Who are college football's most overpaid coaches? Hint: SEC leads the way. https://t.co/3cSDlKYGOL via @USATODAY

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) October 3, 2023

And Wilcox got this boondoggle contract off a 5-7 season.

"Justin Wilcox, California
Wilcox has one of the toughest jobs in the Power Five. Against this backdrop, going 33-38 over six-plus years at California is a little impressive. But the Golden Bears have not been the same program since the COVID season, which came on the heels of back-to-back bowl bids. Since 2020, Cal is just 13-20 overall and 8-16 against the Pac-12, with half of those wins coming against Colorado, Stanford and opponents from the Championship Subdivision. Wilcox is earning $4.4 million this season and has a $20.7 million buyout."

oski003 said:

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"Justin Wilcox, California
Wilcox has one of the toughest jobs in the Power Five. Against this backdrop, going 33-38 over six-plus years at California is a little impressive. But the Golden Bears have not been the same program since the COVID season, which came on the heels of back-to-back bowl bids. Since 2020, Cal is just 13-20 overall and 8-16 against the Pac-12, with half of those wins coming against Colorado, Stanford and opponents from the Championship Subdivision. Wilcox is earning $4.4 million this season and has a $20.7 million buyout."

---

Overpaid and one of the toughest jobs. Hmmm. Not sure what case they are making.

I don't know about that list. Anyone in the 4 million dollar range is being paid well outside the Top 25 counting only Public Schools

Highest paid public school coach salaries in 2023 via @USAToday in millions

1 Nick Saban, Bama $11.407
2 Dabo Swinney, Clemson $10.884
3 Kirby Smart, Georgia $10.705
4 Ryan Day, Ohio St $10.271
5 Mel Tucker, Mich St $10.015
6 Brian Kelly, LSU $9.975
7 Jimbo Fisher, A&M $9.150
8…

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 3, 2023

Derek Carr isn't overpaid.

bearister said:

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Derek Carr isn't overpaid.

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You miss dc. Admit it.

wc22 said:

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I don't know about that list. Anyone in the 4 million dollar range is being paid well outside the Top 25 counting only Public Schools

Highest paid public school coach salaries in 2023 via @USAToday in millions

1 Nick Saban, Bama $11.407
2 Dabo Swinney, Clemson $10.884
3 Kirby Smart, Georgia $10.705
4 Ryan Day, Ohio St $10.271
5 Mel Tucker, Mich St $10.015
6 Brian Kelly, LSU $9.975
7 Jimbo Fisher, A&M $9.150
8…

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 3, 2023

---

These guys are amateurs.
My old CEO, John Stankey of AT&T, has about $20 million per year in compensation. As a fairly large stock holder (for me, anyway) I can tell you that the company, the stock, etc. has done poorly. He makes Wilcox look like Apple's Cook.

82gradDLSdad said:

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wc22 said:

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I don't know about that list. Anyone in the 4 million dollar range is being paid well outside the Top 25 counting only Public Schools

Highest paid public school coach salaries in 2023 via @USAToday in millions

1 Nick Saban, Bama $11.407
2 Dabo Swinney, Clemson $10.884
3 Kirby Smart, Georgia $10.705
4 Ryan Day, Ohio St $10.271
5 Mel Tucker, Mich St $10.015
6 Brian Kelly, LSU $9.975
7 Jimbo Fisher, A&M $9.150
8…

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 3, 2023

---

These guys are amateurs.
My old CEO, John Stankey of AT&T, has about $20 million per year in compensation. As a fairly large stock holder (for me, anyway) I can tell you that the company, the stock, etc. has done poorly. He makes Wilcox look like Apple's Cook.

---

Why do you hate America?

Bobodeluxe said:

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82gradDLSdad said:

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wc22 said:

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I don't know about that list. Anyone in the 4 million dollar range is being paid well outside the Top 25 counting only Public Schools

Highest paid public school coach salaries in 2023 via @USAToday in millions

1 Nick Saban, Bama $11.407
2 Dabo Swinney, Clemson $10.884
3 Kirby Smart, Georgia $10.705
4 Ryan Day, Ohio St $10.271
5 Mel Tucker, Mich St $10.015
6 Brian Kelly, LSU $9.975
7 Jimbo Fisher, A&M $9.150
8…

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 3, 2023

---

These guys are amateurs.
My old CEO, John Stankey of AT&T, has about $20 million per year in compensation. As a fairly large stock holder (for me, anyway) I can tell you that the company, the stock, etc. has done poorly. He makes Wilcox look like Apple's Cook.

