Published Jul 26, 2020
Is it true coaches don't make money if they 'lose over time'?
Adam Gorney and Mike Farrell
Rivals.com

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on name, image and likeness considerations on Wednesday, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham made an interesting statement. He said: “Very few coaches get paid a lot of money that lose over time.”

We assumed that wasn’t true, so we looked at each Power Five coach's record at their respective school and found some interesting outcomes. And guess what? A lot of coaches are making millions to lose over time.

RELATED: Senate NIL hearing addresses issues, yields few answers

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ACC

Only one coach across the entire conference has won more than 62% of their games, and it’s no surprise that it’s Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, who is 100-31 there, winning 81% of his games.

After Swinney, Louisville’s Scott Satterfield and Virginia Tech’s Justin Fuente have won 62%, even though Satterfield’s resume is only one season. Fuente has received lots of criticism in Blacksburg, but his winning percentage with the Hokies is actually better than his time at Memphis before he got the big ACC job.

During two stints at North Carolina over an impressive career, North Carolina’s Mack Brown has won 59% of games for the Tar Heels. Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi is at 55%. NC State’s Dave Doeren is at 53%. No other coach in the ACC is above 50%.

Virginia’s Bronco Mendenhall is at 48%, Duke’s David Cutcliffe has won 48% of his games with the Blue Devils, Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson and Syracuse’s Dino Babers are at 47%, and then after one season Miami’s Manny Diaz is at 46% and Geoff Collins is at 25% in a complete rebuild at Georgia Tech.

Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Boston College’s Jeff Hafley are new to the ACC this season.

FARRELL’S TAKE: You can keep a job in the ACC for awhile as a losing coach as Cutcliffe and Clawson prove but the pressure to win isn’t as big at Duke or Wake Forest as it is at Miami where Diaz is already under some scrutiny. Doeren is on the hot seat as well and will likely be below .500 after this season. Half of the established coaches in the ACC win less than 50% of their games and still make millions. Oh and this is the conference where Willie Taggart earned more than $20 million for being awful for two seasons at Florida State.

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BIG TEN 

Ryan Day has only been the coach at Ohio State for a short time, but he’s already making a huge impression as the Buckeyes are 16-1 under him with 94% wins. No one else is really close, although some coaches have been impressive - while many others have not.

Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst has won 77% of games, followed by Michigan's Jim Harbaugh at 72% victories and Penn State’s James Franklin at 71%. Up-and-coming P.J. Fleck has been doing incredibly well at Minnesota as he and long-time Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz are at 61% victories.

The two others that have won at least half their games are Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald at 56% and RutgersGreg Schiano at 50%, although all those wins came in his first stint at the school from 2001-2011.

Indiana’s Tom Allen is at 47%, Purdue’s Jeff Brohm is at 45 and new Michigan State coach Mel Tucker won 42% of his games (5-7) during one season at Colorado before coming to East Lansing. Coach Scott Frost has won 38% of games in two seasons at Nebraska, IllinoisLovie Smith is at 31% and Maryland’s Mike Locksley is 4-14 in two stints with the Terrapins.

FARRELL’S TAKE: Things are a little more balanced at the top in the Big 10 than they are in the ACC, but some coaches are still flourishing with sub-.500 records. Allen and Brohm have received accolades for the jobs they’ve done at their schools, and Frost is still the closest thing to a god in Lincoln. At some schools in the Big 10 you just have to remain competitive.

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BIG 12

To no one’s surprise, Lincoln Riley has been dominant at Oklahoma with a 36-6 record over three seasons and the Sooners have gone 12-2 each year with only one conference loss each season. That’s an 86% clip for Riley, by far the best in the Big 12.

Then it goes to TCU’s Gary Patterson, who has won 71% of his games with the Horned Frogs and remains one of the most underrated coaches in all of college football. Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy is third at 67% victories.

Fourth in the conference is TexasTom Herman, who has one 10-win season in three so far with the Longhorns and is 25-15 (63%) overall. Kansas State’s Chris Klieman went 8-5 last season for 62%. Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, still a hot name on the coaching carousel, is at 51% wins.

Three new coaches in the league have one season under their belt - West Virginia’s Neal Brown at 42%, Texas Tech’s Matt Wells at 33% and KansasLes Miles at 25%. They will look to rebound this season. Baylor’s Dave Aranda enters his first season in Waco with no former head coaching experience.

FARRELL’S TAKE: The Big 12 has overhauled its coaches over the last couple of years, but remember this is the conference where David Beaty won $2.55 million in a lawsuit despite going 6-42 at Kansas. Don’t tell the Big 12 you can’t make millions for losing.

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PAC-12

Oregon coach Mario Cristobal is doing a phenomenal job recruiting, and it’s already turning into victories on the field as he is 21-7 with the Ducks - or winning at a 75% clip. Stanford’s David Shaw is second in the conference, winning 72% of his games, and then Utah’s Kyle Whittingham is at 67% victories.

USC’s Clay Helton, who has seemingly been on the hot seat during his entire stint with the Trojans, has won 65%, followed by Arizona State’s Herm Edwards at 58%. New Colorado coach Karl Dorrell hasn’t been the head man since he was at UCLA from 2003-07, when he won 56% of his games. Cal’s Justin Wilcox is sitting at 53% of wins with a 20-18 record.

Washington State has a new coach in Nick Rolovich, who finished 28-27 (51%) in four seasons at Hawaii. Arizona’s Kevin Sumlin has won 38% of his games with the Wildcats, and then Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith and UCLA’s Chip Kelly have won just 29% in their first two seasons. Washington’s Jimmy Lake enters his first season as head coach of the Huskies.

FARRELL’S TAKE: The Pac-12 is no different, and coaches don’t seem to be on the hot seat as often - unless your name is Clay Helton. But yet Sumlin, Smith and Kelly are making good money in the conference for not-so-good results.

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SEC 

Titans of the coaching world exist in the SEC, and the winning percentages at the top are quite stunning - and yet not all that surprising at the same time. Alabama’s Nick Saban over his Hall of Fame career has won 87% of his games with the Crimson Tide.

LSU’s Ed Orgeron, a controversial hire, has won 82% of his games in Baton Rouge, including the national championship this past season. Florida’s Dan Mullen is an impressive 81% (21-5) since coming back to the Gators, and then Georgia’s Kirby Smart is winning at a 79% clip.

After those four, there is a significant drop-off, with Auburn’s Gus Malzahn at 67%, Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher at 65, followed by Tennessee’s Jeremy Pruitt at 52, South Carolina’s Will Muschamp at 51 and Kentucky’s Mark Stoops at 50%.

Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason, who is clearly on the hot seat, has won only 36% of his games with the Commodores over six seasons. At Missouri, Eli Drinkwitz takes over with only one year of head coaching experience, as he went 12-1 at Appalachian State a year ago. Arkansas brought in Sam Pittman, who has no previous head coaching experience.

Finally, the state of Mississippi should be more interesting than ever. Ole Miss hired Lane Kiffin, whose won 54, 65 and 68% at Tennessee, USC and FAU, respectively. At Mississippi State, Mike Leach comes in with a 139-90 record (61%) at two stops: Texas Tech, where he won 66% of his games and Washington State, where he won 54%.

FARRELL’S TAKE: Ahhhh, the SEC. This is where salaries are super high, expectations are ridiculous and Chad Morris can walk away a millionaire 20 times over for going 4-18 in two seasons.