When I hear that we cannot afford to buy out Skip Holtz, I’m going to cry Bull Dung, which I also might begin throwing.
Yes, we do not have a war chest to just buy out coaches like other universities, nor a large base of highly involved and successful alumni that would allow Judy to slap Doug on the butt, wink, and say “Don’t let it happen again.†However, to think that USF athletics does not have the capability to cover Skip’s buyout over time is a bit of a stretch. If Holtz comes back, it’s because they want him back, the buyout excuse holds no water.
Mom and Pop organizations do this all the time with less money, however the same principles still apply. First year business majors learn these creative accounting skills.
First Holtz is not due a lump sum payment at his termination, he is due what his contract stipulates over the remainder of his contract. We can hire a new coach at less salary and save money there.
A new coach would also bring in their own assistants, and their collectively salary could also be less than what Holtz is paying his staff, so in theory we could save money here as well.
Let’s look at Vero Beach, is this necessary, it certainly hasn’t gotten the results the Holtz claims to provide. We must be able to save some money having the camp at USF.
After that we could look at the entire athletics budget, and unfortunately there might be some casualties unrelated to football. This happens in organizations all the time; football is athletics life blood, and must be fed.
Look into any position that is currently vacant and determine if it can be eliminated or merged with another position, or become an internship rather than paid. I do not know how strong the union is at USF but you could also forgo across the board raises to athletic employees.
What about coaches in other sports, unfortunately, we might not be able to give them raises.
These are just some suggestions, but the point of the matter is, I’m crying USF Bull Dung, if they tell me that Holtz is coming back because we cannot afford his buyout.