Start shrinking football positions
On “Not So Many Belts to Tighten” (March 17): In an article about colleges having to cut programs to save money, every college is considering cutting back on athletics. I thought it was ironic that there was no mention of that. Department.
Do college football teams really need 14 or 15 assistant coaches (running backs coach, strength coach, defense coach, etc.) when they have a head coach who makes over $2 million a year?
If we need so many assistant coaches, why do head coaches get paid so much? Apparently he has to do a lot of that himself. Think of the money you could save by cutting many positions and salaries.
Also, do large schools like Ohio State really need an athletic director?
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The program, which has been around for more than 50 years, appears to be able to do things on its own, perhaps without having to pay another person more than $300,000 a year to lead its operations. Athletic coaches should be able to get together and run the program themselves.
Also, do athletic departments really need compliance directors, NIL coordinators, and other similar positions? Sports programs need to be able to do all of this without having a director tell them what to do.
The argument used to justify high salaries is that in the private sector, that would be the salary. I call it their bluff. There are far more high school and college teams than there are in the world of professional sports, and I believe there are hundreds of high school coaches who would be willing to take a college-level job for a fifth or sixth of their current salary. I am sure. I just paid.
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Maybe I'm wrong, and hardcore fans might disagree, but I think some colleges should be brave enough to give it a try.
I think it's terrible that a coach is paid more than the president of the United States, and I think the president of the United States has a much more important job.
Joe Cordis, Columbus
