One question that commonly comes up during a coaching search is: how much will the administration pay?
It’s not an answer that one can give by throwing out a singular dollar figure. The way these things generally work is that a head coach will take a candidate/candidates to the administration as well as dollar figures and other accommodations (for example, multi-year deals). The administration can then give an OK before the coach is tabbed to join the staff and then the contract approval process begins.
We’ve already reported that the administration at USC is being proactive in regards to head coach Will Muschamp’s contract, and I can also say that the assistant coach deals are being reworked as well. Muschamp’s staff at South Carolina in terms of support as well as the facilities already in place and being built, represent by far the biggest investment in the school’s history in the football program; it’s not even close.
As far as what a new offensive coordinator will command, I cannot say for sure because I have not heard any dollar figures thrown around and do not believe Will Muschamp has the hire done, either. A program is not going to pay a coach in gross excess of what it would take to have him accept the job because that’s not smart business. At the same time, I feel completely comfortable in saying that the administration would have no qualms about approving a very large salary (in this case, let’s use an example of over $1 million/year) for a coordinator, if that’s the direction in which Muschamp wanted to go. I pass all this along to illustrate that South Carolina’s administration is not going to cheap out on an offensive coordinator hire. If it takes a large sum, that’s what it takes.
As for the offensive coordinator search, we can definitely report that Will Muschamp is keeping things close to the vest here. From what I’ve gathered, Muschamp’s desire to wait until after the bowl game is to allow plenty of time for the search to play out, as well as allow Bryan McClendon and the rest of the offensive staff (like Bobby Bentley, who figures to be prominently involved) an opportunity to ready the team to go out and have a strong performance in the Outback Bowl. Muschamp, of course, will have a front row seat for those preparations.
We had heard some whispers in the last couple days that Muschamp had possibly zeroed in on who or what he wanted, but late on Wednesday night were told that the search was very much open. That would seem to be match up with the initial timeline given by the Gamecocks’ head coach. We do certainly feel comfortable in saying that stylistically, Muschamp wants to be different from the product that's been on the field in years one and two of his tenure.
As noted by VolQuest.com, Tennessee offered its vacant head coaching position to Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt on Wednesday. Negotiations related to staffing, salaries, and Pruitt’s involvement with Alabama in the College Football Playoff will continue, but I’d anticipate things going forward with Pruitt accepting the job.
Should that happen as expected, I’m told to keep an eye on South Carolina defensive line coach Lance Thompson being pursued by Pruitt and the Vols. Thompson, of course, has history in Knoxville as he served a stint there from 2009-2011. This possibility was mentioned by Chris Low of ESPN.com, and I can confirm there’s some juice behind it.
Here’s another interesting coaching industry nugget: We’ve heard from some sources that it’s not a given that FSU running backs coach Jay Graham will go with Jimbo Fisher to Texas A&M. Graham, of course, is a former South Carolina assistant under Steve Spurrier.
South Carolinas has been in a good position for quite some time with four-star defensive back Jaycee Horn for some time, even before he publicly pulled away from a commitment to Tennessee. Here’s to thinking perhaps this one could get more interesting down the stretch. Alabama remains involved, and some close to that program think that Horn is still considering the Crimson Tide to a greater degree than originally thought. Pruitt’s impending hire at Tennessee could alter that, but it would also figure that Pruitt would give chase to the former Vol pledge at his post in Knoxville. For now, we still believe South Carolina’s in the best shape. As is the case with most top-notch prospects, the competition could increase during the stretch run into February, when Horn has said he wants to sign.
Will Muschamp was in Charlotte on Wednesday and one of the major USC targets he checked in on was Jovaughn Gwyn, the four-star offensive guard out of Harding. Gwyn’s process has been up and down; he’s seemed to favor NC State and South Carolina at different points and been on the verge of making an earlier decision a couple times as well. Prior to Gwyn’s weekend official visit to NC State, indications we received were that South Carolina appeared to be in the best position. Those have actually persisted even in the last couple days after that trip. That would appear to be good news for USC, but given how this one has gone, we’re not ready to write off anything at this point. I would classify USC as in the strongest position, but would not add him to the projected class yet. South Carolina does have an official visit in its pocket it can utilize on Gwyn.
Defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson conducted an in-home visit with four-star Georgia DB Trey Dean on Thursday night. Kentucky, including head coach Mark Stoops, was also in on Thursday. Dean recently picked up an offer from Scott Frost at Nebraska and made an official visit to Alabama last weekend. He remains committed to Tennessee and we are tracking him in terms of USC as well, but he has not come up lately in our conversations with sources about USC’s numbers and top targets down the stretch. I’m led to believe that the Gamecocks are keeping things warm with him for now.
Florida offered USC defensive back commitment Jonathan Gipson this week, but I do not believe there to be a concern about losing him at this juncture.
