Staff Raises

[AUChizad]

http://blog.al.com/goldmine/2010/02/cashing_in_auburn_football_coa.html

Gene Chizik and Auburn football assistants get raises, with Gus Malzahn going to $500,000

By Charles Goldberg -- The Birmingham News

February 19, 2010, 6:01AM


Gus Malzahn will make a cool half-million this season after making the calls for Auburn last year (Birmingham News / Hal Yeager)
This story appears in Friday's Birmingham News:

Auburn head coach Gene Chizik and his assistants have cashed in on a winning 2009 season and a Top 5 finish in recruiting with raises that will keep the staff among the highest paid in the Southeastern Conference.

Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is receiving the biggest percentage raise, a 43 percent hike that will bring his salary to $500,000 a year. All the other assistants are receiving 10 percent raises, The Birmingham News learned.
 
Chizik's compensation will increase from $1.9 million annually. The News was unable to confirm the amount of the raise for Chizik.

All the contracts were extended by a year. Chizik's contract will remain five years, Malzahn, dfensive coordinator Ted Roof and associate head coach Trooper Taylor's contracts were rolled over to three more years and the other assistants are again working with two-year contracts.

The raises, Chizik said, show Auburn's commitment to his staff, the only one in the SEC that has not had a coach leave since the end of the 2009 season.

Chizik's first season produced a 8-5 record last season, bettering the 5-7 record of 2008. Chizik then landed a Top 5 recruiting class earlier this month. Auburn's administration took note.

"It was really, really important for our football program to keep continuity in what we're trying to do," Chizik said. "It's a huge statement that shows we're going to do everything to keep things intact. That's very important, especially when you look around the league. There are a lot of changes on different coaching rosters. It's important for us to keep our guys here. We feel really good about the direction."

Auburn's coaching staff already earned more than Tommy Tuberville's last coaching staff. The gap widened Thursday when the final paperwork was approved.
 
Chizik said some of his assistants had "had potential opportunities to go other places -- some as assistants, some as potential head coaching opportunities."

But they all stayed.

"When you have a very talented staff with guys who are going to be sought after, you've got to do what we need to do to keep these guys, and to be proactive on the front end of that," Chizik said.
While Auburn's recruiting success has made headlines recently, Chizik said the raises "are based on everything."

"It's coaching, it's recruiting, it's continuity for the kids," he said. "The kids have been through a lot of changes the last three years at Auburn. Our goal was to come in and provide some stability."

Malzahn made $350,000 last season, trailing only Roof's $370,000. Roof's salary moves to $407,000.

Taylor, who is the receivers coach, will make $352,000, defensive line coach Tracy Rocker will make $330,000, offensive line coach Jeff Grimes will make $319,000, recruiting coordinator and running backs coach Curtis Luper will make $286,000, defensive backs coach Tommy Thigpen will make $275,000, defensive backs coach Phillip Lolley will make $231,000 and tight end and special teams coach Jay Boulware will make $231,000.

[Godfather]

Hesus Christos I went into the wrong line of work!

[jadennis]

Hesus Christos I went into the wrong line of work!

Yeah, I was thinking a 10% is nice, but no big deal....then I realized it meant $25k to $40k for these guys.  Yeah, an extra $3,000 or so each month is nice.

[wesfau2]

Hesus Christos I went into the wrong line of work!

Sucking dick at the rest stop not as lucrative as you were led to believe?

[Godfather]

Sucking dick at the rest stop not as lucrative as you were led to believe?

No but money isn't everything.  It is still very rewarding.

[AWK]

No but money isn't everything.  It is still very rewarding.

You are preaching to the choir...

[Saniflush]

No but money isn't everything.  It is still very rewarding.

Hey, he'll take a shot in the mouth if it gets him a couple hundred miles down the road.  He's not suburban.

[Jumbo]

No but money isn't everything.  It is still very rewarding.

Your Avatar is priceless.

[Godfather]

Your Avatar is priceless.

Thanks it took me a little time to do.

[djsimp]

Keeping in alignment with the thread, this is what it will take to keep this staff intact. I truly believe this will pay off in the near near future. Also, I should have been a coach.

[Townhallsavoy]

I don't like it. 

We hired them at a specified salary to improve the team, and they have started a process to get the team back to competing for the SEC West.  But they aren't finished yet.  No need to reward a good start when the finish line is all we really care about.

Then again, yes, I do see how this is good for keeping the assistants happy for the long term.

[Kaos]

Premature.

[AUChizad]

Premature.

Is anyone surprised?

You'd rather see them work for slave wages so they'll bolt from Auburn when a halfway decent opportunity comes along so you can bitch about how you told us they were no good all along.

I thought one of your 20,000 jobs that make you an authority on everything included a managment position. If so, you should know how yearly raises are imperative to personel retention. As long as your staff met their yearly goal, which after the abomination that was 08 was to have a winning season and regain competitveness with our in-state rival with recruiting. 8-5 and a consensus top 5 recruiting class later, I think the annual goal was met this year. And what does management do when their staff surpasses that year's goal? Use that, along with other factors to adjust the goal. Improve on 8-5 and maintain the recruiting power.

Bottom line is we need some consistancy in our program after all we've been through in recent years. It's a lot to ask these guys to stick around when they're getting more lucrative offers elsewhere because of how well they've done this year. I think the percentage adjustments of each individual coach are pretty fair based on what they've done since they've been hired, both on the field and in recruiting, as well as how much they're sought after by other programs.

[Kaos]

Is anyone surprised?

You'd rather see them work for slave wages so they'll bolt from Auburn when a halfway decent opportunity comes along so you can bitch about how you told us they were no good all along.

I thought one of your 20,000 jobs that make you an authority on everything included a managment position. If so, you should know how yearly raises are imperative to personel retention. As long as your staff met their yearly goal, which after the abomination that was 08 was to have a winning season and regain competitveness with our in-state rival with recruiting. 8-5 and a consensus top 5 recruiting class later, I think the annual goal was me this year. And what does management do when their staff surpasses that year's goal? Use that, along with other factors to adjust the goal. Improve on 8-5 and maintain the recruiting power.

Bottom line is we need some consistancy in our program after all we've been through in recent years. It's a lot to ask these guys to stick around when they're getting more lucrative offers elsewhere because of how well they've done this year. I think the percentage adjustments of each individual coach are pretty fair based on what they've done since they've been hired, both on the field and in recruiting, as well as how much they're sought after by other programs.

Blah, blah, blah.  Chizad unleashes the rage.  You never have and never will understand my motivations.  You'd rather create arguments for me and battle against those windmills, Sancho. 

Slave wages? 

Already the highest paid group of assistants in the SEC prior. 

Slave wages?  Twice what he was making at ISU already. 

I run two companies now.  I pay employees well and raises are given on merit -- not just as an annual gift.  If you want a raise, take on more responsibility, knock your job out of the park, be extraordinary.  Meet expectations and you're just doing what you were already paid to do.  Then maybe we can talk about a COLA, but nothing more.

Slave wages? 

Chizad is a joke. 

Raises and extensions are premature. 

[Townhallsavoy]

Blah, blah, blah.  Chizad unleashes the rage.  You never have and never will understand my motivations.  You'd rather create arguments for me and battle against those windmills, Sancho. 

Slave wages? 

Already the highest paid group of assistants in the SEC prior. 

Slave wages?  Twice what he was making at ISU already. 

I run two companies now.  I pay employees well and raises are given on merit -- not just as an annual gift.  If you want a raise, take on more responsibility, knock your job out of the park, be extraordinary.  Meet expectations and you're just doing what you were already paid to do.  Then maybe we can talk about a COLA, but nothing more.

Slave wages? 

Chizad is a joke. 

Raises and extensions are premature. 

I think this is pretty much what I said in my post.  Why did no one attack me?   

[Kaos]

I think this is pretty much what I said in my post.  Why did no one attack me?   

Sancho + Windmills = Imaginary arguments

[jadennis]

I don't think it's a big deal.  Assistant salaries are going up all the time....Smart just got a truck load, Georgia upped some of theirs last year to keep them.  Until Boy Wonder hit the road for the west coast, Tennessee's staff was paid a significant amount more than ours.

Malzahn was in position to take head coaching jobs, that move had to be made in my opinion.  As for the rest of the staff, their salaries were not astronomical to begin with, so raising them 10% isn't "over paying" them, but keeping pace as much as anything, and keeping together a group that is now working on the 2011 recruiting class, to me, is of utmost importance. 

If we're going to get something "rolling", we're going to have to try to hold on to as much of this staff as long as we can.  We have to see improvements on the field and several solid recruiting classes to establish the "program" to the point at which it needs to be.  Once the "program" is firmly established again, you can stand to lose an assistant here or there and keep things rolling.  But first, we have to get it rolling.  Keeping morale high and showing the staff what we feel their value is, is a great way to do that. 

Consider this too....the budget may have allowed for more to begin with, but maybe we wanted to see how the staff gelled and how the first on-field season and first recruiting effort went before reaching deeper into the pockets and investing in them.  Take Tennessee as the example, they did the opposite.  They threw it all at that last staff right off the bat.  They didn't hold back anything, which increases the "we got burned" feeling they have now.

[AUChizad]

There you go again. Your typical formula for a flawed argument has worn thin.

Slave wages?  

Already the highest paid group of assistants in the SEC prior.

Wrong. Falsehood.

From this past November:
http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/5829/usa-today-report-assistant-coaches-salaries

When Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin put together what he called his dream staff back in the offseason, it was pretty obvious then that the Vols’ nine assistants were going to make more than any other staff in the country.

The USA Today confirmed as much Tuesday in its report on coaching salaries. Tennessee’s nine assistants earn $3,325,000, which beats out second-place Texas nationally.

Keep in mind that this doesn’t include head coaching salaries. If you add the head coach into the equation (Lane Kiffin makes $2 million per year), that would place the Vols’ total at $5,325,000, which would rank them fourth in the SEC. Note: Chizik made even less, and still barely makes that now, so Auburn's staff would no doubt be much lower in even this list. But I'll get to Chizik's salary later...

Alabama ($6,602,551), LSU ($6,476,285) and Florida ($5,965,000) would all be higher when you add in the head coaching salary.

The Vols have the two highest paid assistants in the league in defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and recruiting coordinator/defensive line coach Ed Orgeron. Monte Kiffin earns $1.2 million plus a $300,000 bonus he will collect in December, while Orgeron earns $650,000.

Their combined salaries of $2,150,000 (counting Kiffin’s bonus) are more than the entire staff makes at Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and South Carolina.

Vanderbilt, being a private institution, did not release its coaching figures.

In addition to Monte Kiffin and Orgeron, the only other assistant in the league making more than $400,000 per year is LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis, who earns $469,917.

Alabama has four assistants making $300,000 or more and seven assistants making at least $250,000.

The lowest paid assistant in the league can be found at Ole Miss. Somebody on the Rebels’ staff is making $80,500.

Here are the numbers according to USA Today:

Tennessee: $3,325,000 (ranges from $110,000 to $1.2 million)

LSU: $2,725,285 (ranges from $155,000 to $469,917)

Alabama: $2,702,551 (ranges from $225,500 to $390,000)

Auburn: $2,560,000 (ranges from $210,000 to $370,000)

Arkansas: $2,034,888 (ranges from $148,000 to $378,238)

Georgia: $2,029,816 (ranges from $91,600 to $327,415)

Florida: $1,965,000 (ranges from $180,000 to $310,000)

Kentucky: $1,946,213 (ranges from $159,625 to $323,460)

South Carolina: $1,870,000 (ranges from $110,000 to $359,300)

Ole Miss: $1,843,608 (ranges from $80,500 to $365,500)

Mississippi State: $1,805,000 (ranges from $125,000 to $260,000)

Don't let facts stop you from pulling things out of your ass, though.

Slave wages?  

Already the highest paid group of assistants in the SEC prior.  

Slave wages?  Twice what he was making at ISU already.

Now that the false premise is out of the way, you also use the ol' classic of holding a different standard to different parts of the argument.

