It is reasonable to claim that Alabama Football, head coach, Nick Saban provides more value than any other coach. Similar to Saban frequently talking about players creating value for themselves, schools should expect a fair exchange in value from their coaches.
Paying BIG bucks should provide a return in wins and championships. One simple way to measure value is the cost of the head coach’s salary for each win. At the upper third of the college football world, wins cost some serious jack because most coaches at those programs make salaries unheard of a decade ago.
Below are the results of a quick evaluation of 25 FBS coaches who made over $5M last season. An estimate of the cost of their services to their current employer was derived. The range of data reviewed included coaches with three to nine seasons of tenure at their current schools. Be advised the salary numbers are estimated rather than precise. There are so many financial benefits in a coaching contract, without an actual contract in hand, exact compensation numbers cannot be determined.
Alabama Football Nick Saban Bargain
- Using Mark Stoops’ nine most recent seasons at Kentucky, he has been the most cost-effective coach measured. Stoops’ average cost for 64 wins is $625K per win.
- At Northwestern, Pat Fitzgerald has provided 55 wins over nine seasons, at an average cost of $635K.
- In nine Penn State seasons, James Franklin has produced 78 wins, at an average cost of $650K.
- In Nick Saban’s last nine seasons for Alabama Football, there have been 115 wins, at an average cost of $665K
What makes Nick Saban the greatest bargain is with those 115 wins came three National Championships and six SEC Championships.
Bad Head Coach Bargains
- Mel Tucker’s three-season record at Michigan State is 18-14. The average cost of each of those wins to the Spartans’ program is approximately $1.4M
- In Jimbo Fisher’s five seasons in College Station, the Aggies have won 39 games, at an average cost per game of $1M-plus.
What about the new guys?
- Billy Napier at Florida and Brent Venables at Oklahoma had tough first seasons. Each program won six games with their new head coach, at an average cost close to $1.2M per game.
- Based on Mario Cristobal’s one season in Miami, his performance is in Mel Tucker’s range. The cost to the Hurricanes for each of Cristobal’s five wins was around $1.4M
Does Jimbo Fisher have the SEC’s hottest seat going into 2023? Graham Harmon of Gig’Em Gazette opined eight wins should prevent Fisher from being fired, and if none of the losses are bad ones, seven wins might do it. Any decision is driven by the still gigantic buyout. My question is shouldn’t a $10M per season coach have to win at least a minimum of 70% of his games? So far, at A&M Fisher has won 65%.
Note: Coaching records provided by Sports Reference
Coaching salaries have increased so much in recent years, guys like Billy Napier and Brent Venables may not be safe after two poor seasons.