---

Why do you hate America?

---

I thought I was showing my Cal love... Stankey is a dirty Bruin.

2023 Pac-12 Football HC Salaries

$6.62M—Lanning, Oregon*
$6.33M—Whittingham, Utah
$5.98M—Kelly, UCLA
$5.50M—Sanders, CU
$4.85M—Smith, OSU
$4.40M—Wilcox, Cal
$4.20M—DeBoer, UW
$3.85M—Dillingham, ASU
$3.25M—Fisch, Arizona
$2.70M—Dickert, WSU

*19th nationally

Stanford, USC, N/A

— SuperWest Sports (@SuperWestSports) October 3, 2023

DeBoer and Dickert underpaid.

wc22 said:

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2023 Pac-12 Football HC Salaries

$6.62M—Lanning, Oregon*
$6.33M—Whittingham, Utah
$5.98M—Kelly, UCLA
$5.50M—Sanders, CU
$4.85M—Smith, OSU
$4.40M—Wilcox, Cal
$4.20M—DeBoer, UW
$3.85M—Dillingham, ASU
$3.25M—Fisch, Arizona
$2.70M—Dickert, WSU

*19th nationally

Stanford, USC, N/A

— SuperWest Sports (@SuperWestSports) October 3, 2023

DeBoer and Dickert underpaid.

---

Looks like the Michigan State recruiting top 2 targets are going to come from Washington State.

My spidey sense has Deion coaching in LV for the Silver and Black next year...

Context with the Big10, Big 12 and ACC:





I am just saying it is a silly list. Wilcox has not performed up to what we should expect, but there is zero way he is in the Top 5 Most Overpaid.

He is being paid below the median for a p5 coach (40th for Public Schools only) at one of the harder jobs in one of the most expensive places to live (if not the most expensive p5 metro area) .

His buyout is the 26th highest (Public Schools only) which is much worse but not as insane as people here make it out to be.

The truth is we don't spend that much on football. https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/football/coach

Bobodeluxe said:

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bearister said:

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Derek Carr isn't overpaid.

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You miss dc. Admit it.

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Him leaving made me a Raiders fan again….provided Jimmy G is behind center.

"That loss is entirely on me. My shoulder feels fine. No excuses. Although some people get mad when I say that."
-Derek Carr

Really sick and tired of this ****ing apathetic bull****
"Tough job, hard place to succeed"

Is dook a tough job?
Is furd a tough job?
Is unc a tough job?

This is a gift wrapped place to succeed smack dab in the middle of a metro area chalked full of recruits.

You can't make top 25 money and produce bottom 25 results year in year out and not be called a failure.
Wilcox is a failure. End of ****ing story.
There's plenty of kids with high gpas who do come here and would like to come here. We give this clown money to buyout and hire new coordinators. We fill the stadium to 90 percent several times and what do we get for it.
4-8 with constant boring loser football.

I am not saying he has done a satisfactory job, but he is factually making far from top 25 money. He is 40th counting only Public salaries. His buyout is worse, 26th (again only Public salaries), but that isn't that insane. The truth is a 20 million dollar buyout isn't that big of a deal in basically all of the Big 10 and SEC.

Also:
UNC and Stanford are much easier to recruit to. UNC constantly has Top 25 classes no matter who the coach is or what the record was the previous year.

Duke is a harder job but that coach is gone unless they want to pay him 7+.

The laziness of some posters is amazing.

The buyouts in USA Today data is missing several big names like Lane Kiffin.

Wilcox likely has about the 45th highest salary in coaching, no where near Top 25.

His buyout is likely around 35th highest because several Public Schools didn't disclose that data.

The fact we can't afford 20m for a buyout is an indictment of our donor support if anything.

