Are These Big Ten Coaches On The Hot Seat? (MN, Ben Johnson: Hot Seat Status: On Fire)

Donate To GopherHole
BleedGopher

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
60,774
Reaction score
16,183
Points
113
Per Andy:

Are These Big Ten Coaches on the Hot Seat?​

Ben Johnson, Minnesota​

After struggling for his first two seasons, Ben Johnson enters his third season squarely on the hot seat. Last year, the Golden Gophers didn’t even win ten games and had embarrassing losses to UNLV and DePaul. Minnesota also lost one of its best players after Jamison Battle transferred to Ohio State.

Things are looking bleak again for the Golden Gophers this season. Minnesota is expected to finish last in the conference and will likely have fewer wins this year than last. They return Dawson Garcia, who was the team’s highest scorer last season.
​
The only way Johnson can save his job is by significantly improving his team. He does not have to make the NCAA Tournament, but he likely has to be a bubble team and make the NIT.

Hot Seat Status: On Fire​


lastwordonsports.com

Are These Big Ten Coaches on the Hot Seat?

We are rapidly approaching the college basketball season. Which coaches in the Big Ten are coaching for their jobs this year?
lastwordonsports.com

Go Gophers!!
 


So I take it, last word on sports, is written for casual fans. The writer likes sports, but doesn’t follow the Big Ten. Probably uses AI to write, then changes the conclusion to sound like they have flair.
 


BleedGopher said:
Per Andy:

Are These Big Ten Coaches on the Hot Seat?​

Ben Johnson, Minnesota​

After struggling for his first two seasons, Ben Johnson enters his third season squarely on the hot seat. Last year, the Golden Gophers didn’t even win ten games and had embarrassing losses to UNLV and DePaul. Minnesota also lost one of its best players after Jamison Battle transferred to Ohio State.

Things are looking bleak again for the Golden Gophers this season. Minnesota is expected to finish last in the conference and will likely have fewer wins this year than last. They return Dawson Garcia, who was the team’s highest scorer last season.
​
The only way Johnson can save his job is by significantly improving his team. He does not have to make the NCAA Tournament, but he likely has to be a bubble team and make the NIT.

Hot Seat Status: On Fire​


lastwordonsports.com

Are These Big Ten Coaches on the Hot Seat?

We are rapidly approaching the college basketball season. Which coaches in the Big Ten are coaching for their jobs this year?
lastwordonsports.com

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...
This is a pretty poor assessment. Less wins that last year? Nope. I think we have to file this one under the writer getting lazy and just assuming that the Gophers will be bad because, gasp, they lost Battle- one of the least efficient players on the team and perhaps the worst defender we had. Battle is a good to great shooter when he is confident and he can go off for 20-25 points, but that's where it ends.
 


atsgopher said:
So I take it, last word on sports, is written for casual fans. The writer likes sports, but doesn’t follow the Big Ten. Probably uses AI to write, then changes the conclusion to sound like they have flair.
Click to expand...
and written by a casual writer
 


bga1 said:
This is a pretty poor assessment. Less wins that last year? Nope. I think we have to file this one under the writer getting lazy and just assuming that the Gophers will be bad because, gasp, they lost Battle- one of the least efficient players on the team and perhaps the worst defender we had. Battle is a good to great shooter when he is confident and he can go off for 20-25 points, but that's where it ends.
Click to expand...

Part of the piece read like it was AI composed.
 

GopherBlood666 said:
It's either 4 or 6 million after the season
Click to expand...

It could be even lower than that. Supposedly he received some sort of extension after year 1 but I have my doubts that the buyout years would have been increased. I remember that Coyle's final extension to Pitino did not include an increase in the buyout. We know from the way Coyle finagled Pitino's departure that he's looking to spend as little as possible on severance payments.
 



I still think the bar is pretty low for him to get a fourth year. I'd be really surprised if we are looking for a new coach after this year.
 


