7-year contract

There were people ready to fire Coach Ross after his 7-4 third season.

I get where you’re going but it’s a bit of a straw man. IMO if a guy wants a 7 year contract he needs to tell me where he’s going and what the milestones are to get there. Without the full contact structure it’s hard to make a final conclusion on it but 7 is a long time for a first contract at FBS level. Think of it this way: what if the hype dies down and he doesn’t perform the way we’d hope? What if we got sub .500 seasons with no upward trajectory? We might be left with no downside protection on the buyout. Alternatively, maybe there’s a clear path to competing for championships - then extend that bad boy and pay the coach what he’s worth. But at least you’ve managed your risk in the interim.
 
I get where you’re going but it’s a bit of a straw man. IMO if a guy wants a 7 year contract he needs to tell me where he’s going and what the milestones are to get there. Without the full contact structure it’s hard to make a final conclusion on it but 7 is a long time for a first contract at FBS level. Think of it this way: what if the hype dies down and he doesn’t perform the way we’d hope? What if we got sub .500 seasons with no upward trajectory? We might be left with no downside protection on the buyout. Alternatively, maybe there’s a clear path to competing for championships - then extend that bad boy and pay the coach what he’s worth. But at least you’ve managed your risk in the interim.

I still think it is tough to evaluate a coach in year 3 when we are in the middle of programmatic changes that aren't yet implemented. If there was a reason that TStan wanted CPJ to wait a couple of years before retiring, so he could implement changes, it is kind of hard to ignore those needed years now that we have a coach in place ahead of schedule.

Second, if you want to improve recruiting, then give the coach a contract that convinces recruits he will be there four years after their redshirt year.

End the end, it is just as important to know what the buyout is as it is to know how long the contract term is. What would be a cool buyout is something like "Your buyout is $1/2 million per number of games you won that year" (ex. if he wins 6 games in year 4, his buyout is $3M, if he wins only one game the buyout is $500K).
 
Last edited:
I still think it is tough to evaluate a coach in year 3 when we are in the middle of programmatic changes that aren't yet implemented. If there was reason a that TStan wanted CPJ to wait a couple of years before retiring so he could implement changes, it is kind of hard to ignore those needed years now.

Second, if you want to improve recruiting, then give the coach a contract that convinces recruits he will be there four years after their redshirt year.

End the end, it is just as important to know what the buyout is as it is to know how long the contract term is. What would be a cool buyout is something like "Your buyout is $1/2 million per number of games you won that year" (ex. if he wins 6 games in year 4, his buyout is $3M, if he wins only one game the buyout is $500K).
If you can't get a sense of your coach by year three then you'll always be looking for reasons why your evaluation isn't perfect. Year one, of course he gets a pass. Even Willie Taggart kept his job. By year three...? Many many a coach has been fired after year three, frequently deservedly so.
 
Man Stansbury really has no faith in the option at all.
 
If you can't get a sense of your coach by year three then you'll always be looking for reasons why your evaluation isn't perfect. Year one, of course he gets a pass. Even Willie Taggart kept his job. By year three...? Many many a coach has been fired after year three, frequently deservedly so.

How many have been fired after year 3 and it was a mistake? we will never know. I don't think anyone believes we win a national championship in 1990 if we fire Ross in year 3 after going 7-4 and no bowl. Frank Beamer went 6-4-1 in year 3 at VT with no bowl appearances, do you think anyone at the time thought he should he have been fired?

Three years is not enough time to evaluate Collins. In year 3 we could very likely have a team with a red-shirt sophomore starting at TE, DT, DE, WR, and even QB. It is not like he is coming in the door and we already have the pieces in place to run a pro-style offense and defense. He needs 4-5 years just to see if his first 2 years of recruits and our building plan pan out.
 
I know everyone makes fun of Butch Jones, but Tennessee was a wreck when he got there and he really only had 4 years. He could be a good coach for someone, somewhere.
 
If the recruiting is there, then no reason to have a short hook. It will take time for us to build up our talent. The prior regime killed it in key areas. Also, changing away from the option will be painful I imagine.
 
If the recruiting is there, then no reason to have a short hook. It will take time for us to build up our talent. The prior regime killed it in key areas. Also, changing away from the option will be painful I imagine.

I agree; but if we go 3 years without a bowl. I expect there will be torches and pitch forks being brought out on here.
 
7 years is a bad contract structure - very dumb for the GTAA. If you’re going to go that long do 5 with a performance extension to 7

Impossible to tell without understanding the structure. Depends on mutual buyouts, dollars, earn outs and the like. Right now, it let's him go on the recruiting trail and say that hes all-in committed and kids can trust he will be there.
 
I get where you’re going but it’s a bit of a straw man. IMO if a guy wants a 7 year contract he needs to tell me where he’s going and what the milestones are to get there. Without the full contact structure it’s hard to make a final conclusion on it but 7 is a long time for a first contract at FBS level. Think of it this way: what if the hype dies down and he doesn’t perform the way we’d hope? What if we got sub .500 seasons with no upward trajectory? We might be left with no downside protection on the buyout. Alternatively, maybe there’s a clear path to competing for championships - then extend that bad boy and pay the coach what he’s worth. But at least you’ve managed your risk in the interim.
If we can't pay us much as the big programs, we have to differentiate somehow. If a guy can get paid $4M at a big school and we can afford $3M, then you have to give more job security. Gotta work with the cards you're dealt and find a way.
 
I know everyone makes fun of Butch Jones, but Tennessee was a wreck when he got there and he really only had 4 years. He could be a good coach for someone, somewhere.
It's funny you should say this. I was in deep thought while on the bowl this morning reading about CGC and this dude reminds me a lot of Butch Jones.
 
It's funny you should say this. I was in deep thought while on the bowl this morning reading about CGC and this dude reminds me a lot of Butch Jones.

Butch Jones was from Yankee land until hired by Tennessee. Born in Michigan. Furthest south coaching in his career was a few years as WR coach at WV. Mainly W Michigan and Cincinnati.

Collins is from Conyers. Recruited or coached at GT, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi State before heading to Temple. Coming back home to coach his hometown team. Knows Atlanta and Georgia.
 
I'm more referring to the high energy, kid relating, different approach to recruiting reputation. Hopefully he is better at coaching than Butch.
 
I think this is largely an indictment on where our current talent level is at. We didn't have trouble with the last "transition" because we had guys like Jonathan Dwyer, Josh Nesbitt, Bey Bey, Morgan Burnett, and an NFL defensive line in Michael Johnson, Darryl Richard, Derrick Morgan, and Vance Walker.
We might find out that with proper coaching some of our current athletes may be as productive as those you have listed.
 
I still think it is tough to evaluate a coach in year 3 when we are in the middle of programmatic changes that aren't yet implemented. If there was a reason that TStan wanted CPJ to wait a couple of years before retiring, so he could implement changes, it is kind of hard to ignore those needed years now that we have a coach in place ahead of schedule.

Second, if you want to improve recruiting, then give the coach a contract that convinces recruits he will be there four years after their redshirt year.

End the end, it is just as important to know what the buyout is as it is to know how long the contract term is. What would be a cool buyout is something like "Your buyout is $1/2 million per number of games you won that year" (ex. if he wins 6 games in year 4, his buyout is $3M, if he wins only one game the buyout is $500K).
Recruiting will be improved if we land four or five "better" players per year than we have been getting. The impact of fifteen playmakers on the team will be significant. Better assistant coaches will accelerate improvement. I think we are looking at 8 wins even in "transition". Can't wait to see how the staff shapes up.
 
Back
Top