The pain stemming from Florida State’s poaching of former University of Oregon head football coach Willie Taggart has certainly been eased by the abundant success of current coach Mario Cristobal. This does not change the fact that Taggart used UO as a mere stepping stone to get his dream job in Tallahassee, playing the UO athletic department like a fiddle. Prior to Taggart’s departure, Chip Kelly bailed on the Ducks for another bird: the Philadelphia Eagles. Bitter UO fans can revel in the career failures experienced by both Taggart and Kelly once they dipped out of Eugene; I know I do. But, to avoid yet another backstabbing by a successful UO football coach, UO must do everything in its power to extend Cristobal’s contract. This must include a substantial pay raise along with a high buyout fee if Cristobal decides to jump ship.
Crisotbal’s contract has not been expanded since his 2019 Redbox Bowl victory over Michigan State. Since then, Crisotbal has proven himself as a bonafide leader, captaining the Ducks to a Pac-12 Championship and a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin. This on-field success combined with Cristobal’s unrivaled recruiting success has made him an irreplaceable asset.
Of course, UO is all too aware of this necessary move to protect its rising star of a college football coach. The two parties began contract-related discussions in February, only for the pandemic to derail the talks and trigger a hiring freeze in April.
On paper, there is no need for immediate concern, as Cristobal is under contract through the 2024 season, thanks to an extension agreement reached in 2019. If Cristobal leaves UO prior to Jan. 2021, he would owe the university $8 million. But, the buyout fees drop to $5 and $3 million in the following two years. That leaves UO vulnerable to yet another poaching.
Cristobal’s 2020 salary of $2.7 million makes him only the 57th highest-paid college football coach in the nation. For an employee of a public university, this salary is obscene. But, one must use basic comparative analysis to see that, relatively, Cristobal is brutally underpaid. Cristobal, reigning champion of the Pac-12 and a Rose Bowl victor, ranks 11th in pay among his peers.
Cristobal unquestionably deserves a yearly-salary of at least $5 million, the current paychecks received by Utah coach Kyle Whittingham and former Washington State and current Mississippi State coach Mike Leach. A pay raise is, unsurprisingly, a key motivator for coaches taking new positions. The Pac-12’s coaching salaries pale in comparison to those of other Power-5 conferences, with the Pac-12 being the only such conference without a coach receiving a top-10 salary. If UO fails to competitively compensate Cristobal, alternative, lucrative offers will be there.
Should a university employee make millions of dollars every year? Absolutely not. But, the marketplace of college football demands that Cristobal, and other high-caliber coaches, deserve such salaries. If UO wants to retain Cristobal as its coach, and it does, it must construct a deal persuasive enough to do so.