"The fact we can't afford 20m for a buyout is an indictment of our donor support if anything."

Donors probably do not want to fork over that type of money to an AD that is suspect, would we get an upgrade for the money ... or just lift hopes until they are dashed again

Oakbear said:

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"The fact we can't afford 20m for a buyout is an indictment of our donor support if anything."

Donors probably do not want to fork over that type of money to an AD that is suspect, would we get an upgrade for the money ... or just lift hopes until they are dashed again

---

That seems like a cop out. I don't like the AD either, but he and the donors got together and got Madsen, who has been awesome so far.

That seems like a cop out. I don't like the AD either, but he and the donors got together and got Madsen, who has been awesome so far.

big difference between replacing a complete failure MF and comparing to JW .. JW is not a complete failure, but just not a top level coach.. you going to go out and hire a Saban/Dabo type?? or another 'up and comer" ....rolling the dice on that with the con artist (sorry shocks for stealing your name for him) is not a good idea

oski003 said:

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Oakbear said:

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"The fact we can't afford 20m for a buyout is an indictment of our donor support if anything."

Donors probably do not want to fork over that type of money to an AD that is suspect, would we get an upgrade for the money ... or just lift hopes until they are dashed again

---

That seems like a cop out. I don't like the AD either, but he and the donors got together and got Madsen, who has been awesome so far.

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Undefeated!

Oakbear said:

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That seems like a cop out. I don't like the AD either, but he and the donors got together and got Madsen, who has been awesome so far.

big difference between replacing a complete failure MF and comparing to JW .. JW is not a complete failure, but just not a top level coach.. you going to go out and hire a Saban/Dabo type?? or another 'up and comer" ....rolling the dice on that with the con artist (sorry shocks for stealing your name for him) is not a good idea

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Ouch.

bearister said:

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Bobodeluxe said:

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bearister said:

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Derek Carr isn't overpaid.

---

You miss dc. Admit it.

---

Him leaving made me a Raiders fan again….provided Jimmy G is behind center.

"That loss is entirely on me. My shoulder feels fine. No excuses. Although some people get mad when I say that."
-Derek Carr

---

Be interested to hear your thoughts after a full year of Jimmy G and this coaching staff.

wc22 said:

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2023 Pac-12 Football HC Salaries

$6.62M—Lanning, Oregon*
$6.33M—Whittingham, Utah
$5.98M—Kelly, UCLA
$5.50M—Sanders, CU
$4.85M—Smith, OSU
$4.40M—Wilcox, Cal
$4.20M—DeBoer, UW
$3.85M—Dillingham, ASU
$3.25M—Fisch, Arizona
$2.70M—Dickert, WSU

*19th nationally

Stanford, USC, N/A

— SuperWest Sports (@SuperWestSports) October 3, 2023

DeBoer and Dickert underpaid.

---

Realized the other day this is the first season I can remember when I would trade Wilcox for virtually any other coach in the league. Usually there are a few coaches in conference who are worse, but not this year. Unfortunate since he started out with some promise before it all fell apart.

82gradDLSdad said:

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wc22 said:

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I don't know about that list. Anyone in the 4 million dollar range is being paid well outside the Top 25 counting only Public Schools

Highest paid public school coach salaries in 2023 via @USAToday in millions

1 Nick Saban, Bama $11.407
2 Dabo Swinney, Clemson $10.884
3 Kirby Smart, Georgia $10.705
4 Ryan Day, Ohio St $10.271
5 Mel Tucker, Mich St $10.015
6 Brian Kelly, LSU $9.975
7 Jimbo Fisher, A&M $9.150
8…

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 3, 2023

---

These guys are amateurs.
My old CEO, John Stankey of AT&T, has about $20 million per year in compensation. As a fairly large stock holder (for me, anyway) I can tell you that the company, the stock, etc. has done poorly. He makes Wilcox look like Apple's Cook.

---

Patti Poppe, CEO of PG&E made $50 million in 2021.
The average salary for a CEO in the S&P 500 was $15.5 million in 2020.

PG&E's top boss harvests total exec pay that tops $50 million (mercurynews.com)

Bobodeluxe said:

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bearister said:

---

Derek Carr isn't overpaid.

