The thing that has surprised me so far is that the amount of a pay raise Jamie Dixon is being offered from Pitt is still unknown. It appears, though, that the amount Arizona State is offering has been leaked. Courtesy of e-mail from Pittsburgh Sports Report:
According to a source close the situation, University of Pittsburgh basketball coach Jamie Dixon was leaning toward remaining at Pitt early in the week, but Arizona State may have sweetened their offer.
According to the source, Arizona State won’t pay Dixon more than they currently pay football coach Dirk Koetter, who makes a reported $950,000 a season. Arizona State is reportedly prepared to pay a salary of $800,000 annually, plus easily attainable bonuses, which could include wins and attendance. “They don’t have many wins or much attendance now so the bonuses are virtually guaranteed,” says the source. “Then he would approach a million.”
The source goes on to say that as of now, Dixon could go either way. “My guess is that he is pushing the envelope on both ends.”
I’m guessing that does not include what he would get for his shoe contract with the school and radio/TV show
Pitt has to at least approach that if they want to keep Dixon. Yes, that means at least matching or even exceeding the amount they pay Coach Dave Wannstedt. In fact, here’s something I wrote just before Wannstedt agreed to terms with Pitt, regarding Louisville and Bob Petrino:
I’m just worried. The more I think about it, the more I become convinced that Pitt is looking to go cheap. Real cheap. I look at how Louisville just gave Petrino a big raise, and even then the AD acknowledged there will still be risks that he leaves.
Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich still expects Petrino’s name to come up when higher-profile jobs open.
“There are certainly schools out there that have more money than us,” Jurich said. “But we’re going to do everything in our power to keep everything stabilized here.”
That’s understanding the nature of college football, a willingness to look clear-eyed at it, and understanding if you want to keep or get someone you don’t wait to respond with the money and/or contract. Yeah, Petrino nearly bolted last winter for Auburn. There’s no guarantee he won’t go somewhere else in a year or two. But you deal with the situation, and prepare just in case.
I don’t see that from the Pitt administration. I see unpreparedness, fear and an unwillingness to pay or really look for the kind of coach they say they want — someone to take them to that mythical “next level.”
Happily, I was wrong about the football side, but it was mainly because they got the guy they really wanted and believed in. Not necessarily because they were willing to pay for the market rate.
I’m not sure how hard they are working to keep to Dixon.
Dave in Orlando pointed to this article on coaching salaries.
Tom Crean, at $1.65 million, is one of the rare exception in that his entire earnings are listed. But most of the other coaches listed have very lucrative other arrangements that more than supplement the salaries.
However, coaches are paid in different ways and can earn tens of thousands of dollars in so-called outside income. That makes exact comparisons difficult.
Marquette officials, for example, say Crean’s pay represents his entire pay, including compensation for holding basketball camps, and TV and radio shows. Other schools might report a base salary, but are not obligated to report outside income.
Crean’s salary appears in a tax document that Marquette, a non-profit organization, must file each year with the Internal Revenue Service. In addition to a salary of $1,655,819, Crean also made $28,884 that was placed in a benefit plan, and was given an additional $3,784 for expenses.
Crean has coached the Golden Eagles to three NCAA tournament appearances, including a Final Four appearance in 2002-’03. This season, the team surprised many by going 20-10 overall and finishing the regular season in the tough Big East with a 10-6 record, and gained a bid to the NCAA tournament. The Golden Eagles will meet Alabama on Thursday in San Diego.
John Marinatto, senior associate commissioner at the Big East and a former athletic director at Providence College, said Crean was in the upper echelon of highly compensated coaches in the 16-team conference.
Pitt doesn’t want to be seen as merely a stepping stone. Well, it also means that the school needs to step up, ahead of things in terms of what it is willing to pay to keep or have the coaches it wants.
If Arizona St. or Missouri wouldn’t be looking to take a run at nabbing Dixon, some other school would if he keeps having success. Just like Marquette has to face the buzz around Crean every year. Same with Izzo at MSU or Barnes at Texas and so on.
Maybe the numbers seem ridiculous, but they are what the market is paying.
Any name, successful coach Pitt would hope to target would very likely cost considerably more than it would to keep Dixon.
Seriously. Name another coach Pitt could likely hire with a reasonably comparable record of accomplishments that would come cheaper?