Interest has never been lower in Gopher B-ball. Coyle will fire ASAP if momentum does not swing up. He can't afford to go into next year with a basketball program that is dead upon arrival. He will have the new B1G TV money and with no significant movements taking place in any other program, it just makes sense to do the move now.
 

gophernut1 said:
Interest has never been lower in Gopher B-ball. Coyle will fire ASAP if momentum does not swing up. He can't afford to go into next year with a basketball program that is dead upon arrival. He will have the new B1G TV money and with no significant movements taking place in any other program, it just makes sense to do the move now.
Click to expand...

This.
 



Spaulding!No! said:
You’d be surprised?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I would be. First of all, I think they will show "enough" improvement this year to indicate the program is turning around. I still have my doubts that it will lead to anything. But secondly, I still think this university cares as much about optics as it does about winning. They gave Pitino eight years. Johnson will get at least four years. That's just my view.
 

HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving said:
Is it correct that his buy out would be 8 million?
Click to expand...
My understanding, according to Shama, who requested the contract as public information, is that the buyout is $6 million round numbers after this season....smidge less.
So to me, just finishing last won't get him fired.
It should get Coyle fired for the contract but that won't happen either. He keeps being a candidate for other jobs but nobody bites.
 

60's Guy said:
My understanding, according to Shama, who requested the contract as public information, is that the buyout is $6 million round numbers after this season....smidge less.
So to me, just finishing last won't get him fired.
It should get Coyle fired for the contract but that won't happen either. He keeps being a candidate for other jobs but nobody bites.
Click to expand...

He has the same clause as Pitino did where if he finds another HC or assistant job, the buyout is reduced to nothing.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
He has the same clause as Pitino did where if he finds another HC or assistant job, the buyout is reduced to nothing.
Click to expand...
I'll disagree. But lets say you are correct...#1 Ben is going to have a tough time getting a job paying him millions of dollars or anything close. By your scenario he can sell insurance and still collect $6 million or coach high school and forfeit the money. Ben is not dumb.

Come on man! It is not like you are saying. They are completely different situations. Pitino signed the Gopher friendly buyout in return to stay employed. Ben just started his run...very different incentives to the contracts.
 
Last edited:

60's Guy said:
I'll disagree. But lets say you are correct...#1 Ben is going to have a tough time getting a job paying him millions of dollars or anything close. By your scenario he can sell insurance and still collect $6 million or coach high school and forfeit the money. Ben is not dumb.

Come on man! It is not like you are saying.
Click to expand...

There's nothing to disagree on. It's in the contract. I am right.

Pitino went from making over 2 million to 775k at New Mexico. Why didn't he just sit out and sell insurance instead?

Ben will not find a HC job comparable to New Mexico, because he wasn't qualified for that level of job in the first place. Ben can sit out and collect paychecks for several years, but that means his basketball coaching career is likely over. He's still a young guy, is he ready for that? Long term he can still make more money as an assistant, which is what he's meant to be.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
There's nothing to disagree on. It's in the contract. I am right.

Pitino went from making over 2 million to 775k at New Mexico. Why didn't he just sit out and sell insurance instead?

Ben will not find a HC job comparable to New Mexico, because he wasn't qualified for that level of job in the first place. Ben can sit out and collect paychecks for several years, but that means his basketball coaching career is likely over. He's still a young guy, is he ready for that? Long term he can still make more money as an assistant, which is what he's meant to be.
Click to expand...
What sane person would agree to that buyout in year two of an extended contract? It's not logical.
It would be run up the flag pole for taking advantage of a youthful, first time African American head coach. You are saying there is no buyout effectively. Not the case in this case.
Possibly, there is offset language....he becomes an assistant and makes $250k and now the Gophers only pay $1.75 million per year or some such math. But nothing ain't happening.
 
