Miss St buyout details for firing their coach in Year 1

[Sean Miller Fan]

Zach Arnett fired: Why Mississippi State football moved on from MSU coach after one year

Mississippi State fired head coach Zach Arnett following a 51-10 rout at the hands of Texas A&M. Arnett coached just 11 games for the Bulldogs.

www.clarionledger.com

All contracts are different. Its not always that they are owed 100% of the salary remaining on the contract. Keep this in mind next November.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

This completely unqualified 37-year-old was promoted after the real coach died. It's not that same as a guy who had 7 seasons under his belt and was coming off a conference championship. Everyone with any semblance of a pulse on the Pitt program has stated that there is a large portion of guaranteed money involved.

He's getting three more years, at a minimum.

 

[NatronaHeightsPanther]

This completely unqualified 37-year-old was promoted after the real coach died. It's not that same as a guy who had 7 seasons under his belt and was coming off a conference championship. Everyone with any semblance of a pulse on the Pitt program has stated that there is a large portion of guaranteed money involved.

He's getting three more years, at a minimum.

So then we hold Heather accountable for pure incompetence, right?

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

So then we hold Heather accountable for pure incompetence, right?

I mean, personally, I thought 7 additional years was a little much. He had six decent years under his belt, and over 50% of the fan base wanted him fired after the WMU game. Was what he did in the next 11 games worthy of THAT contract? I didn't think so. We didn't beat any genuinely good teams.

New Hampshire - squash match
Virginia Tech 6-7
Virginia 6-6
UNC 6-7
GT 3-9
Duke 3-9
Syracuse 5-7

Loss to 7-5 Miami


Wake and Clemson were "ACC good." But let's not kid ourselves into believing they were anything close to legit good teams.

 

[Chairman Moe]

Zach Arnett fired: Why Mississippi State football moved on from MSU coach after one year

Mississippi State fired head coach Zach Arnett following a 51-10 rout at the hands of Texas A&M. Arnett coached just 11 games for the Bulldogs.

www.clarionledger.com

All contracts are different. Its not always that they are owed 100% of the salary remaining on the contract. Keep this in mind next November.

I wonder if this is the first time both teams fired their HC after they played each other in a game? Pretty weird ... you lose? You're fired!! You win? You're fired, too!!

 

[CJsE]

I wonder if this is the first time both teams fired their HC after they played each other in a game? Pretty weird ... you lose? You're fired!! You win? You're fired, too!!

I'm sure this has happened after some Big Bob's Gold and Coins Bowl game.

 

[Chairman Moe]

I'm sure this has happened after some Big Bob's Gold and Coins Bowl game.

I should've specified a "regular season game". Pretty sure that following a bowl game - meaningless or otherwise - this happened. During the regular season though? I think Fisher and Arnett made history ...

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Wake and Clemson were "ACC good." But let's not kid ourselves into believing they were anything close to legit good teams.

Clemson finished with 10 wins, ranked and won their bowl. That makes them pretty good. Was Michigan State "Big 10 good" in 2021 for beating up on Rutgers, Purdue, Indiana and Maryland?

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Clemson finished with 10 wins, ranked and won their bowl. That makes them pretty good. Was Michigan State "Big 10 good" in 2021 for beating up on Rutgers, Purdue, Indiana and Maryland?

They were good - I'm talking like usual national championship contender-esque, though ("good" was probably too weak of an adjective). It was a down season across the board, which is why Cincy got in, an only okay Michigan team got in, Baylor and OK State finished so high, etc.

No - Michigan State was a complete fraud that season. That's my point. Some teams that would have finished in the 20's in a normal year finished in the top ten that season.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

Clemson finished with 10 wins, ranked and won their bowl. That makes them pretty good. Was Michigan State "Big 10 good" in 2021 for beating up on Rutgers, Purdue, Indiana and Maryland?

Clemson would have been top 10 if we didn't beat them. Lost 10-3 to the national champs and in double OT against NC St.

 

[Burgh15]

I mean, personally, I thought 7 additional years was a little much. He had six decent years under his belt, and over 50% of the fan base wanted him fired after the WMU game. Was what he did in the next 11 games worthy of THAT contract? I didn't think so. We didn't beat any genuinely good teams.

New Hampshire - squash match
Virginia Tech 6-7
Virginia 6-6
UNC 6-7
GT 3-9
Duke 3-9
Syracuse 5-7

Loss to 7-5 Miami


Wake and Clemson were "ACC good." But let's not kid ourselves into believing they were anything close to legit good teams.

I know the whole recruiting idea and whatever, but he had three years left on his deal when Pitt extended his contract. I would've preferred waiting a year or as you suggested, extend his contract by 2-3 years through maybe 2026 or 27 rather than the monster extension he received. Getting to the top is one thing, sustaining it is another.

 

[TD_6082]

Zach Arnett fired: Why Mississippi State football moved on from MSU coach after one year

Mississippi State fired head coach Zach Arnett following a 51-10 rout at the hands of Texas A&M. Arnett coached just 11 games for the Bulldogs.

www.clarionledger.com

All contracts are different. Its not always that they are owed 100% of the salary remaining on the contract. Keep this in mind next November.

Arnett was never going to lead their program long term. They really didn't have a choice when it came to making s hire, as there was no way they were going to flush the staff after the head coach died. The contract was structured with that in mind. Arnett is probably more than happy to walk away with $9 mil.

 

[HailToPitt725]

Kind of a sad situation between Leach passing away and Arnett being placed in a job that he probably wasn’t prepared to assume. As TD mentioned, he led them honorably this season and I’m glad his efforts will be rewarded.

 

[NatronaHeightsPanther]

I know the whole recruiting idea and whatever, but he had three years left on his deal when Pitt extended his contract. I would've preferred waiting a year or as you suggested, extend his contract by 2-3 years through maybe 2026 or 27 rather than the monster extension he received. Getting to the top is one thing, sustaining it is another.

This is exactly right. The problem was that after the 2021 season, there were so many question marks. Narduzzi hated Whipple, Kenny was gone with no one to replace him, multiple other guys were on their way out, Addison eventually bolted. I never understood the rush to extend him, certainly not for 9 years with a prohibitive buyout. That’s makes absolutely no sense.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

He's getting three more years, at a minimum.

There's no way you can say that. What if he goes 2-10 this year and 1-11 next year? Surely, he'd be fired. I say he's gone at 5-7 but yea, he could get 2025 if he goes 5-7 next year but the guy cant just continue to put up L after L and keep his job. If he goes 2-10, he better go 6-6 next year to be safe and even if he goes 4-8 and 5-7 and gets 2025, he certainly cant put up another losing season, making 3 in a row, and still get 2026. I get that there’s a lot of money left on the contract but if he continues to lose, you have to give him the Brinks truck and let him go.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

There's no way you can say that. What if he goes 2-10 this year and 1-11 next year? Surely, he'd be fired. I say he's gone at 5-7 but yea, he could get 2025 if he goes 5-7 next year but the guy cant just continue to put up L after L and keep his job. If he goes 2-10, he better go 6-6 next year to be safe and even if he goes 4-8 and 5-7 and gets 2025, he certainly cant put up another losing season, making 3 in a row, and still get 2026. I get that there’s a lot of money left on the contract but if he continues to lose, you have to give him the Brinks truck and let him go.

We gave Capel four years of complete sucking and getting worse. There was way less money involved with that.

He's here for 2024, 2025, and 2026 at least, in my opinion. And even then the buyout is huge.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

We gave Capel four years of complete sucking and getting worse. There was way less money involved with that.

He's here for 2024, 2025, and 2026 at least, in my opinion. And even then the buyout is huge.

So for example:

2023: 2-10
2024: 1-11
He gets 2025?

Then goes 1-11 in 2025? He gets 2026?

I realize there is close to a 0% chance of this happening but you must know that you have to take the team's record into account. If he goes:

23: 4-8
24: 5-7
25: 5-7

Ok, I can see him getting 2026 but I would say that he wouldn't.

As for Capel, the situation was much different. He took over over after 0-19. Pitt was a dead program. Stallings tanked it, not Capel. Narduzzi was the one who tanked his own program by poor recruiting in the 21 class and deciding to self-sanction for the 22 class and also the terrible OC hire. Capel also wasnt losing at Narduzzi's rate. 6-14, 6-10, 6-14 the last 3 years in the ACC isnt good but its not 1-7 like Narduzzi may go. Also, football is more important to the school, the athletic department, and the fanbase. You cant have 2 losing seasons in a row when you've been mediocre your entire career. His one good year was due to the pandemic rule. It would become clear as day that the only way he can win like we want him to is if a global pandemic causes the NCAA to grant an extra year for a 1st Round QB. Its simply not going to happen again. A losing season after this one and you look at the entire body and its simply not good.

8-4
8-4 2 years with Chryst's offensive players and Chaney's QB. Narduzzi had NFL players all over the D and they couldn't hold teams under 45.
5-7
7-6
7-5
6-5
***11-2****
8-4
2-10
5-7 (for argument's sake)

That's bad. The 11-2 was an extreme outlier and its causes were not due to excellent coaching.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

So for example:

2023: 2-10
2024: 1-11
He gets 2025?

Then goes 1-11 in 2025? He gets 2026?

I realize there is close to a 0% chance of this happening but you must know that you have to take the team's record into account. If he goes:

23: 4-8
24: 5-7
25: 5-7

Ok, I can see him getting 2026 but I would say that he wouldn't.

