OT: Sark gettin paid!
Slow day on the board, so I hopped over the r/cfb to see what’s going on in the college football world. It looks like Sark’s proposed contract will pay him $10 million/year, making him the 3rd highest paid coach behind Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney (and tied with Lincoln Riley). From what I could gather, his previous contract was for a measly $5.6 million/year. Here’s the tweet with the details (not sure if this is going to work. I miss the media embed button):
Details of Steve Sarkisian's new contract, via the UT System Board of Regents meeting agenda for Feb. 21-22. pic.twitter.com/poQ18YWZm0
— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) February 17, 2024
Some of the relevant details:
- Jumps to $10.3 million in 2024, with annual increases of $100,000 through 2030 (gotta cover the cost of inflation, yo!).
- Payments go to “Sark Enterprises”. Is this for tax purposes?
- The contract says “guaranteed”compensation. Is this a Jimbo contract that is fully guaranteed even if he is fired?
Other perks:
- 2 automobiles from a dealer
- 20 hours of private airplane for personal use per year.
There are also a bunch of performance incentives, including:
- $100,000 for making a bowl game (any bowl game)
- $300,000 for winning conference championship
- $1.25 million for winning CFP.
What do you think? Is this a good move by Texas? An overreaction to one good season (he’s gone 5-7, 8-5, & 12-2 at Texas so far)?
February 18th, 2024 at 2:17 PM ^
But they still have Arch Manning, right? Seems like he'd be ready to take over after sitting behind Ewers for 2 years.
Texas is such a recruiting hotbed that if you have stability in performance and coaching staff it should not be hard to get top 5 classes every year. At the very least top 10. And they seem comfortable firing the money cannon at recruits.
The SEC is top heavy, much like the B1G. Outside of Alabama, Georgia and LSU who are the other programs that are always raking in top 10 classes and performing well? Sure, they probably have more talent top to bottom than the B1G (prior to 2024) but it's not like the SEC is full unstoppable juggernauts like the media wants you to believe.
Sark is a fine coach, no coach is perfect and a bad season or tenure at a school / franchise is not indicative of how they are as a coach. It is a profession unlike any other. You can get fired for poor performance and then latch on somewhere else and end up being the greatest college football coach ever (see: Saban, Nick).
I think as long as he can maintain a talent level like he has now it'll be fine.
February 18th, 2024 at 12:55 PM ^
Measly $5.6M? ok boomer
February 18th, 2024 at 1:01 PM ^
I'm at the tail end of Gen X. The best damn generational cohort ever
February 18th, 2024 at 5:46 PM ^
Sarcasm an unknown concept?
February 18th, 2024 at 12:56 PM ^
The amount of money they pay recruits... Not that much of a stretch to increase his pay at texa$
February 18th, 2024 at 12:57 PM ^
That's how you set money on fire.
He will be out in 3 years.
February 19th, 2024 at 8:57 AM ^
At least he's the head of Stark Industries..... I mean Sark Enterprises.
February 18th, 2024 at 12:58 PM ^
I don't believe in bidding against yourself. He's not a threat to walk as there are no open HC jobs right now. Wait until next off-season to make sure his team can compete in the SEC.
February 18th, 2024 at 2:32 PM ^
He just turned down Bama last month, no?
February 18th, 2024 at 6:42 PM ^
Unless the school promised to take care of him this offseason, this is the first I'm hearing of a new contract.
Plus, I don't know if an offer was ever officially extended.
February 18th, 2024 at 12:58 PM ^
He's such an overrated coach. He might have too much to not succeed with there now though. Their NIL is ridiculous, they're starving for success more than we were.
February 18th, 2024 at 1:04 PM ^
A lot of money for a coach whose best season prior to 2023 was 9-4.
February 18th, 2024 at 1:09 PM ^
Word on the street is that Texas had to offer him that or risk losing him to OSU. Day was offering $8M for him to be a position coach.
/s
February 18th, 2024 at 2:03 PM ^
Heard he was going to Chargers just as a general fuck you to college football....
February 18th, 2024 at 1:32 PM ^
Seems like they want to pay three times as much for something they were going to get for free once Arch has had a couple years starting under his belt.
February 18th, 2024 at 1:36 PM ^
Laughable move by Texas. Sark hasn't yet proved to be much better than Fisher and now they are stuck with him for most of the coming decade.
And I also think his alcoholism should be a legitimate concern. If I'm Texas, I have language somewhere in the contract requiring constant, regular attendance with a substance abuse counselor and support meetings.
February 18th, 2024 at 2:06 PM ^
By all accounts, he’s been sober for a while and maintained that sobriety. Regardless of what you think of Sark ans a coach, you have to commend him for that. That is effing hard to do, man. I’m all for him attending meetings if it helps him, but I’m not sure it’s as much of a “legitimate concern” as you think it is.
