I was told by a reliable source that Albin signed a week before the MACC - during his visit to Charlotte. If that's true, his willingness to consider a counter offer was all a charade. Perhaps Charlotte told him the offer was a one-time thing he had to sign before leaving town?

Let it never be said again that women are gossips.

Was Tim Albin down at Seven Flavors? Is it pretty serious?

In the end, it's not worth worrying about the "disrespect" question at this point because there are two sides to every story, and we can't get inside their minds, or maybe it was a little of both. Maybe Albin felt disrespected, or maybe Charlotte just made an offer that was just too rich for Ohio to match. Albin was making $700k. In the MAC, Jason Candle has the top salary at $1.1m. What are salaries like in the AAC? The top salaries for 2024 were:
UTSA - Traylor, $2.8m
USF - Golesh, $2.5m
Temple - Drayton $2.5m
E. Carolina - Houston $2.3m
Army - Monken, $2.1m
Tulane - Sunmrall, $2.0m
Memphis - Silverfeild $1.9m
Tulsa - Wilson $1.9m

The median salary was $1.9m a year, so it's perfectly conceivable that Albin may have gotten an offer in that range.

A more pressing questions is, where does Ohio go from here? Should they promote from within, should they opt for something completely different?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bF-rpJz2CA

Hell has officially frozen over.

I agree with this small point.

I'm curious when people thought he was worth a $1M+ extension? Mid-season? When we were 4-3? In the off-chance he was quietly interviewing behind our back before the CHAMPIONSHIP GAME?

An extension was coming. Because he won. And he earned it. But now, bc its thought to be "too late", people are enraged. Go re-read the thread about his extension. 95% of people were PISSED about it.

There are about 9 of these threads now, but they re-negotiated his salary in 2023. Making him the 3rd highest paid coach. Are they supposed to negotiate every single time a new coach gets hired and makes more? This isn't the NFL. We don't have millions sitting around in a slush fund to pay coaches every few months.

We all agree that today, on 12/11/2024 he was worth more than the 6th he was making - but $800K with bonuses and such is no paltry sum. People act like he was making $350K and got a tent for housing.

Pay Brian. Let's put this whole thing to bed, because I'm tired of crying about it. He left. Most of us thought he was going to leave. Because he left in a shitty way, to what most of us agree to be a lateral-at-best move everyone is pissed. I get it. But we're gonna be fine. We're gonna be fine.

"As for Albin's first contract, it was a four year contract, but he could be terminated after two years with no penalty. Thus, in reality it was a two year contract, with an option to extend to four. Could Ohio get some coach from outside to move to Ohio on a contract that could be terminated with no buyout after two years? If an outside coach wouldn't take a 2 year deal, why should Smith? If he takes it, and isn't renewed, he may never get another head coaching offer. If he goes to Charlotte, he can expect Albin to retire in a few years, and for him to become the successor there, with a better deal than two years."

Exactly correct LC, especially the part about Albin's first contract. It could be terminated after two years with zero penalty. She didn't want him to be hired in the first place. Just one of many ways the administration showed Coach Albin no respect.

Best summary of the situation, at least what we know of it, to date. Good job, Mike!

So, please remind me, what point was I making?

[And, please remember that this situation is complex enough that one can have some inconsistent and contradictory thoughts about it.]

Though written from a different perspective, that of Tim, I don't think Mike actually addressed why Tim felt disrespected -- just that he did.

Mike said: "But, stepping back, Albin felt disrespected to be the sixth highest paid coach in the MAC this past season on a contract he signed only one season prior—enough was enough—so he turned down a chance to be the highest paid coach in the MAC to be the sixth highest paid coach in the AAC at the same price. Same gator, different swamp."

So, why was he offered this less than stellar contract a year ago? Was it his fault entirely? Was JC a "likely culprit" in what turned into this mess? I don't think liking Mike's rendition means that I have to disavow my previous comments. Yes, his emphasis was different, but what he said did not actually address directly some of the other issues at play. Subtle nuances don't seem to be your specialty.

+1. This is the correct answer. Can we just move on?

I've already talked to Kirby Smart. He said "Mr. LOVE, because of my resepect for you, 80 is not out of the question next September. Go Bobcats."

Maybe. I think you're not far off.

My back of the envelope math is that Albin's name started popping up in rumors (Rice, Purdue, Charlotte, etc) and he tried to use that as leverage. But college sports are a small world, and Cromer knew Albin was choice 11 at Purdue, not in the running at Rice, and that Charlotte is a terrible job. She said some version of "we just renegotiated your deal 11 months ago, but if you think the market has changed, we can't stop you from interviewing". But the only market was Charlotte, and they made an offer. Albin took it back to OU, who needed time to get approval. In the meantime, Charlotte -- not wanting to lose out on choice number 2 if Albin said no -- told Albin his offer was exploding and that they wouldn't wait until after the MACC.

Behind door 1 was a million dollars a year. Behind door 2 was a potential raise, but of an uncertain amount. He was one year removed from negotiating with OU, and they were likely very transparent about budget and the administrations appetite for football salaries. So he signed with Charlotte and took the sure thing. He probably figured until he showed up in North Carolina, he could back out if needed. But he's not very savvy, and Charlotte leaked the deal post Championship to force his hand and make it harder to accept a counter.

And everything else -- his love of Athens, his terrible treatment at the hands of Julie Cromer, his poor, poor dog -- is just nonsense fan narrative to make themselves feel better about what was a purely rational choice.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/ranking-college...
Again, the lone con is youth and lack of winning. Who thinks a new program is going to start out winning?

There was another graphic I couldn't find, but it had the Charlotte job ranked in the middle of open jobs.

Compared to OU job:
- Higher pay
- More NIL (10x more possibly)
- Chance to be the coach casting a shadow rather than be in the shadow of a past coach
- Better conference (not my opinion, based on online sources)
- Big city
- Better weather (depends on preference, but regularly claimed)

Albin's first game with Charlotte will be in an NFL stadium in Charlotte. Maybe he doesn't care about it, but it's certainly a recruitment tool.

If your view of how much of an "avoidable catastrophe" this is includes the perception that Charlotte is "a bad job", your analysis will be flawed, and it will bring you undue frustration.

Delusion.

But it does make me smile.

UNCC is hardly a drop of piss on the sidewalk in North Carolina. I lived in Charlotte for years. Never met a UNCC grad. Not sure they exist. Any pretend NIL, is now headed to UNC.

Hopefully you’re able to find a dummy with checkbook to steal Parker, because your QB1 decided your new coach, and all your points were nonsense.

Haha you better get someone to change Wikipedia:

“The basketball team has spent the better part of its history in the shadow of the state's four Atlantic Coast Conference teams. “

Be the shadow. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_49ers_men%27s_b...