It is officially official: Gregg Marshall will return to coach the Wichita State Shockers thanks to a new deal that will pay the coach $3 million per year. This is after rumors swirled around the idea that Alabama would fork over $3 million to scoop up the highly sought-after coach.
The fact that Marshall is going back to coach at Wichita State isn’t exactly surprising. What is, though, is that the university was willing to fork over so much money in an effort to retain him. Even more surprising is the fact that a mid-major had such resources that it could afford to do such a thing.
Keep one other thing in mind: This occurred after Texas reportedly put a cap on its own head coaching search. Supposedly the Longhorns do not want to exceed a certain dollar amount for a new head coach because they already invested so much in the firing and rehiring of their football counterparts. That decision was made despite the fact that the athletic department has an endless amount of slush fund resources thanks to the Longhorn Network and, well, being Texas.
It can’t be stated enough how much $3 million per year is for a college basketball coach. That is borderline NBA coach money, usually an amount reserved for top coaches by top programs, and almost a guaranteed amount of loot to land (or keep) any coach.
Marshall turning down Alabama for Wichita State with the financial offers by both schools being about the same does bring off an interesting question: Is this a sign of things to come in the world of the coaching carousel, or does Wichita State’s large offer fall more in the outlier group?
That’s a tough question to answer if you want a hard-lined fact. It is probably best to consider other factors than just money.
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With all things considered equal — since the offers to Marshall were the same — it is safe to assume that Marshall not only preferred staying at a program he’s familiar with, but didn’t value going to a power conference as much as coaches in his same situation would a few years ago.
Fans, media members, and others outside the business have long assumed that a coach who plies his trade at the mid-major level is just doing so until he gets a big break and the chance to transfer his skills to one of the power conference schools. That assumption persists despite Mark Few not leaving Gonzaga, Shaka Smart having yet to leave VCU (although that’s up in the air at press time), and Danny Hurley signing an extension with Rhode Island after claiming he wants to make that program into the Gonzaga of the East.
It could be that the landscape of college basketball is not always governed by the desire to climb the ladder as soon as possible. Just because a university is in a power conference, coaches who have the opportunity to land those gigs don’t automatically view them as better gigs than the ones they currently have. Is it really that hard to believe that statement?
Can’t we realize that Marshall, or whichever hot mid-major coach is rumored for “The Next Big Job Opening,” doesn’t value certain universities just because they call the SEC (or Big 12) home? Can’t we realize — without having to do intellectual gymnastics — that in light of Alabama’s track record as a hard place to win college basketball games, coupled with Marshall already knowing he can win and recruit at Wichita State, that Wichita State is actually the better gig — even if the money wasn’t similar?
There’s also the possibility of coaches buying their own stock, much as Jim Calhoun did with UConn. When the Hall of Fame coach took over the reins at Connecticut, the Huskies weren’t exactly world-beaters. Calhoun probably could have jumped ship rather early into his successes at the school, for presumably more money, but he stuck it out with the Huskies. In return, he made his money back over time by being the literal building block of the entire men’s college basketball program. Not only did he eventually make solid loot, but he will forever be the face of UConn basketball.
Trust me: Ego is as much a part of the equation as money.
Regardless of other factors, though, money may still be the largest factor of them all. It is why, decade after decade after decade, we have seen good mid-major coaches take more loot to go to a power conference program in shambles. Then again, the way picture-box deals are offered to even mid-major leagues, the playing field isn’t as skewed as it has been in previous years.
At the end of the day it comes down to specific universities. A team from the Northeast Conference which hasn’t been successful for years isn’t going to hurl a few million dollars a year to a coach on a whim. On a similar train of thought, if that same NEC team had a coach with a track record of wild and lavish success, someone who worked wonders for the school, that program might scrounge up the funds needed to keep him through any combination of means. That NEC school would be viewing the potential success of its basketball program as being a vital part of the university. If that scenario becomes more commonplace in the industry in the coming years, then it is possible guys will stop leaving for usually perceived “step-ups” in jobs.
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It is far too early to say for sure what Marshall returning to Wichita State means in the an overarching, grand scheme of things. What it does signal, though, is that certain mid-major schools no longer view themselves as such just because they play in a certain conference. Regardless, the future of the coaching carousel comes down to something rather simple, something each university will have to decide for itself.
At the end of the day the Wu-Tang Clan was right, yes? Just because a university is viewed as being larger doesn’t mean the C.R.E.A.M. factor should be ignored and the “little guy” doesn’t have any of its own to offer.
