A Grip on Sports: As coaches cash in throughout the NCAA, don’t forget how much the athletes help them on the way

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There is a new, though slightly used, head football coach in Pullman. There is a new coach in Seattle. And, surprisingly enough, there will be a new coach in South Bend at some point this winter. What the heck is going on? Oh, wait. We forgot to mention the Mariners will trot out a reigning Cy Young winner next spring. We ask again, what the heck is going on?

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• Certainly not a Seahawk playoff appearance, that’s for sure.

OK, we got the ugly stuff out of the way. Now let’s talk about the power of the almighty dollar. Moohla. Scratch. Benjamins. A million other nicknames. Or, if you are Brian Kelly in Baton Rouge today, more than 100 million nicknames.

“I am here for life,” lasts until zeroes keep getting added to an offer to change jobs.

Nothing wrong with that, of course. The pursuit of money is hard-wired into every American at birth. It’s also a way for football coaches, and the schools that employ them, to keep score.

You give your coach $5 million a year, we’ll give ours $6 million. That means he’s better. Our old coach made $3 million? The new one gets $3.2 million. We can’t go backward.

Through it all, from LSU to USC and everywhere in between, the players whose effort, sweat and, often, tears, are the reason coaches are successful, get paid, well basically a pittance. But wait? Aren’t they allowed to make money now off their name, image and likeness? Glad you asked. Yes, they are. And that has taken the pressure off our colleges and universities to pay them.

It’s a pretty sneaky shell game. While everyone is watching the pea that is endorsement deals with Gatorade, Nike or Mom and Pop Chevrolet, the schools move around the cups and we forget they aren’t the ones shelling out the dough – as they should be. These athletes, after all, are part of a multi-billion dollar business. They are the labor force that makes it run.

Don’t you think Jeff Bezos would sacrifice his left arm if he could have other businesses pay Amazon’s employees? What a boon that would be.

The bust part? We see that at this time every year. Coaches who told mom and dad they would be there to help their son cross the threshold, either from high school to the NFL or from tough teen to stable adult, head for greener pastures. There is nothing wrong with it, unless you are one of millions who get ticked every time a student/athlete at your favorite school enters the transfer portal. Now that’s misplaced anger.

There is a lot wrong with college athletics. At the root of it is the insane spending, on coaches, on buildings, on accouterments that are flash over substance. The unholy alliance between media companies and the schools. The risk of lifelong injury. The lack of support after eligibility ends. But there is nothing wrong with freedom. If a coach can sign a five-year deal one day and leave halfway through the contract, players should be able to as well. Now they can. That’s an improvement.

• Speaking of improvement, the Mariners committed a ton of money yesterday to reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray, prying the starter away from the Toronto Blue Jays. Good for Jerry Dipoto. He’s talked what has always been a tight-wad management group into investing in success and he’s delivered some hope.

That’s the bottom line here. The Mariners are showing they are willing to spend money to add to their youthful corps, to fill holes with free agents and trades. That being said, it’s OK to quibble with the choice. Ray was exceptional last season. He earned all but one first-place vote in the Cy Young race and deserved it.

But the season was also an outlier of sorts for the lefthander. He threw harder than he has before, was ultra-successful at the top of the zone and overpowered just about everyone. He had not done that before in his career. Which makes one wonder if his success will last. It’s a viable question – for another day. Today, M’s fans can just be happy their team actually looks as if it wants to win. Now.

Which means, if past history is a guide, Major League Baseball will go into lockout mode Wednesday and stay there until, I don’t know, 2043.

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Gonzaga: We ignored the Zags’ game above, something we rarely do. Mainly because we weren’t able to watch last night. So what happened? Without even watching we have an idea: Tarleton State, sandwiched between Duke and Alabama, didn’t command the young Bulldogs’ attention as it should. It’s a no-name school with a veteran coach who attempts to have his team limits possessions and play tough pressure defense. The warning signs were there if anyone wanted to look. We didn’t. We were not alone. As for our coverage, Jim Meehan has the game story and he combined with Theo Lawson on the difference makers. … Earlier in the day, Jim spoke with Larry Weir for the latest Press Box podcast. … Dan Pelle has the photo report. … Theo did a lot, sharing the news Andrew Nembhard passed the 1,000-point mark in his college career, writing a story on Chet Holmgren winning another WCC award and then covering Kaden Perry’s back issue, which cropped up in pregame. … The folks in the office put together a recap with highlights. … Though they received more votes this week, the 6-1 Gonzaga women (their only loss is to No. 4 Stanford) are still not ranked. Jim Allen has that story. … Around the WCC, both BYU teams are ranked this week.

WSU: Just when you thought the Cougar football news would slow down, Cammon Cooper, Max Borghi’s best friend, entered his name in the transfer portal. The backup quarterback has played sparingly in Pullman. Colton Clark has the story. … Colton also covers the news three Cougars won Pac-12 awards this week. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, Washington made its head coach hire. Matt Camp, er, no, he stayed at Iowa State. The Huskies hired Fresno State’s Kalen DeBoer, who not only led the Bulldogs to a 9-3 record this season, he made life miserable for a couple Pac-12 teams. … One wonders if DeBoer can lift the Huskies back to among the conference elite, a place they aren’t right now in Jon Wilner’s power rankings. … Wilner also has a story in the Mercury News about UW’s use of Sam Huard as well as one about California’s recent parent meeting concerning its COVID-19 issues. … USC will get better under Lincoln Riley. However, the Trojans have some systemic problems that must be fixed before they start winning conference titles. … Colorado is looking for a new offensive coordinator. … Kyle Whittingham is a straightforward guy. So it comes as no surprise the Utah coach addressed the retirement rumors yesterday. He says he is still having a good time coaching. And an even better one of the Utes win Friday night. … A couple of UCLA players entered the transfer portal. … Where will Oklahoma backup quarterback Spencer Rattler, a Phoenix native, end up? … Arizona also had players enter the portal. … In basketball news, Oregon got well last night at Montana’s expense. The Ducks won by 40 in Eugene. … Undefeated Arizona will open Pac-12 play against Washington on Thursday. … Finally, the Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten alliance has yielded another initiative. This one revolves around helping athletes deal with mental health issues. 

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana State made good use of its week off. … There will be a lot of talent on the field Saturday in Missoula.

Preps: I have a few good friends scattered around the prep coaching ranks in Spokane. But none I have respected more than Glenn Williams, who stepped down at Mead High after last basketball season. That’s why I am pleased to be able to pass along this John Blanchette column about Glenn.

Seahawks: We mentioned the figurative end of the Hawks’ season above. The team’s playoff hopes were pronounced dead seconds after Kendall Fuller intercepted Russell Wilson’s two-point conversion pass in Washington’s 17-15 victory Monday night. … Once again the offense was offensive, in the bad sense of the word. … Is it time for major changes with the franchise? A rebuild could take a while. … The Hawks did do something they have never done before: return a blocked PAT for two-points. … There are always grades.

Mariners: Ray’s signing isn’t official but soon will be. He takes over the top spot in a rotation that actually looks really good, if everyone can pick up where they left off last season.

Kraken: Seattle has won four of its last five games and looks to have figured some things out. They outscored host Buffalo 7-4 last night.

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• A quick note. We will be taking Thursday morning off. We have a basketball game Wednesday night three hours from Spokane, so we won’t be getting back in town until around 1 a.m. There is no chance I’m getting up at 5 to write. I’m no spring chicken anymore. Heck, I’m no fall chicken anymore. Until later …