Could you imagine if someone with (debatably) the best professional coaching job/success took a college job in football or basketball?
It definitely says something about the economics of the sport.
This happens often enough that it's not unthinkable. The top college football coaches have salaries on-par with the top NFL coaches. I won't claim to know how bonuses skew that one way or the other, but I don't think it speaks much to the economics of the sport.
A bigger concern to the health of track and field are the number of teams that only exist for a few years before folding. I would rather see teams become more independent of a single sponsor and be more like college where they can build a brand enough for new companies to come in if another one abandons the idea.
Plenty of NBA coaches have moved to NCAA (Musselman, Dunleavey, Avery Johnson...).
I don't think it is as common as NFL/NCAA. Probably because the recruiting of NCAA basketball is a brutal time suck.
How many did that after they were fired as NBA coaches? Not counting assistant NBA coaches taking college jobs although that might not be too common either as the recruiting in college is brutal. More people seem to want to go the other way (college to pro). The Athletic had a article about football coaches comparing the two.
Let me start by saying that I was surprised that Jerry was taking over at Oregon.
However, I can confirm that other Pro coaches are checking out options at the NCAA level.
Seems like a smart move. At least at the Power 5 schools track coaches are getting paid better. You have insurance and other benefits and you can still coach your professional stable of runners.
There are some headaches of course (recruiting, figuring out how to allocate the grants, NCAA regs, having to say "Go Ducks" at the end of every interview, etc.)
Let me start by saying that I was surprised that Jerry was taking over at Oregon.
However, I can confirm that other Pro coaches are checking out options at the NCAA level.
Seems like a smart move. At least at the Power 5 schools track coaches are getting paid better. You have insurance and other benefits and you can still coach your professional stable of runners.
There are some headaches of course (recruiting, figuring out how to allocate the grants, NCAA regs, having to say "Go Ducks" at the end of every interview, etc.)
Bingo! Guaranteed paycheck, insurance, and a state pension in some circumstances. Footwear company sponsored squads can be axed in a heartbeat (NOP, Reebok) plus star athletes can be fickle and jump to the latest training guru in a flash. If he plays this right, Knight just got him hired to a potential "lifelong" gig. Get some quick results while your benefactor is still alive, keep the program steady and don't rock the boat afterwards when PHK is gone and the future ADs only care about football and hoops.
Larry Brown won an NBA championship with the 2004 Detroit Pistons (no super stars) and North Carolina wouldn’t consider him for the job. The fact is that there’s more money, prestige, and that nice state pension in college athletics. Also, college age adults are much easier to tell what to do in comparison to pros that likely make more than you. Especially considering how pros cry and jump from team to team now (Lebum, Durant, Harden..) a great coach should prefer college over pro as long as the money is right.
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