Pelini and His Staff Get a Pay Raise

by Husker Mike on Mar 30, 2009 10:26 PM CDT in Football Comment 3 comments

In this April 19, 2008, file photo, Nebraska coach Bo Pelini follows Nebraska's annual red-white spring football game in Lincoln, Neb. Pelini signed a contract extension Monday, March 30, 2009, following a 9-4 season, boosting his annual salary to $1.85 million. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

7 months ago: In this April 19, 2008, file photo, Nebraska coach Bo Pelini follows Nebraska's annual red-white spring football game in Lincoln, Neb. Pelini signed a contract extension Monday, March 30, 2009, following a 9-4 season, boosting his annual salary to $1.85 million. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

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Nebraska announced that head coach Bo Pelini had agreed to a new contract that gives Pelini a 68% raise; he'll now earn $1.851 million a year, up from $1.1 million. That figure makes Pelini the highest paid coach in Nebraska history.

The pay raise can be looked at in two different ways. One can certainly question the money in this economy, especially when the University is likely facing a budget squeeze. But by that same factor, Pelini is underpaid compared to other head coaches, many of whom have, to be quite honest, accomplished far less. Pelini's new salary only ranks seventh in the Big XII. If only to be competitive and to drown out any whispers, it is important for Nebraska to ensure that Pelini is treated like his peers. (Iowa State is paying new Cyclone head coach Paul Rhoades more than Nebraska paid Pelini under the old contract.)

Even bigger news IMHO is that the rest of the coaching staff also got pay raises as well. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson got a $150,000 raise, from $225,000 last year to $375,000 a year. That $375,000 is more than some head football coaches; that's the same salary that Nevada's Chris Ault and Florida Atlantic's Howard "Helicopter" Schnellenberger made this past year. That's a clear sign that Bo Pelini wants Watson to stick around for a while, as it'll might take a head coaching job at a BCS conference school to convince Watson to leave Lincoln at this point.

After the turnaround from 2007, there's no doubt in my mind that these raises were deserved. A New Year's Day bowl game after no bowl game. A defense that went from one of the worst in college football to the second best in the Big XII. That's an impressive turnaround, and demands that Pelini be paid at market conditions. Do football coaches make too much money? Perhaps...but remember that at Nebraska, football brings in 85% of the revenue of the entire athletic department. Like it or not, that's the going rate for a position that important.

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here's a full list

of the assistant coaches salaries – from Brian Christopherson at Husker Extra:

Received per request by the Journal Star, here’s the updated salaries of the nine assistants with the previous year’s known salary in parenthesis:

Shawn Watson: $375,000 ($225,000 in 2008)
Carl Pelini: 208,360 (190,000)
Ron Brown: 208,360 (190,000)
Barney Cotton: 208,360 (190,000)
Ted Gilmore: 208,360 (190,000)
Marvin Sanders: 208,360 (190,000)
Tim Beck: 208,360 (160,000)
Mike Ekeler: 150,000 (120,000)
John Papuchis: 150,000 (120,000)

Go Big Red Nebraska!
Our Cobs Are Bigger Than Yours!
Corn Nation!
Twitter!

by corn blight on Mar 30, 2009 11:50 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Anyone upset by these raises?

I have not seen any negative comments anywhere.

Good move IMHO.

I also like giving Wats some more coin.

You can't possibly be a scientist if you mind people thinking that you're a fool.
~Wanko the Sane

by JLew on Mar 31, 2009 9:14 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

not upset

but wondering when the raises are going to catch up to them.

I mean, sooner or later, this bubble will have to burst. The SEC is driving up wages far more than anyone else, but it’s still ridiculous that we can look at a salary of $1.85M per year, compare it to the rest of the coaches in the Big 12 and call it “reasonable”.

It is right now what the market will bear. And there are certainly economic reasons for it, the first being one of supply and demand. An example – when you’re talking to someone about the teaching profession, a constant complaint is that teachers aren’t paid near enough, while pro sports players are paid way too much.

Supply and demand here would say that there are a lot of people in the world who are capable of teaching fourth-grade math, but there are not a lot of people in the world that can live with the pressure of managing a college football program AND be succesful. Hence, the high salaries for head football coaches.

Remove the football coach example, and replace it with someone who can throw a 95 mph fastball, and you’ve understood why those guys are paid so much.

Go Big Red Nebraska!
Our Cobs Are Bigger Than Yours!
Corn Nation!
Twitter!

by corn blight on Mar 31, 2009 3:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs