ND Paid Chuck Weis Almost As Much As Brian Kelly in 2010-2011

Reader Gregg chimes in with yet another quality find and assessment of it. He sends along this link to a Chicago Tribune story detailing how much Notre Dame is still paying Charlie Weis -- at about $8.7 million and climbing. From July 2010 to June 2011, Weis made over $2 million from ND, while Brian Kelly netted $2.4 million. 

Three more years, suckas!

In addition, it appears that Weis will continue to receive buyout money through December 2015. Amazing, really. But I wish I had such a contract.

Gregg's commentary with the link was as follows:

Basically, Charlie Weis has, ahem, "earned" $8.7 Million dollars since he was fired from Notre Dame, and will continue to get paid through 2015-- note that this figure does not include his ridiculously high salary from his coaching days-- this is merely his buyout so far (after all is said and done, the buyout will reportedly total around $20M). 

Not bad for a guy who went 15-22 in his last 3 years, and a lifetime coaching average of .564-- and even then, this number is inflated because 2 of his "victories" came from NCAA-mandated forfeits of opposing teams (USC and North Carolina were forced to vacate their wins for tainted seasons).  So it really is a .532 average.  UND was that desperate to get rid of this loser-- I have a colleague with a connection to a big shot within the alum association, and trust me, they passed the hat around.  His current salary at Kansas?  $2.5M.  Dude does less with more than anybody I've ever seen in CFB. 

If mediocrity has a price, I guess the going rate at Notre Dame is $20M.

Well-said, Gregg, and thanks for stoking the embers of Weis-hate. They always keep us cozy and warm. 

Following the money

Thanks to a discussion over at KHC, I found this link.
So, who is stealing money?

(all numbers are prior to bonuses)

Rip Off
-Bob Stoops $4.8 million
Stoops teams win a lot of games (usually), but struggle mightily in BCS bowls. Methinks that paying a coach one of the top salaries in the nation should yield a national title contender every third year...and no, a contender is not just based on a top-3 pre-season ranking.

-Charlie Weis $3.5 million (est.)
Domers make me chuckle. A pal of mine who roots for UND for no apparent reason tells me that it's too hard to win at UND because the cold weather and academic standards don't allow for real BCS championship-caliber talent to land in South Bend. Ignore the fact that there are 50 NFL players from UND, I guess...Regardless, Notre Dame Broadcastion dollars are being wasted with this handsome coach.

-Kirk Ferentz $3 million
The Hawkeyes have had a very good season, but has any coach ever been helped more by the national media than Ferentz? 6-win seasons are more-normal than double-digit wins...and Iowa's head man is still one of the best-paid coaches in college football.

-Bobby Petrino $3 million
The Razorbacks are a pretty mediocre squad...but their coach's salary isn't. This deal with the devil isn't paying off.

-Rich Rodriguez $2.5 million
RichRod coaches a program that gets bluechip recruits just because of the paintjob on their helmets...and is said to be an offensive genius. But, many UM fans and alums don't think this square peg will ever fit in the round hole.

-Bobby Bowden $2.3 million
In spite of a cupboard full of talent and a weak conference, Bowden's averaging around 7-wins/season the last five years

-Steve Spurrier $2 million
Sure, the Ole Ballcoach is competing in a tough conference, but, I bet the SC boosters didn't think they'd be getting a middling program with their coach's large price tag.

-Ralph Friedgen $1.9 million
The Terps are on a collision course with a 3-or-4 win season...And while Friedgen's gotten fat off of the soft ACC a few times in the last five seasons, mediocrity reigns supreme in Maryland.

-Ron Zook $1.5 million
Zook's squad should clinch its third non-bowl season in four years in the next two weeks. Does anybody in the nation do less with more than Zook? OK, other than RichRod...

-Dennis Erickson $1.5 million
After a 10-win first season, Erickson is staring a second-straight season where the Sun Devils are home for the holidays

-Rick Neuheisel $1.3 million
In a hotbed of talent, the weasel seems to be a ton of sizzle and little steak.

Values
-Ken Niumatalolo $.5 million (+)
The Middies are on their way to their second-straight bowl and Coach Niumatalolo has followed-up his predecessor by continuing the successful formula.

-Kevin Sumlin $.8 million
One of Purdue's favorite sons is following an 8-win bowl-win season with a quiet 1-loss season...if Hope wasn't at Purdue, Sumlin would be my pick to coach in West Lafayette.

-Danny Hope $.8 million
It's too early to give a verdict on Purdue's HC yet...but I wanted to include him in the discussion. Let's Hope Purdue doesn't get what it pays for the next few seasons...but Hope could turn out to be the best bargain in the nation.

-Bill Stewart $.9 million
With less than a million-dollar base salary, Stewart has been able to keep Rodriguez's old program going inspite of the one-year media circus that surrounded the transition.

-Pat Hill $1 million
Hill is pretty-much an icon in the valley...and his teams go bowling every season.

-Skip Holtz $1.1 million
Holtz has built a solid program and his teams win about 8 games/year.

-Chris Petersen $1.3 million
The Smurf turfers have a loyal fanbase, but not a huge one...and their locale is far from ideal. That doesn't stop the Broncos from winning year-in-year-out.

-Brian Kelly $1.5 million
Undefeated following a BCS bowl appearance, Kelly is most subway alums' dream coach.


-Mike Gundy $1.8million
Gundy gave us all a gift in the form of one of the best rants ever back in '07. But since then, his teams have been pretty great. OKSt. should win at least 9 games, for the second-straight season, in '09.