The college football head coaching carousel is well underway and there are already several high-profile positions opening up. Now comes the challenge for programs with hot candidates to try and retain their best chances at maintaining success before they jump ship for greener pastures.
One such program that succeeded in that challenge (for now) is Nebraska. The Cornhuskers managed to get head coach Matt Rhule to sign a two-year contract extension with a pretty intriguing caveat.
According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the deal will tie Rhule to Lincoln through the 2032 season with a $15 million buyout this year, which should discourage other programs from trying to poach him. It also includes a clause that bumps his base salary by $1 million each season Nebraska qualifies for the College Football Playoff.
That's an innovative way to incentivize a potential breakout head coach to stick around and build your program rather than chase the cash and ease of championship-caliber talent elsewhere. Other schools could learn a thing or two from Nebraska.
4 CFB head coach targets who should stay put and leverage Matt Rhule's contract structure
Mike Elko, Texas A&M
The Aggies, at 8-0, are off to their best start as a program since 1992 and that's caught the attention of the entire sport. Texas A&M has never won the SEC. Walking away this season with its first conference title since 1998 would put head coach Mike Elko at the top of any program's radar.
He could be a good fit for the Penn State job or even jumping elsewhere in the SEC like Florida or LSU. Can the Aggies convince Elko he has a better chance at maintaining success in College Station than he would at those programs? Money talks and Texas A&M should have enough to make things worth Elko's while. On top of that, they're finally crawling out from under the weight of mediocrity former coach Jimbo Fisher left behind. The recruiting is there and the boosters will make sure it stays that way. Elko is primed to thrive in College Station and should not cross the fence just yet.
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
Kiffin is probably getting the most amount of attention when it comes to the biggest openings but, surprisingly, there's a decent amount of punditry practically begging him to stay at Ole Miss. Even his old boss, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, is speaking out against him chasing money and name recognition at other SEC schools.
The Rebels are in the best position they've ever been to clinch their first bid to the College Football Playoff. Now in year six at the helm in Oxford, Kiffin has established a solid recruiting strategy and is on the verge of leading the Rebels to potentially their first conference title since 1963. Even if he comes up short now, Ole Miss should break the bank to keep him around before he jumps ship and starts beating them yearly.
Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
I get it. The analysis that Vanderbilt's success isn't sustainable is valid. Diego Pavia's hype and skill has been a huge factor in how the Commodores have leapt from the SEC basement to being a Top 10 team nationally. But head coach Clark Lea is the brains behind the operation and could flip the entire table in college football if he rejects bigger offers to build his alma mater into a perennial power house.
Imagine what magic Lea could conjure up in the transfer portal with how much attention the program is getting, especially because of Pavia's underdog story. The program better figure out a way to mirror Rhule's contract because Lea is sure to get a barrage of phone calls this December. Could he potentially follow in James Franklin's footsteps to Penn State?
Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State
While the Sun Devils have significantly regressed from last year's rags to riches story in the Big 12, their three losses can mostly be attributed to injury woes. Head coach Kenny Dillingham has proven he can win big games and maintain success with a fully healthy roster. With quarterback Sam Leavitt missing the rest of the year due to surgery and wide receiver Jordyn Tyson likely declaring for the NFL Draft, there's a window for a big program to entice him away and perhaps bring Leavitt with him.
But Dillingham bleeds maroon and gold. It shouldn't be hard for ASU to keep him from leaving. The way he's been able to turn the program around in two short years should give him perfect leverage to secure his job in Tempe.