When Pruitt left FSU two days after we win the Natty for a lateral move to dull UGA, and Jimbo couldn't find an experienced DC to work for him, I commented that Jimbo must have to overpay assistants to work for him. (Pruitt himself commented that he was never really a coordinator when working for Jimbo). After that DC promotion to Kelly, Jimbo kept failing at changing assistants that weren't performing well at FSU and he couldn't get quality assistants to come to Tallahassee. After the upward salary adjustments at the end of the 2016 season, and a dreary 2017 season, Jimbo was getting increased pressure to overhaul his staff. He would have to fire a few friends and somehow entice quality assistants to come to FSU. By that time, Jimbo would have to pay above market. He needed to find a place where there was a school with excess cash to spend - and - excess fan displeasure with how their own football programs were performing. LSU and the Aggies in the SEC West were a perfect breeding ground for programs interested in Jimbo.
Jimbo lashed out on the facilities issue, but he actually needed even more money for assistants. Upon arriving at A&M, he hired Elko as DC from ND, but only have Elko initially turned him down and Jimbo had to offer $200K more. And so it continues. Jimbo with a blank checkbook. As far as the FSU FOF is concerned, FSU leadership already bought into it well before Jimbo left - not because it was a new toy, but because FSU athletics truly had outgrown its space. In speaking to Booster leadership, I learned that several programs suffer from inefficiencies in how to manage their time on a daily basis because they are constantly moving around to available space. And Football moved around the most. The FOF is going to happen - it's the prices of success.
But what are we to make of the Rushing hire? He has no ties to that program or its coaches; he obviously is getting a significant bump in salary as a position coach. Is this really a "Jimbo" event or a trend that must be addressed?
It would be interesting to see a comparison chart of assistant coaches salaries between the Big Ten and the SEC. Each of those conferences have enough cash to pay "above market" if they choose to. Just because you have increased cash flow from football doesn't mean it has to be spent on football. Each institution has an overall athletic budget to meet and the institution has an overall budget as well. Cash sources from specific lines of businesses can become quite "fungible" as to how it is being spent, if leadership wants to look at it that way.
Norvell has shown how a G5 program can become a breeding ground for the P5, and he has handled it in a positive way as good as anyone. Maybe even better. His perspective on the Rushing move would be very interesting. What does it mean to a P5 program? I honestly don't know if this is just another "Oh that Jimbo, here he goes again" and it has no impact on the overall market price for a position coach. And the answer won't be found by how we react to this latest move, but rather how other SEC and Big Ten programs react to it.
So, maybe this Rushing move is no big deal. Maybe. It would behoove leadership to find out.
Jimbo lashed out on the facilities issue, but he actually needed even more money for assistants. Upon arriving at A&M, he hired Elko as DC from ND, but only have Elko initially turned him down and Jimbo had to offer $200K more. And so it continues. Jimbo with a blank checkbook. As far as the FSU FOF is concerned, FSU leadership already bought into it well before Jimbo left - not because it was a new toy, but because FSU athletics truly had outgrown its space. In speaking to Booster leadership, I learned that several programs suffer from inefficiencies in how to manage their time on a daily basis because they are constantly moving around to available space. And Football moved around the most. The FOF is going to happen - it's the prices of success.
But what are we to make of the Rushing hire? He has no ties to that program or its coaches; he obviously is getting a significant bump in salary as a position coach. Is this really a "Jimbo" event or a trend that must be addressed?
It would be interesting to see a comparison chart of assistant coaches salaries between the Big Ten and the SEC. Each of those conferences have enough cash to pay "above market" if they choose to. Just because you have increased cash flow from football doesn't mean it has to be spent on football. Each institution has an overall athletic budget to meet and the institution has an overall budget as well. Cash sources from specific lines of businesses can become quite "fungible" as to how it is being spent, if leadership wants to look at it that way.
Norvell has shown how a G5 program can become a breeding ground for the P5, and he has handled it in a positive way as good as anyone. Maybe even better. His perspective on the Rushing move would be very interesting. What does it mean to a P5 program? I honestly don't know if this is just another "Oh that Jimbo, here he goes again" and it has no impact on the overall market price for a position coach. And the answer won't be found by how we react to this latest move, but rather how other SEC and Big Ten programs react to it.
So, maybe this Rushing move is no big deal. Maybe. It would behoove leadership to find out.
