Forbes: So Far, Big Ten Programs Are Cashing In On First-Year Coaches

BleedGopher

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per Forbes:

With Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh, James Franklin and Mark Dantonio, the Big Ten has had the best collection of college coaching talent for the past few years.

The depth of quality coaches is reinforced with second-tier names like Kirk Ferentz, Paul Chryst and Pat Fitzgerald. It’s no surprise, then, that the first-year coaches in the conference this season all reside at lower-level programs.

Unlike the Big 12, SEC and Pac-12, no marquee program in the Big Ten is being helmed by a first-year man this season. The highest-profile school with a new coach is Minnesota, but even the Gophers have been nothing more than a nice story in their best years recently.

Because of the level of program, the three new coaches in the league don’t command the 2017 salaries that their first-year Power 5 coach counterparts carry in other leagues, and thanks to some early success, their schools have had to spend less per win so far this season.

P.J. Fleck, Minnesota

2017 Record: 3-2
2017 Salary: $3.5 Million
Spend Per Win: $1.17 Million
Gophers’ 2016 Record: 9-4
Fleck is the highest paid of the first-year coaches in the Big Ten, an unsurprising fact given the stature of Minnesota relative to Purdie and Indiana.

The energetic Fleck was considered one of the hottest coaches in the country last offseason after elevating Western Michigan to national relevance, and some where surprised he didn’t land a bigger gig than the Gophers job. Minnesota are paying him $3.5 million this season and so far the results have been mixed.

The Gophers won their first three games, but have dropped back-to-back contests to Maryland and Purdue and sit at 0-2 in the conference. With three road games left on the schedule and home games against No. 21 Michigan State and no. 7 Wisconsin, Fleck will be hard pressed to get Minnesota to equal last season’s nine wins.

Minnesota is paying over $1 Million per win so far this season. One more win will drop the mark below that threshold, but much more than that may be an unrealistic expectation this season.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakew...ashing-in-on-first-year-coaches/#7509457737b2

Go Gophers!!
 

$940,000 per win probably be about right. Next year about $500,000?
 





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