The CheckerBoard

Seriously we need to find a way to raise hell about this. They expect us to pay PSLs and donate and accept 14% tuition hikes every year, and yet they expect us to pay a premium price when they refuse to deliver a premium product. If the guy is interested, YOU PAY HIM THE MONEY. 6M is not an outlandish figure for Jon Gruden to coach your football team. UTAD needs to know this isn't acceptable. People will not buy tickets and support that football program if the football program isn't going to do their part. What an abject failure this would be.

This is essentially our athletic department saying we do not really want to contend. Period. If you have the chance to hire Jon Gruden to coach your COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM that has been irrelevant for almost a decade, YOU PAY THE MAN.

Nick Saban makes 5.5M and he has increased Bama's revenues by almost 50M since he took over. PER YEAR. He is worth 15 million. For a program in the crapper someone who immediately brings you back to relevancy, reignites your fan base, and gets the attention of recruits is worth almost any price. If we don't come out of this funk out program is going to keep hemorrhaging this money, yet you want to scrimp and save over 1% of our annual revenue? Think logically. You are not making sense.

100% agree. Everyone on this board needs to read this link. Basically it says the when only a few market participants get to share in the spoils, that pay becomes linked to rank order for leaders, and not marginal productivity.

Gruden may not be 100% better than Fedora/Golden/Fisher, but he rightfully commands a lot more if he gets you to the top.

Yes, he may not get you to the top, but the man won a world championship. He's the best shot we've had, well, ever.

I am furious about it. If the guy says no well we made an effort and I will support the next guy. But if we're really trying to scrimp on this hire, probably the most important in the program's history, I am seeing red. It's not that other guys can't win here, it's that the University itself isn't doing everything it can to help us get back to the promised land.

Plus I just spent half a decade on that campus getting gouged at every turn by the school itself. For them to play paupers just drives me insane.

Saban has also won championships, of which he did prior to Alabama as well! Gruden does not = Saban; therefore how can you pay him more than Saban? Logic tells me that I can't pay someone more than the best coach in the business unless I know for sure that he will produce even better results. Yes he will recruit in year 1, but what if he doesn't coach as well as we hope for, then year 2 and 3 drops off and we're stuck!

The current contract for an NFL coach with 1 super bowl title is Mike Tomlin with $5.75 million and he has a .673 winning percentage in just 5 years. Gruden, with his 1 Super Bowl has a .54 winning percentage (in 10 years of HC experience) and is wanting to coach in COLLEGE! $6 million a year would make him the 5th highest paid coach in the NFL! It's unreal for me to think he's worth that in college! He has 1 Super Bowl and won just over 50% of his games in 10 years!!! NOT. WORTH. IT.

It's clear Gruden wants to return to coaching at some point. It is already well noted that he is interested in this job for next year. Miss out on him now and the opportunity will never present itself again. Alabama gave nearly everything Saban wanted to get him there and Dave Hart was there to watch it all unfold. I remain hopeful but the days are passing and we need to get it out of the way before Arkansas and Auburn take the other top canidates. As a Titans fan I watched them pursue Peyton to play in Nashville and while they did so they ended up missing out on the other big name free agents and got nothing when they had a ton of money to spend of free agents. Its going to happen to UT if they are not willing to give. Alabama and Kentucky both got what they paid for. If we can afford to pay him what he wants then there is no reason we shouldn't give him the pen and paper tonight.

Your "washout" Wannstedt won exactly 5% less games than Gruden in the NFL, so 8 games in 9 years. Not. Worth. It. in college. Don't get me wrong, I'll take it if it happens, but I will absolutely support Hart if he says no to that.