He hasn’t relapsed, fallen off the wagon, or given any indication that he possibly could have up to this point.
February 18th, 2024 at 2:40 PM ^
The story about USC coaches having bags of alcohol on the team flights was eye opening.
February 18th, 2024 at 1:47 PM ^
"Measly $5.6 million a year"?
February 18th, 2024 at 1:59 PM ^
I didn't think I needed the /s.
February 18th, 2024 at 1:48 PM ^
It's not like he's Mel Tucker
February 19th, 2024 at 11:25 AM ^
I am not pulling for Sark or Tucker.
February 18th, 2024 at 1:57 PM ^
We are watching the fall of society, it was never supposed to be this way.
February 18th, 2024 at 2:01 PM ^
I don't think a sub 1% raise YOY is gonna cover inflation.
February 18th, 2024 at 2:04 PM ^
I think it's a bit of an overreaction since they're going to the SEC, where the week-to-week competition will probably be harder than the Big 12, but it's not crazy to reward a guy who got you to the playoffs and seemingly set them up to keep doing so into the future.
February 18th, 2024 at 2:26 PM ^
In a strange twist, they are going to be one of the few SEC teams that plays defense, going forward.
February 18th, 2024 at 2:08 PM ^
even more reason to spread some money out to the players
February 18th, 2024 at 2:20 PM ^
Did they forget they joined the $EC?
February 18th, 2024 at 2:27 PM ^
Maybe? They had a great year and had a good shot at a national title if they'd gotten thru UW, but nothing about Sark says he's an elite coach to this point. Didn't do jack at Washington. He has Texas on a nice upswing but we'll see how well he sustains from here.
February 18th, 2024 at 2:38 PM ^
Sarks a great story, dude was nearly a rock bottom drunk at USC. Lost his job, wife, family nearly everything. He's rebuilt his career without a lot of fanfare or attention.
Good for him. If Texas wants to pay him that much to be a football coach let them.
February 18th, 2024 at 2:59 PM ^
I thought we'd never hear from him again after what happened at USC. It's crazy how far he's come, good for him
February 18th, 2024 at 4:30 PM ^
I credit anyone who overcomes addiction (although my understanding is that he refuses to acknowledge his alcholism — definite red flag there). But he’s always seemed like an asshole.
February 18th, 2024 at 2:51 PM ^
Double all that and Harbaugh still goes hunting for the Lombardy Trophy…
February 18th, 2024 at 2:59 PM ^
Not a good move. Shouldn't pay coaches champion money unless they win a championship.
Sark is a Ewers injury and Arch Manning bust away from a fall from grace.
February 18th, 2024 at 3:14 PM ^
I'm not really confident that any coach is worth elite money except Kirby Smart.
February 18th, 2024 at 3:40 PM ^
Thats the going rate for a coach at an elite school who has taken said school to the playoffs. If Texas wouldn’t have paid him that, someone else would have.
February 18th, 2024 at 3:44 PM ^
What do you think? Is this a good move by Texas? An overreaction to one good season (he’s gone 5-7, 8-5, & 12-2 at Texas so far)?
Ask me come Sept 8th.
February 18th, 2024 at 4:16 PM ^
Hypothetically, if Sherrone were to beat OSU in Columbus, you have to think he would get a rather significant raise as well.
February 18th, 2024 at 4:27 PM ^
Fuck Sark. He’ll go back to being 8-4 Sark in the SEC.
February 18th, 2024 at 4:34 PM ^
Texas was #1 in NIL in 2023 by a large margin $19.9 vs $15million for Alabama @#2. UM was 7th $11.6 million
February 18th, 2024 at 5:37 PM ^
When they lose two of their non conference games to Michigan and Oklahoma, that hot seat could come back again.
February 18th, 2024 at 6:06 PM ^
My former realtor in Austin just posted his house listing. Now it makes sense; he's moving on up.
February 18th, 2024 at 7:18 PM ^
I think he's a very good coach and great recruiter. The question with him is winning the big games. He did get the big win vs. Bama on the road but lost a Red River Rivalry game in painful fashion (two guys covered one OU receiver, leaving another guy wide open). Also the loss to Washington. He has choked away a bad 55-48 loss to Okie in 2021.
It clearly wasn't money for JH (he got $16 MM anyway from the Bolts). Sark seems to be a good guy. Not shocked at this deal. Money has gone crazy in CFB.
February 19th, 2024 at 3:46 PM ^
Sark is overrated, he reminds me of 3rd in the East Big Game Franklin. Both overpaid coaches that don’t win any big games.