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Because no coach with a future would ever consider going there after that.

 

Probably because they were worried that he might just walk and then they'd have to fight him to get it (see Rodriguez, Rich). They also had that "extenuating circumstances" clause that I'm not sure if anyone knew what would have to happen for that to be triggered. I read something that said they had assured him that the buyout was negotiable.

It's also insane that his buyout was that much in the first place. Still, I'd say CSU came out really well on this one. They lost a great coach, but $5 million and a $2 million game is nothing to sneeze at for any athletic program, much less a smaller one.

 

True.

I could see that kind of buyout for a coach making $5 million a year, someone like Saban, Mayer, Strong, Stoops, but for a coach making $2 million a year, that's pretty insane. But McElwain agreed to it, so it's on him.

 

@FauxPelini EXCELLENT HIRE, JUST ONE QUICK QUESTION WHO IS MIKE RILEY

 

That and some other aspects. CSU's administration had a feeling this was going to happen sooner rather than later, thus they pushed it. And like you said, he signed the contract.

Also, it would have been a huge mess if he walked and they had to fight it. CSU is trying to do big things with the AD, including officially announcing an on-campus stadium plan tomorrow. You can bet Tony Frank wanted this out of the way before then.

CSU came out very well, if you ask me. You know Florida went in there thinking they'd just say, hey, we're the Gators, and get that down to a couple of mil. I think it says a lot that CSU stood up for what the contract stated. They won't get another coach to agree to as high as a number, but there may be some precedent of a good buyout at a smaller program. Who knows, the way the administration fought for it may be appealing in some ways to another coach.

 

Dude's on fire

@FauxPelini
KNOCK KNOCK!
WHO'S THERE??
MIKE RILEY!
MIKE RILEY WHO??
YEAH THAT'S WHAT I SAID TOO

 

Strange that there was absolutely no leak on Riley.

However, it probably helped that Oregon State's season was over and he could book a flight to Denver or San Francisco or wherever to meet with the Nebraska AD without arousing suspicion.

 

Happy for Riley. Class guy, class act. Things may change from what he did at OSU, but he was the most accessible coach in the Pac-12, had open practices, even let a local radio show broadcast from practice daily.

Had a .600 (or thereabouts) winning percentage at a school that had a 26-year streak of losing seasons before he arrived. Erickson's Fiesta Bowl team were almost all Riley recruits, and Dennis's winning percentage dropped off when those guys graduated.

I'll be interested to see what Riley can do with resources he never could have imagined having at OSU.

 

CSU lost its coach, but won the negotiation. As bad as Muschamp made Foley look, swinging and missing on a MWC coach for any reason, would have made him look terrible.

 

Foley is out of misses.

 

Yeah, he can only play the "I hired Billy Donovan" card so many times.

 

I've always had a coachcrush on Mike Riley; glad to see him land at a program that can support him. He's got a well-documented uphill climb, but he has the tools to take it on.