College football coaching is a cutthroat business where the slightest drop-off in performance or production could have you perusing the want ads in no time flat. While that's an assumed peril of the profession, these next seven coaches made sure to get THEIRS before riding off (or being pushed off) into the sunset. Here's our list of 7 Former College Football Coaches Still Getting Paid HUGE By Their Former Schools.
(Full buyout amount in parentheses.)
7. Derek Dooley ($5 million)
Former School: Tennessee
Fired: November 18th, 2012
Paychecks Left: 18 monthly payments of $104,167
Dooley won just four SEC games in his time in Knoxville, meaning he's cashing in a cool $1.25 million for each of his in-conference triumphs -- and that's just the buyout.
6. Jeff Tedford ($5.5 million)
Former School: Cal
Fired: November 20th, 2012
Paychecks Left: Seven monthly payments of $198,000
Tedford has a sweet clause in his contract with the Golden Bears that guarantees him the full amount of his buyout unless he lands a coaching gig that pays $1.5 million or more annually.
5. Charlie Weis ($5.625 million)
Former School: Kansas
Fired: September 28th, 2014
Paychecks Left: 19 monthly payments of $200,893
Weis' entry at #5 is going to look like cheating because of goings on later in the list (no spoilers...), but just consider this for starters -- Weis made in the neighborhood of $2.1 million for each of his six wins in Lawrence, including monumentally earth-shattering wins over powerhouse such as South Dakota and the vaunted South Dakota State.
4. Will Muschamp ($6.3 million)
Former School: Florida
Fired: November 16th, 2014
Paychecks Left: Two yearly payments of $2.1 million
Adding his $1.6 million salary as Auburn's defensive coordinator to his $2.1 million windfall from Florida this year, Muschamp's $3.7 million combined take-in would qualify as more than all but 12 Power 5 coaches are getting paid in 2015.
3. Gene Chizik ($7.5 million)
Former School: Auburn
Fired: November 25, 2012
Paychecks Left: Eight monthly payments of $200,000
Combined with the man axed before Chizik, Tommy Tuberville, Auburn has paid out over $12.5 million in buyouts as a kind way of saying "go away."
2. Bo Pelini ($7.9 million)
Former School: Nebraska
Fired: November 30th, 2014
Paychecks Left: 46 monthly payments of $132,176
Let's put this into perspective. Nebraska will pay Pelini $1.59 million this year -- more than seven times what FCS program Youngstown State will pay him ($213,894) to actually work. Faux Pelini would be proud.
1. Charlie Weis ($18.9 million)
Former School: Notre Dame
Fired: November 30th, 2009
Paychecks Left: Two yearly payments of $2,054,744
Notre Dame has already dished out $14.8 million to Charlie Weis just for the opportunity of having him not coach the program. That might be America's most desirable (non-) job, especially considering that two schools are paying him to sit on his couch and eat Cheetos -- at least, that's what we'd be doing if we were him.
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