In general I think this is good for UH relative to our peers. There are lot’s of recruits in Houston and that will always appeal to coaches (the stay near home thing will always have sway with some portion of recruits) and Houston has numerous businesses to help out with NIL deals to help sway recruits. Holgy could always bounce for the big $ but he seems less likely to do so than many other coaches based on numerous reports.
I think the big takeaway for UH right now is that in this environment after an 11+ win season we should expect Holgy to get a raise/extension before next season. (maybe add a couple years and go from $4M to $4.5 or $5M? Something like that). When Holgy/CKS eventually leave/retire, UH is a very desirable job now that we are going to the Big 12 and located in the massive Houston market.
In the end thank God we have Fertitta who has been the guiding fiscal hand helping us keep pace in these crazy times.
In terms of college football in general:
I saw it posted somewhere but literally the only highly paid executive position in America without a non-compete is the college football head coach - many of which work for public institutions. All the professional sports have non-competes as well as do private industry CEOs/executives. Professionals like doctors do as well. However, college football coaches get to have their cake and eat it too. Once they sign the contract they are golden no matter what. Lose? Okay, get fired, get all the contract $ and then move to another job. Win? Okay, stay and get a raise or jump ship for more money/bigger job. Win/win. Must be nice.
What does it say about coaches bolting like this on young “kids” many of which came from tough backgrounds without father figures? Of course maybe all the “love you guys” and “I want to turn boys into great men” is just a bunch of BS to the end of maximizing a HCs bank account…that level of pessimism make me a bit uncomfortable personally. Are there caring coaches out there or is everyone just a mercenary?
My personal opinion is that we need some level of reasonable control over this. Right now with NIL for players and no non-competes for coaches, we basically have the wild west for both players and coaches and this is juxtaposed against fans/alumni who are deeply emotionally tied to their schools. Too much of a mercenary feel from the players/coaches for my liking. I think long term this turns some people off.
Of course if the end goal is just college football being an NFL-lite feeder league to allow the talent to physically develop to NFL level, then the NCAA having no power anymore, the P5 splitting off and the top P5 coaches getting $100M+ contracts, college players bouncing year-to-year and signing $1M+ NIL deals , and the top schools putting more in the bank then I guess let’s just march on. Make no mistake though, this isn’t your grandpa’s college football anymore.
From OU to USC and now from Notre Dame to LSU. No school and fan base operates now without mercenary non-compete free coaches or non NIL transfer minded players. Big chasm between fans and coaches/players building. No more “for the school/fans”. More of “get mine”. To much Wild West for me. Maybe I’m just complaining. JMO.
We want wins. Nothing else matters. If we get to NY6 bowls consistently then all that loyalty talk is just nostalgia for when football was only played on cbs and abc each weekend
I remember when CBY was after a player who would say, “I think I would like to play somewhere I could get out of Houston…” he had a ready response: “Once you are on campus you will be on your own but you can get with your family on weekends and will never miss any family get together for holidays or whatever and your family is guaranteed to see you play in person for at least half the games every season.”
I think he’s in that sweet spot that the list of schools he’d leave us for is short and entirely composed of schools that would be hard-pressed to hire him anyway because of his personality regardless of his performance.
These 100m contracts are going to end up biting them in the butt. If they aren’t successful by year 3 fans want them gone. No school can take that kinda fit then sign another new coach for 100m
I’m hoping the crazy coaching carousel will help UH’s recruiting both for HS talent and some transfers.
We are well positioned to take advantage. Lots of chaos in the schools that recruit our area the hardest and most successfully. OU, LSU, TT, SMU… of course Texas is busy sucking so that helps too.
We just got put into Big 12 so we have that working for us and we are 11-1 and ranked. So the future looks bright.
If we can really grab a couple of good transfers that can help now and be seniors our first year playing in Big 12, plus pick up a few four star type HS players to start boosting the roster talent it could really be a nice launching pad for our next decade.
I agree. 10 years is ridiculous commitment for this type of job. 5-7 is probably a better sweet spot. Year 3 tells you a lot. After that results and expectations are very very high.
10 years says two classes and a couple for rebuilding.
10 for Lincoln at USC makes sense, but 10 for LSU is just trying to keep up with the Jones’s
I remember CDH when referring to recruiting and transfers words to the effect “we’ve got to get better.” Our success should allow us to be selective in who we bring aboard.
Current coaching carousel is a year too early for Dana. I think if Tune returns, Houston will win the AAC next season and go to the peach bowl. We will have to fight off suitors to hold on to him.
