Nebraska Huskers: Big Red Must Raise Joseph's Pay Before Someone Else Does

Nebraska offensive coordinator Tim Beck received a handsome reward for his revamping of the Huskers' offense. His pay went from $365,000 in 2012 to $700,000 as of Jan 1, 2013.

That's a solid chunk of change for an offensive coordinator, but the difference between Beck and many around the college football world is that he doesn't have to stay one rung below the head man if he doesn't want to.

Rumors flew about Beck potentially being wooed to be at the top of the totem pole for the UTEP Miners in late 2012. While Beck's work warranted a raise, nearly doubling his salary should've raised an eyebrow and lends some credence to those rumors.

As Colonel Hans Landa said in Inglourious Basterds, "Facts can be so misleading, where rumors, true or false, are often revealing."

The good news is that Beck didn't fly the coop and continues to work in tandem with Steve Calhoun to improve Taylor Martinez's mechanics for his senior season.

Whether he sticks around much longer after 2013 is up in the air, but while his loss would be a tough one to stomach unless a home run hire follows, there's another staff member that's worth ponying up some dough for immediately: Terry Joseph.

His salary sits at $245,000 following a raise that was given at the same time as Beck's massive increase.

All of 39 years old, Joseph already has an impressive resume. It was only seven years ago that he was a graduate assistant at LSU. Since then, he was with theLouisiana Tech Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers as the defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator at both stops.

While he's only been at Nebraska for two seasons, he's making an impression on both his players and the recruiting trail.

A November 2012 Lincoln Journal Star article showed the impact he had on his new secondary.

The man tells great stories. That’s what everybody says about Terry Joseph.

The first-year Nebraska secondary coach likes to tell them during his Friday night meetings with his defensive backs.

"The last talk," he calls it.

Personal stories, sports stories, real-world stories. The specifics mostly stay within the group, but Joseph’s talks apparently are not wasted breath.

"It always hits me every single time, because it’s so real and true what he’s saying," said senior safety P.J. Smith. "Sometimes me and Daimion (Stafford), we walk out of the meeting and we’re like, ‘Man, can you believe that?’"

Those who follow Nebraska recruiting, even casually, know that if Joseph is sent after a prospect, the Huskers are bringing their A-game. He was the lead recruiter for four commitments last cycle.

That number might not sound impressive, but where those prospects came from is. All but one came from Louisiana and Florida a.k.a. SEC territory.

The only one that didn't was Nathan Gerry, one of South Dakota's best-kept secrets.

Joseph took to the social media circuit early, tweeting often. Now he, Rich Fisher and John Papuchis are Nebraska football's three musketeers of Twitter.

The point is that he gets it. He understands that he has to earn the respect of young men, that he must adapt to their individual lifestyles and how they interact. The beauty of this is that he loves doing so.

This is the mark of a truly invaluable employee. If any coach has a staff of Josephs, people who are passionate about what they do and take pride in their work, they have to try hard to fail.

Therein lies the catch-22. The better a program's assistants are, the bigger the offers are from programs that want to excel and see the foundation in a guy like Nebraska's secondary coach.

How can the Huskers prevent this from happening? Do what they did with Beck. Give Joseph a couple hundred thousand reasons to brush off other offers. Maybe a few perks, some time with a private jet to take his family on vacation.

You'd better believe that if Nebraska doesn't, someone else will and soon.