I think a big reason that no one is pounding on his door is that he has a pretty lucrative contract at Iowa State… Of note, he has a base of $4 million and gets $250,000 for each victory starting with his 7th win.
The other reason right now is that he finished 1-8 in the Big 12 and 4-8 overall in 2022.
Until last year Campbell’s buyout if he left early was $9 million. That is enough to scare most away.
His new contract has reduced that to a more coach friendly $4 million.
I looked at his contract terms recently when there were some rumors that he might be one of the targets for UC. When I saw the numbers it suggested to me that it would be hard for the money to work out.
As it is, Campbell is the 4th best paid coach in the Big 12.
Campbell might be looking for an exit door at ISU but that is big price to pay for someone coming off of a 4-8 season.
Just thinking out loud here, but what if we re-structure Chuck Martin’s contract to something along these lines… Chuck Martin gets a base of $X and gets a trophy for each victory starting with his 7th win. That will surely motivate Chuck to get us over the 6-6 hump.
I’m intrigued to find out what WMU ends up paying their new coach. The AD talked a big game in his release so I’m expecting over 1m/year.
Personally I think that would be great for the conference- get schools to start ponying up more money for programs and become competitive with SBC and CUSA. We can’t be satisfied being the worst FBS conference!
Agree completely. The MAC is dangerously close to becoming a conference wedged below G5 and just above FCS. If it doesn’t commit to competing for that playoff berth that’s where it’s going to be - in football Limbo.
The Athletic’s Chris Vaninni (a Michigan native) weighs in on a couple of current MAC coaching situations.
What the hell is WMU doing? Also, why doesn’t Chris Creighton get more traction for job openings? I’m not complaining. As an EMU fan I want to build a statue of the guy. But still? — Dan T.
I know some folks were surprised by Western Michigan firing Tim Lester, but I wasn’t. Lester did a perfectly fine job, with just one losing season and three bowl games. But he didn’t get to the MAC championship game and let the division slip away late in the season several times. It’s understandable that athletic director Dan Bartholomae has higher expectations, given that WMU is one of the better-resourced teams in the MAC. Since WMU last made the MAC title game in 2016, nine other MAC schools have reached the game. It’s on Bartholomae to find a better coach and reach those higher expectations now. The search right now is focused on some coordinators, but Michigan assistants like Sherrone Moore, Jay Harbaugh and Mike Hart could get in the mix.
Western Michigan fired Tim Lester after a 5-7 season. (Kimberly Moss / USA Today)
What holds Creighton back, fairly or not, is that his overall record at EMU is 45-61, and he hadn’t won more than seven games with the Eagles until an 8-4 season this year. Now, I understand the context to all this, especially as someone who grew up in southeast Michigan. The program was probably the worst in the FBS when he arrived, and the eight wins this year are the program’s most since 1987. To bring consistent winning to this place is incredible. But those top-line numbers can be a hard sell to boosters and administrators. A coach needs a big season that pops. His best shot at a bigger job is probably one that needs a real rebuild.
The MAC in FB has already arrived at The Twilight Zone…right between G5 and FCS…Or, as Kamala Harris would opine: The MAC has become what it has become because it is what it is, was what it was and has become what it is and was.
Babers, Leipold and PJ are cashing substantially larger paychecks today than they did when in the MAC…the metric that their agents and wives care most about.
I’m honestly a little shocked Cincy didn’t make a run at the Coastal Carolina (still terrible branding) head coach. Unless they weren’t ready to pay 4mm for a first year contract. I’m getting more convinced now Chris C from EMU might be the dark horse…
Creighton would be a good hire for UC or any Midwest P5, imo his close loss to Toledo (keeping him from a 9-3 regular season and West title) is all that made him from definitely getting hired away.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if Jason Candle got a look by someone. In the past twenty years, all 3 coaches who have won two MAC championships were hired away at some point (Jones, Doeren, Carey) and 7 of 8 who won their division twice were as well (three above plus Hoeppner, Kelly, Babers, and Leipold; only exception is Solich). I think Creighton is much better given how hard it is at EMU, but Candle has never had a losing season.
Jamey Chadwell to Liberty on a $4 million per year deal.
MTSU really had a chance to join the MAC and instead chose to stay in the carcass of a conference where an extremely well funded sportswashing enterprise is going to buy championships every year.
UC hires…Scott satterfield?? Louisville head coach who was likely one more loss away from getting fired this season. That’s a head scratcher. Needless to say, UC fans are not happy
