In case you missed it, Alabama football coach Nick Saban added an “analyst” to his staff last week.
His name is Steve Sarkisian. And all he did lately was be the head coach first at Washington and then USC.
Saban, it seems, is collecting former head coaches. On-field assistants include Lane Kiffin (USC, Tennessee) and Mario Cristobal (FIU). He has “special assistant” Bobby Williams (Michigan State). And, aside from Sarkisian, he has analyst Mike Locksley (New Mexico, Maryland).
Understand that Alabama has a $5.2 million on-field assistant coaching staff. Then there’s the list of analysts, which now is at nine. One, Shea Tierney, left the NFL Philadelphia Eagles for the Crimson Tide.
But wait. There’s more. Alabama has three in “football operations,” four in “player personnel,” three in “player development,” a “recruiting operations coordinator” and one “athletic relations coordinator.”
Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick says he saw the stacking of coaches coming from a mile away.
“This goes back to the subject of Power 5 autonomy from the Group of 5 conferences,” Hamrick said. “When those schools broke away and got the autonomy they wanted, I said you’d see a separation between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ like you’ve never seen before.”
He said, yes, that means between the Power 5 and Group of 5 schools, although not necessarily on the field of play. Then he continued.
“What I also said is you’d see a separation within the Power 5 conferences. This [hiring practice] backs that it’s happening. The schools with unlimited budgets have enlarged their staffs. They’ll continue building facilities. College football will become so unfair that it’ll hurt the game.”
If you check Marshall’s staff, you’ll see but a “program assistant” and “director of high school relations” mixed in among its assorted graduate assistants.
“When the big schools broke away and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to make our own rules; we don’t care what anyone says,’ I thought, ‘That’s fine.’ I was 100 percent for it, mainly because there was nothing I or the Group of 5 [administrators] could do about it. But I said, ‘You’ll see the separation between the Ohio States, Michigans and Alabamas and the other lower-level Power 5 schools.’
“It doesn’t affect us at Marshall because we know where we are and who we are. I can’t afford all those coaches here. But if the lower-level Power 5 schools want to keep up with the upper-level Power 5 schools, they’re going to have to spend millions and millions more dollars.”
WVU athletic director Shane Lyons has seen Alabama’s operation closely. He moved from Tuscaloosa to take over the Mountaineer program in Morgantown. He’s seen the difference in budgets, etc. But he doesn’t necessary agree with Hamrick.
“I don’t buy into [a growing separation],” Lyons said. “You have what you have. You can only do so much. Nick’s philosophy is to have a lot of people, a lot of numbers. He’s had success without the Sarkisians and others. He’s won national championships with smaller staffs.
“Now, with the technological world we live in, with breaking film down, that produces more work. But how much of a difference do these [analysts] make compared to what we’re currently doing? You can hire 20 people, but that doesn’t mean those 20 are better than 10.”
WVU lists offensive and defensive “quality control” staff members, in addition to graduate assistants. It has an associate AD for “football operations.” It has two “player personnel” staffers.
“Every coach has his own philosophy on what he needs as a staff and what will make his team better,” Lyons said. “Coach Saban obviously feels the more he has, the better. But other coaches are successful with less. I was told when Bill Parcells coached in the NFL he had the least number of coaches on site. Obviously, he was very successful as well.
“From an administrator’s standpoint, I have to balance things. I have to look at it from a budgetary angle. I’m not opposed to it here. At the same time, you can have too many. Will everybody be on top of each other or is there a systematic process?”
Lyons said he has spoken with WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen about the topic.
“We had some conversations about it last year, mostly in general,” Lyons said. “We said if it was the right person and right opportunity I wouldn’t be opposed. So, yeah, we’ve had that conversation in the past.”
Cynics, of course, say schools are simply adding more and more coaches. According to the NCAA, though, non-full-time assistants should simply be a blend of graduate assistant and advance scout. They are not allowed to instruct players or recruit.
“The thing that worries me is staying compliant,” Lyons said. “I know Alabama stressed compliance when I was there. Coaches knew their duties and roles. You can’t have interaction with the players on the field or courts or classrooms. You’re working with the coaching staff. As an administrator, you have to monitor that.”
The list of “analysts,” however, continues to grow.
“College football,” Hamrick said, “is the most unfair sport there is.”