Last edited:

60's Guy said:
What sane person would agree to that buyout in year two of an extended contract? It's not logical.
It would be run up the flag pole for taking advantage of a youthful, first time African American head coach. You are saying there is no buyout effectively. Not the case in this case.
Click to expand...

The only people being taken advantage of here is the remaining University of Minnesota basketball fans.

There is no buyout if he accepts another job elsewhere, that is a fact.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
The only people being taken advantage of here is the remaining University of Minnesota basketball fans.

There is no buyout if he accepts another job elsewhere, that is a fact.
Click to expand...
Shama doesn't agree with you and he read the contract. Did you?
Shama quotes:
"It’s delusional to think Johnson will be terminated after this season. The cost to buyout his contract after two years is almost $8 million. The buyout amount (calculated on remaining years of his $1,950,000 annual salary) is reduced by 25 percent, 50 precent and 75 percent after years three, four and five respectively.

Also, Coyle doesn’t do knee-jerk reactions with coaches he hires. Patience with men’s basketball will be the mantra for a while. This comes in an environment where interest in the program has reached apathy status and program revenues are light years from their potential in an athletic department that counts on basketball to be a cash cow to help the budgets of other sports."
 

60's Guy said:
Shama doesn't agree with you and he read the contract. Did you?
Shama quotes:
"It’s delusional to think Johnson will be terminated after this season. The cost to buyout his contract after two years is almost $8 million. The buyout amount (calculated on remaining years of his $1,950,000 annual salary) is reduced by 25 percent, 50 precent and 75 percent after years three, four and five respectively.

Also, Coyle doesn’t do knee-jerk reactions with coaches he hires. Patience with men’s basketball will be the mantra for a while. This comes in an environment where interest in the program has reached apathy status and program revenues are light years from their potential in an athletic department that counts on basketball to be a cash cow to help the budgets of other sports."
Click to expand...

Lol Shama? You probably have better sources than Shama, I know I do. I've posted this before, several times.

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Much like Pitino, there's also this in his buyout:

Regent Steve Sviggum said Johnson’s buyout is “skillfully negotiated” and there would be no buyout paid out if coach Johnson were to find a “comparable” position, including head-coaching or assistant job in NCAA.

I'm fairly confident Ben will be able to land at least an assistant job whenever Minnesota decides to cut their losses and try to become a Big Ten basketball program again.

www.twincities.com

Contract of Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson approved by U regents

The University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents unanimously approved the contract of new Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson on Wednesday. The regents voted 11-0 with one absence; it came aft…
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com
Click to expand...

If Ben wants to sit out and collect his checks and do something else with his life, then that's possible. If he wants to continue to coach, he will need to find another coaching job immediately. You don't go from firing Tubby after a NCAA tournament win to keeping a coach who is non competitive in the B1G for 3 straight years over the span of 11 years.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Lol Shama? You probably have better sources than Shama, I know I do. I've posted this before, several times.



If Ben wants to sit out and collect his checks and do something else with his life, then that's possible. If he wants to continue to coach, he will need to find another coaching job immediately. You don't go from firing Tubby after a NCAA tournament win to keeping a coach who is non competitive in the B1G for 3 straight years over the span of 11 years.
Click to expand...
The most Johnson can hope to make as an assistant is $250-$300k. At $300k, it would take 20 years to make $6 million.

That gets him to 62 or 63 years. He hits social security before he equals those earnings. Sure, he'll get raises, but investing millions earns interest. Call it a wash.

Even if you're right, he'd be a fool to trade away $6 million. He'd make 5% of that and have to work.

Pitino made a smart decision. He was still a HC. That's not only much higher pay, but he has hope of getting to a bigger school for millions per year again. Johnson doesn't.
 

This is kind of a dumb argument. It doesn't behoove Ben to basically terminate his coaching career just to stick it to the U or walk away from the entire buyout to be an assistant at Northern Iowa. So most likely they would reach some sort of settlement paying him half of the buyout etc.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom