APAlabama already lost one coordinator, Jim McElwain, to a head coaching job at Colorado State. Losing another would have been a lot to replace.
For the Tide faithful, however, it looks like they’ll keep defensive coordinator Kirby Smart around… for now, anyway.
Smart was one of a handful of candidates who reportedly interviewed for the Southern Miss job this week, including South Carolina assistant Ellis Johnson, Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Southern Miss offensive coordinator Blake Anderson and Louisiana-Lafayette offensive coordinator Jay Johnson.
But sources told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach that Smart has withdrawn his name from consideration for the USM job. Smart had also been connected to openings at Ole Miss and Texas A&M, but the sources say Smart never had contact with either program. Those jobs would end up being filled by Huge Freeze and Kevin Sumlin, respectively.
Smart, who has guided the Tide’s defense to being one of, if not the best, nationally, has two years left on a contract at Alabama that pays him $850,000 annually.
It must really irk the professors at Alabama that an assistant coach makes $850,000 per year. According to StateUniversity.com the highest full-time faculty member salary in 2011 is $77,755 per year. Alabama salaries were 494th out of the 500 universities listed so other schools aren’t as bad, but most are surprisingly low for somebody with a doctorate degree. Western Michigan was only 1 school with a football team that anybody ever heard of with a lower pay scale.
FYI! I’m not slamming Bama. Luke Fickell’s salary is almost 8 times what an OSU professor makes. Urban makes 40 times what an OSU professor makes. It’s mindboggling!
Absolutely no disrespect intended, but if Dan Mullen could get Mississippi State and Dooley Tennessee, I really think Kirby could get a bigger program than Southern Miss when the time comes. He’s right to pass on this one.
The championship game is only about three weeks away–two if you factor out the Christmas break. The good thing about McElwain already signing on the dotted line is that he can now give the title game his full attention. Hope Kirby will be able to do the same. I’m not overly concerned about loosing McElwain–he’s had his ups and downs. And we’ve all known Kirby would leave for greener pastures eventually. That’s the price of having a good program. They just need to finish out their season without distractions.
@brutusbuckeye2011 …
My initial reaction was to say “Oh, Bama’s profs don’ mind.” However, despite loving the team and knowing football brings in a lot of revenue, some probably do resent that assistant coaches are paid 10 times more than top professors. I never really think about it at the college level because football does help pay for other programs, but it’s frustrating how little our society spends on education as a whole, especially compared with entertainment.
As a football fan, though, I do think Kirby’s worth it
It’s easy to withdraw your name when you’re told you’re not getting the job.
I am so glad he is staying,on the other hand it is incredibly sad that professors who worked hard to get their doctorates are paid so much less. The profs must really love to teach.
Really, philwauke? Who’s your source?
brutusbuckeye2011:
The salary information from that website is incorrect. I can assure you that the highest paid professor, meaning someone who focuses solely on teaching and research (and is not in a leadership role), makes at LEAST twice that amount. That’s still a far cry from Kirby Smart though.
And it’s sad that a baseball player (e.g., Rodriguez and/or Pujols) makes more in one at-bat than a school teacher, police officer, or fireman makes in year ($25 mil divided by 600 at-bats = over $40,000). But that’s life dude. Your salary is based on demand for your services. Period. That’s everywhere… not just college football.
What’s really irksome is that the players get jack taco for their efforts while coaches rake in huge salaries. It’s not like the players do anything….