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More money, no problem: A look at college football’s most expensive buyouts for fired coaches this season
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The bigtime conferences may have 99 problems but a budget ain’t one of them.
It is coach-buyout and firing season and the amount of money being tossed around in buyouts for head coaches who have been recently fired is staggering. Five recently fired head coaches are still guaranteed a combined $60 million.
That’s not too bad to simply sit on the sofa.
Josh Whitman fired 20% of the coaches and paid for 3.3 percent of the buyout. https://t.co/g6oVouXUtL
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) January 2, 2021
The $EC…rather, the SEC, not surprisingly, makes up two of the top three names on the list. Auburn’s Gus Malzahn is atop the leaderboard with $22 million in the buyout, followed by Texas, who recently fired Tom Herman ($15 million).
South Carolina’s Will Muschamp ($14 million) is third. Coming in fourth is Kevin Sumlin ($8 million).
The Big Ten is represented on that list by former Illinois head coach Lovie Smith.
Recently let go by the Illini, Smith spent five seasons with the program where he was 17-39. He made one bowl appearance during that time, a 35-20 loss to California in the Redbox Bowl last season.