COLUMN: Andersen deserves more than lowest paid WAC coach
Well, we’re less than a week past the official end of the 2010 college football season, and the yearly fun of the coaching carousel has come and gone. Well, make that almost gone, as several Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs continue to make staff changes from the ground up. What we’ve seen so far has been anything but a kiddy-ride, and with all the comings and going, this carousel is enough to leave a fan queasy.
Every offseason has its own unique stories, but this one has been particularly fascinating. I mean, how often do we see a coach lead a team from a 1-11 record one year to a 9-4 season the next, only to take a high-profile job before the start of bowl season, and then get fired from that position less than three weeks into the new gig? Oh, I know, about never. That is, unless you count Pittsburgh’s untimely hire of former Miami, Ohio head coach Mike Haywood, who was let go by the program following a domestic abuse arrest.
Think that’s crazy? Try this one: how often do you see a coach lead a team to a turnaround season and get named conference coach of the year, only to get fired before his team’s bowl game? Not often, but that’s what happened to former Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, who was let go by the school’s Athletic Director, Kevin Andersen, amidst concerns Friedgen wasn’t helping the program sell luxury boxes or filling the seats of Maryland’s Byrd Stadium. These days, it’s apparently not just enough to win college football games, but head coaches need to win football games while putting fans in the stands and creating a sense of excitement at the University and within the community.
But that’s to be expected, right? After all, we do live in a day and age where head coaches are not only paid in the multi-millions on a yearly basis, but also have perks that rival a high-stakes D.C. lobbyist. Country club membership? No problem. University car? Of course. But when a university’s biggest stage – for it’s programs both on and off the field – is sometimes at the mercy of how many hours it logs on ESPN, it’s not hard to see how the boom in salaries and expectations for college coaches has spiraled to complaint-worthy proportions. Win, sell and excite are the name of the game for universities looking to improve their profile, and if it means cutting ties with even successful coaches only a few seasons after they’re hired, then so be it.
It is, however, a double-edged sword. With so much turnover, the coaching ranks are quickly replenished and recycled, as up-and-comers take higher-profile – and higher-paying jobs. Athletic directors have a tightrope to walk, and if they can’t offer enough to their rising stars, they can find themselves out of luck. Don’t pay your head coach enough or offer a big enough stage and he could be walking to a sweet new deal – if not to another university, then to the NFL. -ake a look at Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh, who last week signed a five year, $25 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers. Or, better yet, take a peek at new Maryland headman Randy Edsall, who felt his team’s BCS bowl appearance this year was as far as the program would ever go. Solution? Bye-bye Storres, hello College Park.
It’s amid this delicate balance that USU’s own Gary Andersen walks the line. Andersen is heading into his third year in Logan – a third year which many programs judge to be the critical year of whether or not a coach really can turn a program and team around. Thankfully, Athletic Director Scott Barnes seems intent on giving Andersen more time than say, former USU coach Brent Guy, who only lasted four years in Logan.
Not that Andersen doesn’t feel the pressure to win, however, as anyone who’s ever spoken with him will attest to. Andersen is his own biggest critic, and has even made several staff changes following his team’s 4-8 season in order to get the Aggies over the hump. A relentless competitor, Andersen has put it upon himself to fix USU’s defensive line woes, and by naming himself defensive coordinator, he’s shown he’s willing to do everything possible to avoid the fate of his predecessors. Once more, he’s doing it for the right reasons.
Don’t look now, but the lowest-paid coach in the WAC doesn’t exactly live the high life that some intellectuals and academics complain about when referencing the “outrageous” salaries of college coaches. He’s remained humble and faithful to the program, and despite his salary (the 14th lowest in the country) he’s put in an insane drive to improve the Utah State football and its young men.
Andersen has shown Utah State the love. Whether it be in his attacking style of defense, or in his desire to build men of integrity in the classroom and in the community, he’s been nothing but a true Aggie since day one in Logan. And now, as we look around the country and see so many former and short-lived Aggie coaches leading or assisting major programs, let’s just hope that when the time comes, the powers that be reward Andersen for everything he’s done.
Adam Nettina is a senior majoring in history, and member of the Football Writers Association of America. While not watching college football, Adam can be found in the Statesman office making paninis.He can also be reached at adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu.