Saved by the buyout: 4 college football head coaches who'd be fired by now if possible

The college football regular seaso is over just as it felt like it was getting good. Sure we have the College Football Playoff to look forward to as well as conference championship games next week. But while some teams are optimistic about bowl season, some fans are clamoring for changes with the coach of the team.

For some, it makes sense to part ways with the head coach. For others, well it isn’t quite fiscally responsible to offload a coach that’s amidst a bad season or bad stretch of seasons. 

Nonetheless, we’ve reached the point of the year where teams really take into consideration coach contract buyouts and if it’s worth building up the funds for it or ride it out until the contract is up. 

Here are some coaches that are fortunate enough to negotiate massive buyouts that will keep the boosters and the athletic department at bay. 

For more Rivalry Week content, check out FanSided’s Ultimate Guide to College Football Rivalries, an in-depth and interactive look at the deep traditions, rich history, iconic venues and memorable moments of college football’s biggest rivalries.

4 college football head coaches being saved by their massive buyouts

Ryan Day, Ohio State

Ryan Day might be the luckiest of the bunch. Since he’s taken over the Buckeyes after Urban Meyer “retired” from coaching, Day is now 1-4 against Michigan, most recently losing to the Wolverines 13-10 on Saturday. 

It’s always been hinted that success in the Ohio State-Michigan game is tied into whether a school pulls the plug on the coach. The thing is, Jim Harbaugh got a pass because he was an alum of the Wolverines. 

Day isn’t lucky enough to get that treatment. And after losing his fourth straight and Saturday’s loss being the most embarrassing, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s on the chopping block, even if he has a 66-10 record as a head coach. 

Had his $37 million buyout not been a factor, I think the only reason he’s not fired at the end of this season is if he miraculously wins a national championship. And I say miraculous because nothing we saw from Ohio State on Saturday screamed national champion. 

Ohio State has had some talented teams since he took over and he has just one win. Michigan has been talented over the years as well, but Saturday was probably Michigan’s worst team in Day’s tenure. And they held Ohio State to just 10 points at home. 

Saturday felt like a game Day needed to win to secure his job next season. But it seems his buyout is the only thing keeping him on the sidelines. 

Mike Norvell, Florida State

Mike Norvell couldn’t be more grateful that he signed a massive contract with an equally lucrative buyout attached to it. The Seminoles are no strangers to throwing together funds to get an unwanted coach at.

But something tells me they don’t want a Willie Taggart situation again. So Norvell’s $63.8 million is keeping him in charge for now. Because to go from preseason No. 10 ranked team to two wins going into the final game deserves a coaching change. 

Norvell is fortunate that he’ll get to ride out the foundation he built when he got there. But it’s not because the administration believes he can turn it around. It’s because they don’t want to fall into the same trap they did with Willie Taggart. 

The problem with Florida State this season was that Norvell was loyal to DJ Uiagalelei for some reason after grabbing him from the transfer portal. But after he showed he wasn’t as good as they needed, the fact that Norvell continued to play Uiagalelei should have been a fireable offense in itself. 

Mark Stoops, Kentucky Wildcats

Mark Stoops had a few good seasons at Kentucky and a contract of loyalty that the Wildcats athletic department will regret adding. Stoops has an incentive in his contract that he receives a one-year extension every year he has seven or more wins. 

That kind of incentive is why he talks with such arrogance after one of his worst seasons since he turned the program around. They finished the year with just four wins and ended with a 41-14 whooping by Louisville. 

Most coaches don’t arrogantly say they’re untouchable. But when you have an incentive like Stoops and a $44 million buyout attached, you feel like you can do no wrong. Fortunately, Kentucky is married to the success he had and has no problem riding it out. 

Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans

While we don’t know what Riley’s buyout is with the Trojans being a private school, his rumored 10-year, $110 million contract implies it would be extremely costly to let him go right now. And he’s seemingly looked worse each season since he moved from the midwest to the west coast. 

Riley’s first season in the Big Ten has been forgetful and a 49-35 loss to Notre Dame in rivalry week pretty much sums up how things are going. If not, the back-to-back interceptions returned for touchdowns (100 and 99 yards) definitely will. 

That seems to be the only thing keeping the administration from looking for a replacement for Riley. He has yet to play in the College Football Playoff at USC and hasn’t quite built USC up to where they expected to be when they hired him. 

We don’t necessarily need the details of his buyout to know that’s a large part of why USC hasn’t pulled the plug. This is a league predicated on consistent success and a win-now attitude. USC has neither right now and any other coach would have been let go at this point.