As for Capel, the situation was much different. He took over over after 0-19. Pitt was a dead program. Stallings tanked it, not Capel. Narduzzi was the one who tanked his own program by poor recruiting in the 21 class and deciding to self-sanction for the 22 class and also the terrible OC hire. Capel also wasnt losing at Narduzzi's rate. 6-14, 6-10, 6-14 the last 3 years in the ACC isnt good but its not 1-7 like Narduzzi may go. Also, football is more important to the school, the athletic department, and the fanbase. You cant have 2 losing seasons in a row when you've been mediocre your entire career. His one good year was due to the pandemic rule. It would become clear as day that the only way he can win like we want him to is if a global pandemic causes the NCAA to grant an extra year for a 1st Round QB. Its simply not going to happen again. A losing season after this one and you look at the entire body and its simply not good.

8-4
8-4 2 years with Chryst's offensive players and Chaney's QB. Narduzzi had NFL players all over the D and they couldn't hold teams under 45.
5-7
7-6
7-5
6-5
***11-2****
8-4
2-10
5-7 (for argument's sake)

That's bad. The 11-2 was an extreme outlier and its causes were not due to excellent coaching.

How didn't Capel tank his own program? It was sitting pretty when he got that extension. His locker room became a WWE ground, and doing things like going all in on Efton Reid and ending up with only Nate Santos and some dude from a community college as his only amateur recruits was his own doing.

I hate the Stallings excuse, because basketball is a pickup game every year anyway. No one cares about a team having one bad year, as evidenced by Toney, Johnson, and McGowens all coming here on a short recruiting cycle immediately after that season (I know they didn't all pan out, but that's a decent class).

Capel had it rolling with Toney, Champ, Johnson, etc. And then it fell apart. The Stallings season was irrelevant at that point. Everyone plugged into the program said he was gone after season 4 if not for money.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

How didn't Capel tank his own program? It was sitting pretty when he got that extension. His locker room became a WWE ground, and doing things like going all in on Efton Reid and ending up with only Nate Santos and some dude from a community college as his only amateur recruits was his own doing.

I hate the Stallings excuse, because basketball is a pickup game every year anyway. No one cares about a team having one bad year, as evidenced by Toney, Johnson, and McGowens all coming here on a short recruiting cycle immediately after that season (I know they didn't all pan out, but that's a decent class).

Capel had it rolling with Toney, Champ, Johnson, etc. And then it fell apart. The Stallings season was irrelevant at that point. Everyone plugged into the program said he was gone after season 4 if not for money.

Basketball wasnt a pickup sport at that time. Mass transfers didnt start until a few years later. All the "smart" people were saying NCAAT by Year 4. A few said by Year 3. It was a massive rebuild as he only had a few players in the program and that was from a team who went 0-19. He couldn't rely on transfers then as there werent many. Also as I said, basketball doesnt make much money anymore. You can see that this season as nobody is going besides the Zoo. If Pitt isnt a National Championship contendor, Yinzers arent going to the games. I was talking to a friend the other day, a former semi-diehard Pitt basketball fan during the glory days. He didnt even know who Blake Hinson was. He was totally gone. That's a lot of people. Pitt is never getting those fans back unless we are a legit NC contender and we may never be again. Football needs to make money.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Basketball wasnt a pickup sport at that time. Mass transfers didnt start until a few years later. All the "smart" people were saying NCAAT by Year 4. A few said by Year 3. It was a massive rebuild as he only had a few players in the program and that was from a team who went 0-19. He couldn't rely on transfers then as there werent many. Also as I said, basketball doesnt make much money anymore. You can see that this season as nobody is going besides the Zoo. If Pitt isnt a National Championship contendor, Yinzers arent going to the games. I was talking to a friend the other day, a former semi-diehard Pitt basketball fan during the glory days. He didnt even know who Blake Hinson was. He was totally gone. That's a lot of people. Pitt is never getting those fans back unless we are a legit NC contender and we may never be again. Football needs to make money.

He completely lost his trajectory toward any NCAAT path after that, though. He has multiple teardowns of his own constructions. You yourself coined the Capel 2, Capel 3... Capel 7 era terms.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

He completely lost his trajectory toward any NCAAT path after that, though. He has multiple teardowns of his own constructions. You yourself coined the Capel 2, Capel 3... Capel 7 era terms.

