If Mike Macdonald coached college instead of the NFL, fans would be afraid

5 days ago 2

If this were another sport, we would have to spend at least some part of this week wondering whether the Seahawks would be able to keep Mike Macdonald as their head coach.

The New York Giants have an opening, after all. They are a verified NFL blue blood. They are located in the nation’s largest media market and they play in the most (over)-hyped division of our most popular sports league. [Editor’s note: This column was filed before news broke that the Baltimore Ravens fired head coach John Harbaugh.]

Besides, how long can you expect a coach as young and talented as Macdonald to stay in a place like Seattle?

This sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? That’s because in the NFL, coaching contracts actually mean something. You don’t get to ride a hot season to a new gig, let alone take your staff and a chunk of the roster with you. You have to behave like a (gasp) employee of the team you work for. Not like college, where a deal is only as strong as the escape clauses that coaches negotiate into them.

This past season, Jedd Fisch’s Washington team went 5-4 in conference games, finishing tied for seventh in an 18-team conference that is still called the Big Ten. Technically speaking, Fisch has five years remaining on his contract with Washington but over the past two months he was mentioned as a potential candidate at schools like Florida, Michigan and UCLA.

I don’t know how close Fisch came to leaving, but as a UW alum, I can tell you that it triggered flashbacks to what happened two years ago when Kalen Deboer springboarded from Washington to Alabama. While I fully recognize that Deboer had every right to make the move he did, it doesn’t mean I have to like it and I will admit to relishing every loss he takes at Alabama, especially when it’s by 35 points in the Rose Bowl to Indiana.

That’s a personal issue, though, and I’m trying to keep this professional. The problem I have is not with what any one college coach’s decision, but the system that allows coaches to buy their way out of a contract so they can take a different job. When this happens, everyone collectively shrugs because that’s just the way things work in college football.

It doesn’t have to be this way. The NFL is proof of that.

There are 32 head-coaching jobs, and when you accept one of them, you are pretty well tied to that team for the length of that deal. You don’t get to trade up if you coach a G5 team like the Carolina Panthers to a surprising division title. An established coach doesn’t get to explore back channels to see about making a lateral move for a higher salary like Lincoln Riley did when he left Oklahoma for USC.

While there are instances of an NFL coach switching teams while under contract, it’s rare and usually requires draft-pick compensation. The Bucs had to send two first-round picks to the Raiders to make Jon Gruden their coach in 2002. The Broncos had to give up a first- and second-round pick to hire Sean Payton in 2023, though the Saints sent back a third-round choice as part of the deal.

In college, coaches demand total authority while reserving the right to keep their eyes and ears open for any other jobs that may be dangled in front of them. The only impediment is what is referred to as the buyout. This is the amount of money the school must be paid in order to let a coach out of his contract. The coach doesn’t pay this himself, of course. Rather it’s the school that’s hiring him, and that money is in turn often used to hire a replacement.

For instance, when Deboer left for Alabama in January 2024, Washington received a $12 million buyout. The Huskies then hired Fisch, whose buyout at Arizona was $5.5 million. If you keep tracing the trickle-down effect you’ll be able to render a 3-D drawing of what the food chain in college football actually looks like.

I know why college coaches and their agents like this system. They get the freedom to look for greener grass, knowing that with today’s transfer rules, they can try and talk some of their best players into following them to the new gig.

What I don’t understand is why colleges and the conferences they belong to accept this arrangement and the predatory hiring practices it encourages. While I’m reluctant to side with the institutions, it’s obvious to me that the system that exists in the NFL is so much better for fans and the teams they cheer for.

No one is worried about the Seahawks losing their coach after this unexpectedly sweet season. He’s 38 years old, and by the looks of things, he’s going to be here for quite a while.

Danny O’Neil was born in Oregon, the son of a logger, but had the good sense to attend college in Washington. He’s covered Seattle sports for 20 years, writing for two newspapers, one glossy magazine and hosting a daily radio show for eight years on KIRO 710 AM. You can subscribe to his free newsletter and find his other work at dannyoneil.com.

Read Entire Article