---

You miss dc. Admit it.

---

No Raider fan misses DC, but as both a 49er and Raider fan, I don't think the 49ers miss Garappolo either. The Raiders are a mess largely because they make really poor personnel decisions. I would have given Stridham the job. Garappolo is a non-starter.

Raiders had a good HC in the interim guy, but they got rid of him too.
Raiders can be guaranteed to overthink things and ignore the obvious--which is that performance matters. Keep the guys that perform well and get rid of those that don't. It's really that simple and something Wilcox has trouble with as well. Hence the similarity between the Cal program and the Raiders franchise. Both are dysfunctional messes that are a reflection of the idiocy of the people running them.

I mean they finally extracted themselves from DC (AKA Drama Cween) and the land Garappola. Wow! Of course it makes sense that Peterson would want him, which is why the Raiders shouldn't have wanted Peterson.

DiabloWags said:

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82gradDLSdad said:

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wc22 said:

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I don't know about that list. Anyone in the 4 million dollar range is being paid well outside the Top 25 counting only Public Schools

Highest paid public school coach salaries in 2023 via @USAToday in millions

1 Nick Saban, Bama $11.407
2 Dabo Swinney, Clemson $10.884
3 Kirby Smart, Georgia $10.705
4 Ryan Day, Ohio St $10.271
5 Mel Tucker, Mich St $10.015
6 Brian Kelly, LSU $9.975
7 Jimbo Fisher, A&M $9.150
8…

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 3, 2023

---

These guys are amateurs.
My old CEO, John Stankey of AT&T, has about $20 million per year in compensation. As a fairly large stock holder (for me, anyway) I can tell you that the company, the stock, etc. has done poorly. He makes Wilcox look like Apple's Cook.

---

Patti Poppe, CEO of PG&E made $50 million in 2021.
The average salary for a CEO in the S&P 500 was $15.5 million in 2020.

PG&E's top boss harvests total exec pay that tops $50 million (mercurynews.com)

---

When you good, you good.

oski003 said:

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Oakbear said:

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"The fact we can't afford 20m for a buyout is an indictment of our donor support if anything."

Donors probably do not want to fork over that type of money to an AD that is suspect, would we get an upgrade for the money ... or just lift hopes until they are dashed again

---

That seems like a cop out. I don't like the AD either, but he and the donors got together and got Madsen, who has been awesome so far.

---

I keep reading this over and over. Sorry, but Madsen has proven NOTHING yet.

wc22 said:

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I am not saying he has done a satisfactory job, but he is factually making far from top 25 money. He is 40th counting only Public salaries. His buyout is worse, 26th (again only Public salaries), but that isn't that insane. The truth is a 20 million dollar buyout isn't that big of a deal in basically all of the Big 10 and SEC.

Also:
UNC and Stanford are much easier to recruit to. UNC constantly has Top 25 classes no matter who the coach is or what the record was the previous year.

Duke is a harder job but that coach is gone unless they want to pay him 7+.

---

We are not in the SEC or the B1G. We are not making SEC or B1G money.

Receiving a 6 year extension and $30 million buyout after a losing record and finishing in the bottom half of the conference every year for 5 years was completely unprecedented. That after this year he will have a $20 million buyout after 7 years with a losing record is insane. Name one other coach in the country with a deal like that?

However the culprit in this is not Wilcox, it is Knowlton and Christ for hiring Knowlton and any alums that gave Knowlton the money and encouragement to do this.

We just have to hope Wilcox can turn it around because we chained ourselves to him.

Oakbear said:

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That seems like a cop out. I don't like the AD either, but he and the donors got together and got Madsen, who has been awesome so far.

big difference between replacing a complete failure MF and comparing to JW .. JW is not a complete failure, but just not a top level coach.. you going to go out and hire a Saban/Dabo type?? or another 'up and comer" ....rolling the dice on that with the con artist (sorry shocks for stealing your name for him) is not a good idea

---

If Wilcox is not a complete failure, he's damn close. Not only is he not a top level coach, he is not even an average coach. He is a totally mediocre coach at best.

