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College Football coaching salaries 2017: Worth it, not worth it

By Nathaniel Reeves

TUSCALOOSA, AL - OCTOBER 14: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, AL - OCTOBER 14: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 11: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini is seen during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 11: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini is seen during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Not worth it: Lovie Smith 

While Illinois is admittedly a difficult place to win, Smith doesn’t appear to be a good fit as a college head coach and has the Fighting Illini trending in the wrong direction.

After spending his early years as a position coach at various colleges, Smith jumped to the NFL ranks in 1996 coaching linebackers with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becoming one of the major minds behind the legendary Tampa 2 defense. Smith was promoted to defensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams in 2001 and improved one of the NFL’s worst defenses enough to advance to Super Bowl XXVI before taking the Chicago Bears job three years later.

Despite leading the Bears to an 81-63 record including the 2006 NFC Championship and helping the Buccaneers improve greatly from 2014-15, Smith was dismissed from both head coaching jobs. Smith then decided to take his talents to the college level, joining a struggling Illinois team that hadn’t won more than seven games in a season since 2007.

Everyone around college football knew Smith was in for a major rebuilding job, and the Fighting Illini have gone 5-19 during his two-year tenure. Illinois is paying Smith $3 million to go a miserable 2-10 with no wins in conference play for the 2017 season, its worst record in over a decade.

There are also reports swirling that Smith is unhappy as Illinois’ head coach, and he would likely have no problem getting another coordinator job in the NFL. An interesting yet risky hire isn’t paying off for Illinois, as Smith has not been worth the 39th-highest salary in the nation.

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