When Hiring Coaches, Think Smart

I know schools sometimes get forced into committing too much to keep their coaches. Still, Notre Dame has to be Exhibit A when it comes to over-committing. The Irish fired Charlie Weis as their football coach, today, with six years left on his contract. Six years!

The goofy thing is that Weis originally signed a six-year deal through 2010, but in October of his first season his team was 5-2 and ranked No.9. What does Notre Dame do? It gives him a 10-year deal through 2015.

By the way, the $30- to $40-million deal made him the highest paid college football coach in America, at the time.

With a sluggish economy, at some point it will affect coaching salaries, too. Fewer advertisers, sponsors, fans and contributors means lower salaries. NBA free agents have learned the hard facts of economics and coaches will, too.

“Since the first day I arrived at Notre Dame as head football coach, one of my primary goals was to be able to see this job through to the time my son, Charlie, would graduate from the University of Notre Dame and to stay in this position until I retire,” Weis said after signing his new contract. “By restructuring this contract, adding an additional five years, this allows me to accomplish that goal.”

Yes, well, let’s assume he can retire fairly comfortably even at that.

Notre Dame didn’t know a recession was on the way in 2005, but it did know it was committing 10 years to a guy who had only coached seven games. Now it’s paying for the risk. Here’s hoping other colleges learn from this.

For a university with a great academic reputation, it sure isn’t looking very smart.