It’s not an answer that one can give by throwing out a singular dollar figure. The way these things generally work is that a head coach will take a candidate/candidates to the administration as well as dollar figures and other accommodations (for example, multi-year deals). The administration can then give an OK before the coach is tabbed to join the staff and then the contract approval process begins.
We’ve already reported that the administration at USC is being proactive in regards to head coach Will Muschamp’s contract, and I can also say that the assistant coach deals are being reworked as well. Muschamp’s staff at South Carolina in terms of support as well as the facilities already in place and being built, represent by far the biggest investment in the school’s history in the football program; it’s not even close.
As far as what a new offensive coordinator will command, I cannot say for sure because I have not heard any dollar figures thrown around and do not believe Will Muschamp has the hire done, either. A program is not going to pay a coach in gross excess of what it would take to have him accept the job because that’s not smart business. At the same time, I feel completely comfortable in saying that the administration would have no qualms about approving a very large salary (in this case, let’s use an example of over $1 million/year) for a coordinator, if that’s the direction in which Muschamp wanted to go. I pass all this along to illustrate that South Carolina’s administration is not going to cheap out on an offensive coordinator hire. If it takes a large sum, that’s what it takes.
As for the offensive coordinator search, we can definitely report that Will Muschamp is keeping things close to the vest here. From what I’ve gathered, Muschamp’s desire to wait until after the bowl game is to allow plenty of time for the search to play out, as well as allow Bryan McClendon and the rest of the offensive staff (like Bobby Bentley, who figures to be prominently involved) an opportunity to ready the team to go out and have a strong performance in the Outback Bowl. Muschamp, of course, will have a front row seat for those preparations.
We had heard some whispers in the last couple days that Muschamp had possibly zeroed in on who or what he wanted, but late on Wednesday night were told that the search was very much open. That would seem to be match up with the initial timeline given by the Gamecocks’ head coach. We do certainly feel comfortable in saying that stylistically, Muschamp wants to be different from the product that's been on the field in years one and two of his tenure.
As noted by VolQuest.com, Tennessee offered its vacant head coaching position to Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt on Wednesday. Negotiations related to staffing, salaries, and Pruitt’s involvement with Alabama in the College Football Playoff will continue, but I’d anticipate things going forward with Pruitt accepting the job.
Should that happen as expected, I’m told to keep an eye on South Carolina defensive line coach Lance Thompson being pursued by Pruitt and the Vols. Thompson, of course, has history in Knoxville as he served a stint there from 2009-2011. This possibility was mentioned by Chris Low of ESPN.com, and I can confirm there’s some juice behind it.
Here’s another interesting coaching industry nugget: We’ve heard from some sources that it’s not a given that FSU running backs coach Jay Graham will go with Jimbo Fisher to Texas A&M. Graham, of course, is a former South Carolina assistant under Steve Spurrier.
South Carolinas has been in a good position for quite some time with four-star defensive back Jaycee Horn for some time, even before he publicly pulled away from a commitment to Tennessee. Here’s to thinking perhaps this one could get more interesting down the stretch. Alabama remains involved, and some close to that program think that Horn is still considering the Crimson Tide to a greater degree than originally thought. Pruitt’s impending hire at Tennessee could alter that, but it would also figure that Pruitt would give chase to the former Vol pledge at his post in Knoxville. For now, we still believe South Carolina’s in the best shape. As is the case with most top-notch prospects, the competition could increase during the stretch run into February, when Horn has said he wants to sign.
Will Muschamp was in Charlotte on Wednesday and one of the major USC targets he checked in on was Jovaughn Gwyn, the four-star offensive guard out of Harding. Gwyn’s process has been up and down; he’s seemed to favor NC State and South Carolina at different points and been on the verge of making an earlier decision a couple times as well. Prior to Gwyn’s weekend official visit to NC State, indications we received were that South Carolina appeared to be in the best position. Those have actually persisted even in the last couple days after that trip. That would appear to be good news for USC, but given how this one has gone, we’re not ready to write off anything at this point. I would classify USC as in the strongest position, but would not add him to the projected class yet. South Carolina does have an official visit in its pocket it can utilize on Gwyn.
Defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson conducted an in-home visit with four-star Georgia DB Trey Dean on Thursday night. Kentucky, including head coach Mark Stoops, was also in on Thursday. Dean recently picked up an offer from Scott Frost at Nebraska and made an official visit to Alabama last weekend. He remains committed to Tennessee and we are tracking him in terms of USC as well, but he has not come up lately in our conversations with sources about USC’s numbers and top targets down the stretch. I’m led to believe that the Gamecocks are keeping things warm with him for now.
Florida offered USC defensive back commitment Jonathan Gipson this week, but I do not believe there to be a concern about losing him at this juncture.
