Someone is worth what you pay them, I suppose. But damn that's a lot of money. I think with bonuses Saban made around 7.2 last year. What did Harbaugh get last year and why does this say $2mil is from last year? http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/
It's literally in the article if you click on his salary: Jim Harbaugh 2016 Total Pay: $9,004,000 2016 INCOME NOTES School pay includes two in what are essentially a series of $2 million interest-free loans that Harbaugh will receive. He received the first of these loans on June 3, 2016; he will receive the second only if he remains head coach on Dec. 6, 2016. The compensation actually is in the form of an annual life insurance premium payment by the university, which is entitled to reimbursement from the policy's death benefits.
I was thinking bc Luck + he had playing ties there, but again, it's very remote and more in the grasping at straws realm. Fully expect him to be a Michigan lifer personally barring some swift decline or scandal.
it is sad that college football coaches get paid so much... but being that they do, Jimmy is worth being the highest paid, or at least the top 3
He took them from ass to being somewhat relevant. If we look back 10 years from now I feel safe in saying UM football income will have increased much more than $7m a year or whatever it is he actually makes most years.
To answer the OP, no, he isn't. If he wins something meaningful this year the conversation can begin but midseason rankings aren't worth what he is being paid IMO.
In reality Jim getting paid so much just means Jimmy Sexton is going to make some calls and get 6 coaches raises this offseason, so Jim essentially got Saban a raise.
That's way too much. It'll create problems down the road when they undoubtedly fail to meet the annual expectations. It happens to all programs. You just have down years. The issue with a college program paying that much money is that the revenue and net income arent enough. They rely heavily on donations. He's being paid more than Belicheck. That ain't right and it'll fix itself. Oh well. Good for him
You seen what Saban's done for Alabama? He's worth considerably more to that institution than what he gets paid in increased donations, tuition that comes from name recognition, and merch sales.
because a coach making 10 million dollars to coach amateur athletes seems like a lot of money for a university to allocate to sports. but that's life.
Coaches making that much aren't getting it from the University. As a matter of fact, it's far more likely that the ADs of the top 25 programs are not only totally bankrolled by football, but they end up providing a sizable donation to the University.
Calling Michigan 'somewhat relevant' is being purposefully obtuse which is kind of your trademark, hence Classic dbl
Paying $7m for a program that loses money would make no sense. Paying a top dollar coach for a program that makes tens of millions a year is an investment. Like I said earlier, I feel safe in saying that UM's football income has increased more than the couple million more they pay Harbaugh over Hoke.
So then your answer to the thread question is "yes, for Michigan, Harbaugh is worth every penny they're paying him".
Michigan finished 3rd in their division in his one full season at Michigan. They are off to a good start this year but I think it's a little early to call them relevant. Let him win a division, win a conference (something he's never done), or make the playoff and then I'll put Michigan back in the relevant category.
We're a wealthy and prestigious school with a huge athletic department. We can afford to be generous with such an impactful employee. If being "somewhat relevant" means what we've seen so far in Harb's tenure, then I'll take it.
Saban is the best cfb coach in history. Harbaugh has zero championships. Forgot to mention that key point. I'd argue Meyer is worth the money as well.