*** One consideration for some candidates that are “on the list” for this job are buyouts at other programs.
To draw a distinction, there are two types of contract buyouts. One relates to what a coach is owed in the event he is dismissed, and the other relates to what a coach would owe the university if he leaves for another opportunity. The latter is, of course, the figure that South Carolina will have pay attention to in the course of its search. How those buyouts are handled varies; a lot of times the “new school” pays that buyout figure, but sometimes candidates will even help foot the bill.
Just as an example, Louisville’s Scott Satterfield has a $5 million contract buyout. Oregon’s Mario Cristobal’s is higher, at $8 million if he left before mid-January of next year.
Louisiana’s Billy Napier has a $1.25 million buyout figure.
*** We have noted previously that university president Bob Caslen will be playing a more significant role in this particular venture than his predecessor, Harris Pastides, did in the 2015 search.
Caslen's primary role will be to ensure that the next head football coach is a person of high character and integrity, but as a former college football player himself, he pays a bit more attention to the on-field aspect than many of your typical university presidents. He's also fielded inquiries and feedback from a variety of people that have put forth opinions on the matter, and our understanding is that he's engaged frequently with those people.
As the athletics director, Ray Tanner is still running this process with input from others, and a bunch of research and communications are ongoing through multiple avenues in advance of formal interviews.
To clear something up on potential voices here, from everything we have heard, this is not a situation where any of South Carolina’s big-money donors are pounding the table for any specific candidate. That said, as Wes has reported, we do know that there are a few of them that are supporting Shane Beamer’s candidacy.
Speaking of donors, Ray Tanner did have a virtual meeting recently with many of them, just keeping them generally apprised of the process.
*** He's been on the board from the start, but just to give the latest on one candidate's status, we were told as recently as Friday afternoon that Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell is still drawing legitimate consideration here.
*** During the 2015 search that eventually led to Will Muschamp, fans asked about the Clemson coordinator duo of (then-co-OC) Jeff Scott and Brent Venables, and there were even some published reports speculating as to whether or not they would be involved.
Fast forward to 2020, and Venables and Tony Elliott have made some national media’s lists for the South Carolina job.
To keep it short, we do not anticipate either being a candidate for the job in Columbia.
*** We are still not sure if a candidate we have mentioned - West Virginia's Neal Brown - is going to be someone that surfaces as being actually interested in the South Carolina job (he's in year two at West Virginia), but he is someone that has a chance to continue rising if he is. At some point in the near future, we should be able to get some type of word on whether or not he is.
*** Since he is one of the hottest names in coaching in general and subscribers have asked about him, we checked on Kansas City Chiefs OC Eric Bienemy. Based on what I have to go on, it does sound like some research was done here. Bienemy has come up for several NFL and college head coaching jobs, and some industry buzz seems to point to Bienemy finally getting that long-awaited head job in the NFL next season.
*** Thanks to everyone for being a member of GamecockCentral.com!
To draw a distinction, there are two types of contract buyouts. One relates to what a coach is owed in the event he is dismissed, and the other relates to what a coach would owe the university if he leaves for another opportunity. The latter is, of course, the figure that South Carolina will have pay attention to in the course of its search. How those buyouts are handled varies; a lot of times the “new school” pays that buyout figure, but sometimes candidates will even help foot the bill.
Just as an example, Louisville’s Scott Satterfield has a $5 million contract buyout. Oregon’s Mario Cristobal’s is higher, at $8 million if he left before mid-January of next year.
Louisiana’s Billy Napier has a $1.25 million buyout figure.
*** We have noted previously that university president Bob Caslen will be playing a more significant role in this particular venture than his predecessor, Harris Pastides, did in the 2015 search.
Caslen's primary role will be to ensure that the next head football coach is a person of high character and integrity, but as a former college football player himself, he pays a bit more attention to the on-field aspect than many of your typical university presidents. He's also fielded inquiries and feedback from a variety of people that have put forth opinions on the matter, and our understanding is that he's engaged frequently with those people.
As the athletics director, Ray Tanner is still running this process with input from others, and a bunch of research and communications are ongoing through multiple avenues in advance of formal interviews.
To clear something up on potential voices here, from everything we have heard, this is not a situation where any of South Carolina’s big-money donors are pounding the table for any specific candidate. That said, as Wes has reported, we do know that there are a few of them that are supporting Shane Beamer’s candidacy.
Speaking of donors, Ray Tanner did have a virtual meeting recently with many of them, just keeping them generally apprised of the process.
*** He's been on the board from the start, but just to give the latest on one candidate's status, we were told as recently as Friday afternoon that Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell is still drawing legitimate consideration here.
*** During the 2015 search that eventually led to Will Muschamp, fans asked about the Clemson coordinator duo of (then-co-OC) Jeff Scott and Brent Venables, and there were even some published reports speculating as to whether or not they would be involved.
Fast forward to 2020, and Venables and Tony Elliott have made some national media’s lists for the South Carolina job.
To keep it short, we do not anticipate either being a candidate for the job in Columbia.
*** We are still not sure if a candidate we have mentioned - West Virginia's Neal Brown - is going to be someone that surfaces as being actually interested in the South Carolina job (he's in year two at West Virginia), but he is someone that has a chance to continue rising if he is. At some point in the near future, we should be able to get some type of word on whether or not he is.
*** Since he is one of the hottest names in coaching in general and subscribers have asked about him, we checked on Kansas City Chiefs OC Eric Bienemy. Based on what I have to go on, it does sound like some research was done here. Bienemy has come up for several NFL and college head coaching jobs, and some industry buzz seems to point to Bienemy finally getting that long-awaited head job in the NFL next season.
*** Thanks to everyone for being a member of GamecockCentral.com!
