One thing that hasn't been brought up is what would Stallings motivation be to take a buyout. All this about paying him less because of his record is nonsense. I'm sure he has an ironclad contract that makes the buyout amount a foregone conclusion. Could Pitt make an issue of his conduct at Louisville to get out of the contract...seems very weak to me...especially because they didn't take action immediately when that occurred...maybe a 2% chance in court?
No, the reasons that Stallings might willing to reduce his buyout are two-fold. Remember that under the contract, I'll almost guarantee you that Stallings is tied to Pitt for the next FOUR YEARS! He can't coach or do anything (like be a TV commentator) during that time. First, there may be a clause in his contract that requires him to pay back any salary he gets over the next four years from another coaching job to Pitt. Second, coaches wanna coach. While he could sit on the beach for the next four years and drink Mai Tais I suspect he's gonna want to take another job to try to restore his reputation (from a program destroyer to merely mediocre). Consequently, Pitt's leverage will be what his future is going to look like for the next four years. I suspect that he will be willing to reduce the buyout to regain his freedom for that time frame.
Maybe I'm spitballing here, but I feel sure he's gone and they are just working out the numbers and terms and conditions of his leaving. BTW, I'm not mad at Stallings..he was offered a contract that any one of us would have signed. He did a horrible job but Barnes? In his short time here he managed to become one of the killer B's we talk about frequently!
No, the reasons that Stallings might willing to reduce his buyout are two-fold. Remember that under the contract, I'll almost guarantee you that Stallings is tied to Pitt for the next FOUR YEARS! He can't coach or do anything (like be a TV commentator) during that time. First, there may be a clause in his contract that requires him to pay back any salary he gets over the next four years from another coaching job to Pitt. Second, coaches wanna coach. While he could sit on the beach for the next four years and drink Mai Tais I suspect he's gonna want to take another job to try to restore his reputation (from a program destroyer to merely mediocre). Consequently, Pitt's leverage will be what his future is going to look like for the next four years. I suspect that he will be willing to reduce the buyout to regain his freedom for that time frame.
Maybe I'm spitballing here, but I feel sure he's gone and they are just working out the numbers and terms and conditions of his leaving. BTW, I'm not mad at Stallings..he was offered a contract that any one of us would have signed. He did a horrible job but Barnes? In his short time here he managed to become one of the killer B's we talk about frequently!
