other reason than being the Tennessee coach. There are others. I refuse to forgive Scott Frost for his bogus National Championship claims while at UCF in 2017.

Lincoln Riley is another who rankles me. Admittedly he won a bunch at Oklahoma, but he should have, in a period when the competitiveness of the Big 12 had dropped. He has had three chances to win  a big game and his team lost all three. To Georgia, Alabama and LSU in the Playoffs. His post-game comments after the loss to Alabama were a pathetic whine. USC is paying him $11M for potential, not achievement.

On the other hand, there are plenty of college football coaches to admire. it is easy to root for the Saban-tree guys, other than Jimbo. Except for head-to-head matchups, I want to see them do well. There are others I hope succeed. Newer and younger guys like Shane Beamer, Eli Drinkwitz, Clark Lea and Marcus Freeman come to mind. Successful career renewals for guys like Jerry Kill and Joe Moorhead would be satisfying.

What I may try in a new season, is tamping down the demonization and bypassing the elevation to demigods – except, of course, for Nick Saban.