2019-20 college football coaching carousel

Vanderbilt AD retires after a year and a day on the job. Most of the stories I have seen have been nothing more than rewritten press releases. Only one with any meat on it came from one of the recruiting sites and said the guy had blown through a $17 million "rainy day fund," thereby creating tension with the administration, which is an interim operation since the retirement of the chancellor in August.
Not a great situation.

 

Dantonio said the Curtis Blackwell deposition had “ZERO” to do with his decision
Uh-huh

 

Word on Fickell is he wants to stay in the Midwest
Ohio State is not an option
Dantonio hinted he’d have a voice in the hiring
and after all, he did come from Cincinnati

 

How does he get the loyalty bonus if the NCAA is investigating? I'm no lawyer, but shouldn't the contract include a clause that delays or voids the bonus if violations have been credibly alleged at the time of the scheduled payout?

 

Talk to MSU about that
No investigation yet
Just stuff in court
Plus Curtis Blackwell is a questionable character in his own right

 

Forde is right
Dantonio looked out for himself

https://www.si.com/college/2020/02/05/mark-dantonio-retires-michigan-state-tough-decisions

 

Are we supposed to be upset that someone fucked over Michigan State?

 

https://hkm.com/football/wp-content/uploads/coach-contracts/markdantonio-msu-employment-contract.pdf

This is pretty interesting reading.

 

When is the last time a school successfully barred/clawed back a contract bonus for a coach not sanctioned or convicted of a crime?

 

Today's scuttlebutt in Spartyland is that Matt Campbell turned them down cold before they could even make a (hypothetical) offer:

• Timing all wrong
• Iowa State to Michigan State not that much of a jump
• Concern over NCAA situation; major penalties don't look likely but the program ain't exactly humming on all cylinders anyway, and the talent cupboard is bare
• Likely to get a better offer soon
• The big payout to Dantonio has probably hamstrung the football budget for the next several years, probably inhibiting a new coach's ability to attract top staff
• As an "outsider" from the Sparty family (ie no past connections to Perles, Saban or Dantonio) concerns about a short leash if he didn't win quickly (see John L. Smith).

 

I don't know how they do it - but college athletic departments seem to do an amazing job at keeping dirty laundry from getting out. You would think there would be more disgruntled former employees with dirt to spill. Do folks covering this stuff keep it under their hat because they know it would only lead to cancelled subscriptions or what?

 

Also impinging on the Sparty search: Tom Izzo is 65, so the athletic department already put under heavy strain by the sudden departure of Dantonio will probably have to pay off a huge retirement package to Izzo, then go out and get a basketball coach on the open market, all within the contract span (presumably five years) of the new football coach, further tightening money for things like staff salaries.