The assistants are already the highest paid in the SEC? We've already established that you pulled that out of your ass. However, let's humor you. So you're insisting their wages be comparable to others in the SEC. But you want to compare Chizik's salary to that which he made at ISU?

How about comparing him to other coaches in the SEC?

1.  Urban Meyer, Florida — $4,000,000

2.  Nick Saban, Alabama — $3,900,000

3.  Les Miles, LSU — $3,800,000

4t.  Bobby Petrino, Arkansas — $2,900,000

4t.  Mark Richt, Georgia — $2,900,000

6.  Houston Nutt, Ole Miss — $2,500,000

7.  Derek Dooley, Tennessee — $2,200,000

8.  Gene Chizik, Auburn — $2,100,000 (after this week's raise)

9.  Steve Spurrier, South Carolina — $1,800,000

10.  Rich Brooks, Kentucky — $1,250,000

11.  Dan Mullen, Mississippi State — $1,200,000

12.  Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt — Undisclosed (Private Institution)

So roughly half of what the big dogs, including our in-state rival, are making. Only ahead of South Carolina, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and presumably Vanderbilt. That's fine if you want their kind of production on the field.

[AUChizad]

I don't think it's a big deal.  Assistant salaries are going up all the time....Smart just got a truck load, Georgia upped some of theirs last year to keep them.  Until Boy Wonder hit the road for the west coast, Tennessee's staff was paid a significant amount more than ours.

Malzahn was in position to take head coaching jobs, that move had to be made in my opinion.  As for the rest of the staff, their salaries were not astronomical to begin with, so raising them 10% isn't "over paying" them, but keeping pace as much as anything, and keeping together a group that is now working on the 2011 recruiting class, to me, is of utmost importance. 

If we're going to get something "rolling", we're going to have to try to hold on to as much of this staff as long as we can.  We have to see improvements on the field and several solid recruiting classes to establish the "program" to the point at which it needs to be.  Once the "program" is firmly established again, you can stand to lose an assistant here or there and keep things rolling.  But first, we have to get it rolling.  Keeping morale high and showing the staff what we feel their value is, is a great way to do that. 

Consider this too....the budget may have allowed for more to begin with, but maybe we wanted to see how the staff gelled and how the first on-field season and first recruiting effort went before reaching deeper into the pockets and investing in them.  Take Tennessee as the example, they did the opposite.  They threw it all at that last staff right off the bat.  They didn't hold back anything, which increases the "we got burned" feeling they have now.

This.

Thank you.

[Kaos]

There you go again. Your typical formula for a flawed argument has worn thin.
Wrong. Falsehood.

From this past November:
http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/5829/usa-today-report-assistant-coaches-salaries

Don't let facts stop you from pulling things out of your ass, though.
 

Now that the false premise is out of the way, you also use the ol' classic of holding a different standard to different parts of the argument.

The assistants are already the highest paid in the SEC? We've already established that you pulled that out of your ass. However, let's humor you. So you're insisting their wages be comparable to others in the SEC. But you want to compare Chizik's salary to that which he made at ISU?

How comparing him to other coaches in the SEC?

1.  Urban Meyer, Florida — $4,000,000

2.  Nick Saban, Alabama — $3,900,000

3.  Les Miles, LSU — $3,800,000

4t.  Bobby Petrino, Arkansas — $2,900,000

4t.  Mark Richt, Georgia — $2,900,000

6.  Houston Nutt, Ole Miss — $2,500,000

7.  Derek Dooley, Tennessee — $2,200,000

8.  Gene Chizik, Auburn — $2,100,000 (after this week's raise)

9.  Steve Spurrier, South Carolina — $1,800,000

10.  Rich Brooks, Kentucky — $1,250,000

11.  Dan Mullen, Mississippi State — $1,200,000

12.  Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt — Undisclosed (Private Institution)

So roughly half of what the big dogs, including our in-state rival, are making. Only ahead of South Carolina, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and presumably Vanderbilt. That's fine if you want their kind of production on the field.

Babble, babble, babble. 

Earn it.  Then pay it.