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Bad Idea: Coach-In-Waiting
Several years ago a number of athletic directors concluded that it would be advantageous to designate an assistant coach as a head coach-in-waiting, but time has proven that more often than not this is a bad idea. Ideally, this designation was intended to accomplish two purposes: 1) retain an in-demand assistant coach by contractually ensuring that within a certain time frame that they would be elevated to head coach or would be paid a predetermined significant financial penalty; 2) increase the chances for the school to maintain competitive and recruiting stability during an anticipated short-term coaching transition by keeping a sought after assistant coach.
Unfortunately this approach has not always worked out as planned. In 2007 Florida State designated offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher as head coach-in- waiting to succeed Bobby Bowden who was approaching 80 years old. Fisher's contract reportedly paid him $5 million if he was not the head coach by the 2010 season. The final two years of Bowden's tenure were not that successful since it was unclear who was really in charge and it was clear that Bowden did not really want to retire.
In 2008 Texas followed this same practice by designating defensive coordinator Will Muschamp as head coach-in-waiting. At the time head coach Mack Brown was only 58 years old and had eight years left on his contract. Needless to say that is a long time to be head coach-in-waiting. If Texas is having success at that point why would Mack Brown want to step down in his mid-60's? And, if they are not having success would Muschamp be the answer that far in the future?
In 2009 Maryland Athletic Director Debbie Yow continued this practice by designating offensive coordinator James Franklin as head coach-in-waiting and stipulated that he would become head coach by 2012 or he would be paid $1 million if he chose to resign rather than continue on the staff. Head Coach Ralph Friedgen's contract expires after the 2011 season when he will be 64 years old. He has already indicated that he would like to coach for several years beyond 2011 and with improvement this past year that might prove to be a good idea for the Terps. Additionally, this transition was orchestrated by AD Yow who has now left for the same position at North Carolina State and has left new AD Kevin Anderson in a quandary about how to proceed after 2011.
As a practical matter this concept seems to create more problems than it solves. It would seem more prudent to try and keep in demand assistant coaches in place with straight forward attractive compensation packages rather than creating the unseemly appearance of running your head coach into unwanted or premature retirement. The practice can create unnecessary tension among the coaching staff and players about who is really in charge. Finally, how do you reconcile this practice with institutional commitments to conduct full and open searches as a way of ensuring diversity?