Too Much Paid To College Coaches Soiling The Sport Mercenaries Don’T Care About Student Athletes

Wealthy alumni and fans are loving college football to death. They’re practically demanding that universities lavish enormous, ever-escalating salaries upon coaches. The situation is turning the Joe Paternos of the world into Rick Neuheisels.

Paterno, one of the most successful coaches in history, has been at Penn State for decades. Certainly he is well-paid for his loyalty and his winning record. He also is revered for his commitment to the players and for making sure they graduate.

Then there’s Rick Neuheisel. He said he wanted to be the next Joe Paterno - to stay at the University of Colorado forever. That sentiment lasted only until someone offered to double his salary.

So today, Neuheisel is the golden boy at the University of Washington, promising to return the program to national prominence. Unless, of course, some other team offers to double his salary again, and then he’ll be gone. Just as Mike Riley dumped Oregon State after two seasons to coach the San Diego Chargers.

The most ludicrous moment in the coaching shuffle came when former Seattle Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson was hired to replace Riley. Erickson claimed with a straight face that he wants to retire at Oregon State. Erickson made similar comments at Wyoming, Idaho, Washington State and Miami. The only reason he’s at Oregon State is because he would lose his $1 million severance pay from the Seahawks if he took another NFL job.

And the only thing more cynical than Erickson’s ridiculous statement is that Oregon State administrators know his track record and don’t care. They will be overjoyed if Erickson gives the Beavers their first winning season in 29 years. If he leaves then, for a far-greater salary, who cares?

Certainly the players care. As 18-year-olds, they’re promised a five-year relationship with a father figure. The sight of a scholarship athlete with no money in his pocket riding around campus on a moped while his millionaire coach-of-the-week drives a Mercedes is not a Norman Rockwell moment.

But you can’t blame the coaches entirely, nor the administrators. Ultimately, it’s the fans who drive the economic engine that’s headed for a breakdown. College football is barely clinging to its tradition as an amateur sport. The vast majority of college players will never earn a paycheck playing football. Turning their coaches into wealthy mercenaries can only hurt the game.