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if SMU wants Fran I sure hope they proceed quickly. Just a reminder-the lay of the land could change in hours as quickly as rumors spread on the UCLA and West Virgina jobs and the puddles they may cause. What happens when the NFL Coaches start getting fired. I see scenarios in which SMU could once again be jilted at the alter. Whoever is the target needs to be tied down. This false sense of security that Orsini talks about in the "Dead Period" is a mirage. But hey we'll always have Coker because no body would be dumb enough to offer him a job.

did they ever make a decision on the buyout clause in his contract with A&M? i keep seeing random articles about $4.4M or something like that. Can anyone explain?

The buyout is public information; you can find a copy on the DMN website.

i see $4.4MM as well.

And here's a question for my law school buddies tha paid attention in employment law...

is it possible to have a non-compete clause in the buyout?? How would that work?? Isn't A&M on our future schedule??

ponyinNC wrote:i see $4.4MM as well.

And here's a question for my law school buddies tha paid attention in employment law...

is it possible to have a non-compete clause in the buyout?? How would that work?? Isn't A&M on our future schedule??

arkansas just put a noncompete in bobby petrino's contract. if he leaves he cant go to SEC west for 5 years

thanks blog. i thought since he resigned and A&M moved on to someone else, the buyout would be terminated

ponyinNC wrote:i see $4.4MM as well.

And here's a question for my law school buddies tha paid attention in employment law...

is it possible to have a non-compete clause in the buyout?? How would that work?? Isn't A&M on our future schedule??

Cuban tried this theory in his suit with Nellie. His claim is that Nellie breached his noncompete by tanning the Mavericks hide in the playoffs. I don't have a case number or anything or I'd reference it, but it was filed in Dallas County.

Buyout is over $4,000,000.00 to be paid in monthly installments over 3 years. Fran has duty to mitigate damages in years 2 & 3. In other words if he coached at SMU, any $$$ he made in years 2 and 3 would be subtracted from the $$$ A&M has to pay Fran.

Now, if SMU wanted to get cute, they could offer Fran a 5 year deal and pay Fran:

Year 1: $1,000,000.00
Year 2: $100,000.00
Year 3: $100,000.00
Year 4: $2,000,000.00
Year 5: $2,000,000.00

If I were A&M, I would sue Fran over that but you could try to do it.

A more reasonable way to do it would be a low base with heavy bonuses. Pay $500,000.00 per year; give him $1,000,000.00 signing bonus and large bonuses for bowls, attendance, graduation rates, and perhaps a guaranteed option for a sixth year at $2,000,000.00.

SMU Football Blog wrote:Buyout is over $4,000,000.00 to be paid in monthly installments over 3 years. Fran has duty to mitigate damages in years 2 & 3. In other words if he coached at SMU, any $$$ he made in years 2 and 3 would be subtracted from the $$$ A&M has to pay Fran.

Now, if SMU wanted to get cute, they could offer Fran a 5 year deal and pay Fran:

Year 1: $1,000,000.00
Year 2: $100,000.00
Year 3: $100,000.00
Year 4: $2,000,000.00
Year 5: $2,000,000.00

If I were A&M, I would sue Fran over that but you could try to do it.

A more reasonable way to do it would be a low base with heavy bonuses. Pay $500,000.00 per year; give him $1,000,000.00 signing bonus and large bonuses for bowls, attendance, graduation rates, and perhaps a guaranteed option for a sixth year at $2,000,000.00.

And a solid buy out clause.

thanks for the advice Stallion. I'll be sure to take it.

jackas's

Fran's buy-out has a good faith clause, the pay structure you are suggesting would indicate a lack of good faith and would never fly.

Stallion wrote:if SMU wants Fran I sure hope they proceed quickly. Just a reminder-the lay of the land could change in hours as quickly as rumors spread on the UCLA and West Virgina jobs and the puddles they may cause. What happens when the NFL Coaches start getting fired. I see scenarios in which SMU could once again be jilted at the alter. Whoever is the target needs to be tied down. This false sense of security that Orsini talks about in the "Dead Period" is a mirage. But hey we'll always have Coker because no body would be dumb enough to offer him a job.

I can't see why so many people think a guy who goes 60-15 and wins a national championship would be a "dumb" hire. My guess is that if Coker gets hired again, either at SMU or elsewhere, it is the folks at Rice who will look dumb for letting financial considerations get in the way of bringing him to Houston. Yes, he inherited talent at UM. He also got them to perform at a high level. The NCAA history books are filled with talented teams that underachieve, and the blame for many of those has to fall at least in part at the feet of their coaches. So Coker isn't 33 years old, or a Texan. Put some coaches on his staff with Texas recruiting ties, and my guess is we could do a whole lot worse. He's a proven winner, and winning is what each of us wants, right?

Aston94 wrote:Fran's buy-out has a good faith clause, the pay structure you are suggesting would indicate a lack of good faith and would never fly.

Which is why I said A&M would probably sue Fran over it.

I think the second contract I proposed would work.

But that is a Fran problem, not an SMU problem, unless SMU agreed to indemnify Fran for it, which would be stupid.

SMUFan wrote:Yes, he inherited talent at UM. He also got them to perform at a high level. The NCAA history books are filled with talented teams that underachieve, and the blame for many of those has to fall at least in part at the feet of their coaches.

The history books are also full of mediocre coaches who won championships because of overwhelming talent.

Coaching Miami with an NFL roster is a lot different from building a program at SMU. It takes energy and vision, and I don't see either in Coker. Nice guy, though.