I agree and many AD's would have fired him after Year 4. The money and the fact he was her only revenue-sports hire probably was the reason she gave him another year. But he only missed projections by a year. NCAAT by Year 4 was the realistic goal. He didnt do it. Narduzzi's goal has to be 7-5 or 6-6 at bare minimum. 2-10 + 5-7 and there is a ton of pressure to make a move. Way more pressure than on Capel since nobody cares about bball anymore. I realize he is in a sense, her guy since she extended him, but she didnt hire him. The pressure would be too much.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I agree and many AD's would have fired him after Year 4. The money and the fact he was her only revenue-sports hire probably was the reason she gave him another year. But he only missed projections by a year. NCAAT by Year 4 was the realistic goal. He didnt do it. Narduzzi's goal has to be 7-5 or 6-6 at bare minimum. 2-10 + 5-7 and there is a ton of pressure to make a move. Way more pressure than on Capel since nobody cares about bball anymore. I realize he is in a sense, her guy since she extended him, but she didnt hire him. The pressure would be too much.

She gave him the largest contract in Pitt football history... twice, I believe. There's pressure. He's not going anywhere unless it takes such an emotional toll on him that he agrees to some negotiated buyout. But he's so stubborn that I don't see it happening.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

She gave him the largest contract in Pitt football history... twice, I believe. There's pressure. He's not going anywhere unless it takes such an emotional toll on him that he agrees to some negotiated buyout. But he's so stubborn that I don't see it happening.

I dont think a negotiated buyout is out of the question. Does he even like being a HC anymore? He barely seems to be recruiting and is vocally disgusted with NIL. The guy is already rich and doesnt seem to be a live beyond his means type. He would probably be much happier coordinating a defense somewhere. I could see him taking less of a buyout to be happier as a DC somewhere.

 

[Las Panteras]

I dont think a negotiated buyout is out of the question. Does he even like being a HC anymore? He barely seems to be recruiting and is vocally disgusted with NIL. The guy is already rich and doesnt seem to be a live beyond his means type. He would probably be much happier coordinating a defense somewhere. I could see him taking less of a buyout to be happier as a DC somewhere.

Agree 1000%

NIL has created a different world not only for players....but also for former coordinators turned head coaches who realize (after getting paid, of course) they're out of their element.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I dont think a negotiated buyout is out of the question. Does he even like being a HC anymore? He barely seems to be recruiting and is vocally disgusted with NIL. The guy is already rich and doesnt seem to be a live beyond his means type. He would probably be much happier coordinating a defense somewhere. I could see him taking less of a buyout to be happier as a DC somewhere.

I agree he doesn't like the current landscape of college football. But I don't agree that he'd be the type to just bow out and head off into the sunset. He likes being in charge, and he doesn't like being told what to do or questioned, it seems.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

So for example:

2023: 2-10
2024: 1-11
He gets 2025?

Then goes 1-11 in 2025? He gets 2026?

I realize there is close to a 0% chance of this happening but you must know that you have to take the team's record into account. If he goes:

23: 4-8
24: 5-7
25: 5-7

Ok, I can see him getting 2026 but I would say that he wouldn't.

As for Capel, the situation was much different. He took over over after 0-19. Pitt was a dead program. Stallings tanked it, not Capel. Narduzzi was the one who tanked his own program by poor recruiting in the 21 class and deciding to self-sanction for the 22 class and also the terrible OC hire. Capel also wasnt losing at Narduzzi's rate. 6-14, 6-10, 6-14 the last 3 years in the ACC isnt good but its not 1-7 like Narduzzi may go. Also, football is more important to the school, the athletic department, and the fanbase. You cant have 2 losing seasons in a row when you've been mediocre your entire career. His one good year was due to the pandemic rule. It would become clear as day that the only way he can win like we want him to is if a global pandemic causes the NCAA to grant an extra year for a 1st Round QB. Its simply not going to happen again. A losing season after this one and you look at the entire body and its simply not good.

8-4
8-4 2 years with Chryst's offensive players and Chaney's QB. Narduzzi had NFL players all over the D and they couldn't hold teams under 45.
5-7
7-6
7-5
6-5
***11-2****
8-4
2-10
5-7 (for argument's sake)

That's bad. The 11-2 was an extreme outlier and its causes were not due to excellent coaching.

If you want to make excuses for winning seasons, you can make similar excuses for losing seasons. Cignetti's QB, Watson, Chryst's DL, LB, and QB recruiting, etc... it's pointless. He owns his record, good and bad.

Wolf is right, HL isn't firing the guy she gave a virtual lifetime contract to anytime soon. There's no magic pot of booster money.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I agree he doesn't like the current landscape of college football. But I don't agree that he'd be the type to just bow out and head off into the sunset. He likes being in charge, and he doesn't like being told what to do or questioned, it seems.

We can agree to disagree. You are probably right. I'm not even saying he'd do it but it could come down to a lifestyle choice. He doesn't seem to like this new-age of professional college football. How much is happiness worth? Is it worth giving up $5 million/year to make $1.5 million as a DC? I dont know.