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Probing the business of buyouts in college football

Through week 10 of the college football season, the ledger on what universities owe their former coaches in buyouts was nearly $185 million. It all commenced in week three when Virginia Tech decided to fire head coach Brent Pry, who was owed a buyout of $6 million. Not to be outdone, UCLA followed suit, dismissing DeShaun Foster and incurring a $6.43 million tab. By week four, Oklahoma State joined the fray, cutting ties with Mike Gundy at a cost of $15 million. Week five brought Arkansas into the spotlight, as Sam Pittman’s exit added another $8.7 million to the coaching ...

PSU needs new way to walk the talk

To liberally paraphrase a comment attributed to Winston Churchill, Penn State football’s inability to win big games under James Franklin was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. With justification, the name Franklin was recently added to the list of college football head coaches ...

Green Bay draft experience most unique

I had a simply unbelievable experience at the NFL Draft in Green Bay. From 1992-2015, I went to almost every single NFL draft at Radio City Music Hall, but in 2015 the draft began going to cities around the country. Last year in Detroit was my first non-New York draft. I flew to Green Bay from West Palm through Chicago into the Appleton, Wisconsin Airport. Small town hospitality cannot begin to describe landing in Appleton as the “host ambassadors” offered to carry my bags, talked about the annual air show (the largest in the world), and had free shuttles for the 30-minute ...

Empty seats for PSU women speak volumes

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror If the Penn State Lady Lions basketball program traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the cry on the floor would be “Sell!” Granted, Carolyn Kieger was hired to rebuild a floundering program prior to the 2019-20 season, but the structure’s foundation still hasn’t settled. One measure of a team’s progress is the conference record. In Kieger’s first five seasons, the Lady Lions were 25-66 in conference play, including last season’s 9-9 mark. Through 14 Big Ten games this season, Penn State was 1-13. That’s not progress. ...

Winning in sports adds to increased power

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror Credibility may be the best projector for someone’s voice. In sports, just as in politics, credibility is synonymous with winning, and winning provides a platform for the expression of opinions and observations. Although James Franklin is still seeking to fulfill the expectations that he stoked during his dissertation on what constitutes an elite football program, his teams have beaten enough middle-of-the pack opponents that he can command the attention of national media representatives. During a press conference leading up to the College ...

Sometimes folks in the NFL will change their minds about work

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press A deal is a deal until it’s not in the NFL. Liam Coen’s decision to withdraw his name from consideration for Jacksonville’s head coaching position and sign a new contract to remain the offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay didn’t last long. Coen passed up the opportunity to become the highest-paid assistant coach in the NFL and took a second interview with the Jaguars on Thursday, leading to his eventual hiring as head coach in Jacksonville on Friday. Coen changed his mind just one day after agreeing on a deal with the Buccaneers. The ...