HKBear97! said:

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wc22 said:

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2023 Pac-12 Football HC Salaries

$6.62M—Lanning, Oregon*
$6.33M—Whittingham, Utah
$5.98M—Kelly, UCLA
$5.50M—Sanders, CU
$4.85M—Smith, OSU
$4.40M—Wilcox, Cal
$4.20M—DeBoer, UW
$3.85M—Dillingham, ASU
$3.25M—Fisch, Arizona
$2.70M—Dickert, WSU

*19th nationally

Stanford, USC, N/A

— SuperWest Sports (@SuperWestSports) October 3, 2023

DeBoer and Dickert underpaid.

---

Realized the other day this is the first season I can remember when I would trade Wilcox for virtually any other coach in the league. Usually there are a few coaches in conference who are worse, but not this year. Unfortunate since he started out with some promise before it all fell apart.

---

Yeah, I would trade Wilcox for ANY PAC-12 coach and most of the MWC coaches.

Ir was a bad contract but people on this forum love spouting off completely exaggerated claims contradicted by facts. His original buyout would place him just inside the Top 20 (of Publicly known buyouts, so maybe Top 25). Bad, certainly. Undeserved given his performance, absolutely. But those weren't insane numbers if Cal wanted to keep him and he, for some reason, did have interest from other schools.

Rhule has a 62 million dollar buyout at Nebraska. Mel Tucker was given 100 million dollar buyout after a single good season. Lanning was given as big of a buyout as Nick Saban after winning 10 games, while losing to all of Oregon's rivals last year.

Look at the first year head coaching salaries on the list. You need to pay 6+ for a head coach with any success with a huge buyout. Tony Elliot's contract at Virgina is nearly identical both in salary and buyout to Wilcox's. He went 3-7 (2 games cancelled) his first year and is 0-5 right now. That is what a hiring a successful coordinator costs today for a very similar school to ours.

wc22 said:

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Tony Elliot's contract at Virgina is nearly identical both in salary and buyout to Wilcox's. He went 3-7 (2 games cancelled) his first year and is 0-5 right now. That is what a hiring a successful coordinator costs today for a very similar school to ours.

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At the rate UVA is playing, I won't be surprised if Elliot is fired well before Wilcox stops showing up on our sideline

DoubtfulBear said:

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wc22 said:

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Tony Elliot's contract at Virgina is nearly identical both in salary and buyout to Wilcox's. He went 3-7 (2 games cancelled) his first year and is 0-5 right now. That is what a hiring a successful coordinator costs today for a very similar school to ours.

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At the rate UVA is playing, I won't be surprised if Elliot is fired well before Wilcox stops showing up on our sideline

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He has a 20m buyout. Which brings me back to my point, this looks like a normal contract. It wasn't the right move to extend, but the buyout isn't extreme. A new coach would demand a similar or much greater buyout (if you wanted a HC)

wc22 said:

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DoubtfulBear said:

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wc22 said:

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Tony Elliot's contract at Virgina is nearly identical both in salary and buyout to Wilcox's. He went 3-7 (2 games cancelled) his first year and is 0-5 right now. That is what a hiring a successful coordinator costs today for a very similar school to ours.

---

At the rate UVA is playing, I won't be surprised if Elliot is fired well before Wilcox stops showing up on our sideline

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He has a 20m buyout. Which brings me back to my point, this looks like a normal contract. It wasn't the right move to extend, but the buyout isn't extreme. A new coach would demand a similar or much greater buyout (if you wanted a HC)

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Elliot is probably not the best comparison because he's only in his second year. I think when you hire a new coach it's pretty typical to give him a 4 ot 5-year deal with a pretty significant buyout. It protects the coach and the school. If Elliot continues to lose he probably doesn't even get to the end of his contract and they certainly won't be talking about an extension. The crazy thing about Wilcox is that they extended him before he had proven himself. He has never even had a winning conference record. The length of the extension was also crazy. Most head coaches with Wilcox's track record would have gotten a short extension at best, maybe two years, so teams didn't use it to recruit against him. So yes, this was a really bad deal. I can't think of a coach who has been so bad, so long and still has a job. How many bad football coaches last 7 years and are guaranteed to be paid for 11.