Head coach contracts - Penny Hardaway at Memphis

[HognotinMemphis]

Hardaway got a 3 year contract at $4.8 million. That is the shortest contract I have seen in forever regarding major programs. I guess after being so unhappy with Tubby that Memphis fired him after only 2 seasons and had to pay him $9 million as he exited, the Univ of Memphis has finally learned its lesson. So much for concern that players will not sign a scholarship if the head coach doesn't have at least a 5 year contract.

I know Penny has never coached at the college level but even tho the contract is short, they are paying him $1,600,000 per year.

Much to learn from this for the U of Arkansas. The new AD should apply this to current head coaches at the U of A as well as to future hires. 3 years in today's world is plenty unless you have a Nick Saban or Coach K on your payroll.

5, 6, and 7 year deals for mediocre to bad head coaches like Bielema and Anderson is stupid as well as wasteful. Not to mention that it has the effect of turning off some of the fanbase. And it is one thing to offer longer contracts but a whole other issue to also give them top 25 pay while they produce at a low, unacceptable level.

[latrops]

Any major program can hire a coach at a relatively low salary and without a big buyout beyond 2 or 3 years.  But the kind of coach that would accept those terms typically wouldn't be acceptable to the fans.  Most fans expect a certain standard of experience and success.  Penny has neither as a college coach....but he is a Memphis legend and can probably recruit well, so may be worth a shot for that school.

[greenEGnHAWGS]

Hardaway got a 3 year contract at $4.8 million. That is the shortest contract I have seen in forever regarding major programs. I guess after being so unhappy with Tubby that Memphis fired him after only 2 seasons and had to pay him $9 million as he exited, the Univ of Memphis has finally learned its lesson. So much for concern that players will not sign a scholarship if the head coach doesn't have at least a 5 year contract.

I know Penny has never coached at the college level but even tho the contract is short, they are paying him $1,600,000 per year.

Much to learn from this for the U of Arkansas. The new AD should apply this to current head coaches at the U of A as well as to future hires. 3 years in today's world is plenty unless you have a Nick Saban or Coach K on your payroll.

5, 6, and 7 year deals for mediocre to bad head coaches like Bielema and Anderson is stupid as well as wasteful. Not to mention that it has the effect of turning off some of the fanbase. And it is one thing to offer longer contracts but a whole other issue to also give them top 25 pay while they produce at a low, unacceptable level.

Wait...did Tubby not give his buyout back?! I though that's what coaches were suppose to do after they're fired for not doing a great job! Ughhhh...I can't believe that guy...

[k.c.hawg]

Great, we have seen something once. And the institution that did it has already proved they were dumbasses by paying Tubby $15.45m for 2 seasons. And now according to HIM this is the way all contracts should be done. You need to be medicated.

[Marshfieldhog]

I think Hardaway will be a disaster for them. Being a great player doesn't mean being a good coach. His only hope is hiring a good staff and hope he gets so much talent that his shortcomings can be overcome.

[Amityvillehogger]

I think Hardaway will be a disaster for them. Being a great player doesn't mean being a good coach. His only hope is hiring a good staff and hope he gets so much talent that his shortcomings can be overcome.

They've paid for players before... just saying

[HognotinMemphis]

Wait...did Tubby not give his buyout back?! I though that's what coaches were suppose to do after they're fired for not doing a great job! Ughhhh...I can't believe that guy...

Bielema did not give his back either. In fact, he had his atty fight for the highest amount possible under the formula in his contract.

[FineAsSwine]

Great, we have seen something once. And the institution that did it has already proved they were dumbasses by paying Tubby $15.45m for 2 seasons. And now according to HIM this is the way all contracts should be done. You need to be medicated.

[HognotinMemphis]

Great, we have seen something once. And the institution that did it has already proved they were dumbasses by paying Tubby $15.45m for 2 seasons. And now according to HIM this is the way all contracts should be done. You need to be medicated.

We have already had our AD suggest that current contracts are bad deals for the University. Yet you tell me I need to be medicated. Incredible how stupid and shortsighted some here are.

[Pumbaa]

Fairly certain that it's been stated that Penny was going to take a smaller amount so he could have more for his staff. He needs guys around him who have done it before since he hasn't.

[k.c.hawg]

We have already had our AD suggest that current contracts are bad deals for the University. Yet you tell me I need to be medicated. Incredible how stupid and shortsighted some here are.

They might be bad deals for the University but until there is a market correction you are going to have to do 4 or 5 years with guarantees or hire a high school coach. I'm sure the first time our AD goes on the cheap, hires someone that has zero track record with a 3 year deal he will not be there for the coach's tenure. We are not Memphis, we will pay guys off and make every attempt at a strong hire afterward. And for those that thought the CBB buyout was bad how about $10m for Tubby after 2 years!!

[311Hog]

not bad for someone with 0 college/pro coaching experience.

I guess they saved the other $ for the player's incentive packages.

[jvanhorn]

I think Hardaway will be a disaster for them. Being a great player doesn't mean being a good coach. His only hope is hiring a good staff and hope he gets so much talent that his shortcomings can be overcome.

I don't think Hardaway is all that different than Walker at UALR  He seems very intelligent and motivated.  He is going to surround himself with coaches that he can learn from.  Sure he will make some mistakes but he has a vast pool of talent to choose from to help him overcome those mistakes while he is learning and gaining experience.  I think you seriously misunderstand  how much love and support he has in Memphis and how much area players know his legend.

[jvanhorn]

I don't think Hardaway is all that different than Walker at UALR  He seems very intelligent and motivated.  He is going to surround himself with coaches that he can learn from.  Sure he will make some mistakes but he has a vast pool of talent to choose from to help him overcome those mistakes while he is learning and gaining experience.  I think you seriously misunderstand  how much love and support he has in Memphis and how much area players know his legend.

I wouldn't be surprised if Walker starts being able to keep some Little Rock players home instead of going to Fayetteville especially if he has some success and he obviously has the backing of some very influential people.    And I think Hardaway is in a very similar situation.

[1highhog]

I think Hardaway will be a disaster for them. Being a great player doesn't mean being a good coach. His only hope is hiring a good staff and hope he gets so much talent that his shortcomings can be overcome.

I might be wrong, it's actually happened before according to my wife, but I think Penny will do a great job at Memphis.

[311Hog]

i think Penny is going to find coaching in D1 allot different than in AAU.

[#1 STUNNA]

flavor of the month... memphis will soon come back down to reality

[Hog Fan...DOH!]

Is this a good hire if the 1 'n done rule goes away?

[Inhogswetrust]

Fairly certain that it's been stated that Penny was going to take a smaller amount so he could have more for his staff. He needs guys around him who have done it before since he hasn't.

Penny didn't need a big salary. He's made plenty from the NBA and endorsement deals. Still gets some from endorsement deals I'm told.

[Pumbaa]

Penny didn't need a big salary. He's made plenty from the NBA and endorsement deals. Still gets some from endorsement deals I'm told.

I understand that he is set for life but everyone tries to maximize their worth. In this case he realizes he needs some big time people around him and has taken a smaller contract than what he could have gotten. Needs that extra money to pay for his supporting cast.

[SoonerBaHog]

I would like to say this is the coaching contract of the future but I'm afraid I would be wrong, which I would be.

[Brass Knob]

Hardaway got a 3 year contract at $4.8 million. That is the shortest contract I have seen in forever regarding major programs. I guess after being so unhappy with Tubby that Memphis fired him after only 2 seasons and had to pay him $9 million as he exited, the Univ of Memphis has finally learned its lesson. So much for concern that players will not sign a scholarship if the head coach doesn't have at least a 5 year contract.

I know Penny has never coached at the college level but even tho the contract is short, they are paying him $1,600,000 per year.

Much to learn from this for the U of Arkansas. The new AD should apply this to current head coaches at the U of A as well as to future hires. 3 years in today's world is plenty unless you have a Nick Saban or Coach K on your payroll.

5, 6, and 7 year deals for mediocre to bad head coaches like Bielema and Anderson is stupid as well as wasteful. Not to mention that it has the effect of turning off some of the fanbase. And it is one thing to offer longer contracts but a whole other issue to also give them top 25 pay while they produce at a low, unacceptable level.

It is also loaded with large incentives ranging from players graduating to winning a certain amount of conference regular season games, NCAA tournament wins, and so on.

[Brass Knob]

I understand that he is set for life but everyone tries to maximize their worth. In this case he realizes he needs some big time people around him and has taken a smaller contract than what he could have gotten. Needs that extra money to pay for his supporting cast.

He is already working with Nike to have Memphis in exclusive Penny logo uniforms. Being the first signature athlete to become a head coach he has the potential to grow his brand enormously and it sounds like Nike is on board with making that happen...

[Brass Knob]

I wouldn't be surprised if Walker starts being able to keep some Little Rock players home instead of going to Fayetteville especially if he has some success and he obviously has the backing of some very influential people.    And I think Hardaway is in a very similar situation.

UofA is not about to start losing recruits to UALR... Are we going to start worrying about UAFS as well?

[HognotinMemphis]

It is also loaded with large incentives ranging from players graduating to winning a certain amount of conference regular season games, NCAA tournament wins, and so on.

Good. It should be. And if it were for more annual salary per year, it should have clawbacks in it if the head coach does not win enough games over a multiyear span or if he does something illegal. They do that in the corporate world? Why not have a clause in Bielema's contract that says if he wins less than 3 SEC games per year over life of his contract, he has to return 50% of his salary? That is a "clawback".

[(notOM)Rebel123]

Bielema did not give his back either. In fact, he had his atty fight for the highest amount possible under the formula in his contract.

...and you would have done the same thing.

[HognotinMemphis]

...and you would have done the same thing.

What? I never said anything to the contrary. Do not make this about me. Although, maybe I would not have if I ever wanted to be a head coach again at a major program. The optics of what Bert did in negotiating his severance was not a positive for him. He already rooked Arkansas out of $20 million over 5 seasons. Sticking us for another $12 million to walk out the door tells future employers to beware.

[311Hog]

What? I never said anything to the contrary. Do not make this about me. Although, maybe I would not have if I ever wanted to be a head coach again at a major program. The optics of what Bert did in negotiating his severance was not a positive for him. He already rooked Arkansas out of $20 million over 5 seasons. Sticking us for another $12 million to walk out the door tells future employers to beware.

if i made 32 million dollars in 5 years i wouldn't have any future employers.

[hog of steele]

What? I never said anything to the contrary. Do not make this about me. Although, maybe I would not have if I ever wanted to be a head coach again at a major program. The optics of what Bert did in negotiating his severance was not a positive for him. He already rooked Arkansas out of $20 million over 5 seasons. Sticking us for another $12 million to walk out the door tells future employers to beware.

When you say "beware" you mean "not agree to that kind of pay package."

No future employer will be worried about him getting his contract's worth. His performance here will be the bigger barrier.