Not to take away from enjoying the journey, but a Chris Beard contact extension needs to happen ASAP, or at least prior to the end of the season, for two reasons:
1. He has absolutely earned it via both on court success and unprecedented success on the recruiting trial. He has the hoops program functioning as the polar opposite of the football program in every respect imaginable - an articulable recruiting strategy that has been executed again and again which was translated into on court performance. I think we all want nothing more than for Chris to be the HC here for as long as he wants to be.
2. Insurance. Worst case scenario. Again, doing the best I can to enjoy the journey we’re on right now, but we need protection in the event he gets poached. At minimum, I’d like to see a $3MM buyout clause in place before the end of the season. You may think that number is ridiculous at first blush, but that is the figure that Okie State was paid when Underwood was hired away by Illinois. That being the case, $3MM buyout should be the base level and would allow us to cover the cost of an elite HC ‘s salary for their first season (for reference, Scott Drew is about the 10th highest paid coach at $2.9MM/yr).
Get it done, Kirby.
1. He has absolutely earned it via both on court success and unprecedented success on the recruiting trial. He has the hoops program functioning as the polar opposite of the football program in every respect imaginable - an articulable recruiting strategy that has been executed again and again which was translated into on court performance. I think we all want nothing more than for Chris to be the HC here for as long as he wants to be.
2. Insurance. Worst case scenario. Again, doing the best I can to enjoy the journey we’re on right now, but we need protection in the event he gets poached. At minimum, I’d like to see a $3MM buyout clause in place before the end of the season. You may think that number is ridiculous at first blush, but that is the figure that Okie State was paid when Underwood was hired away by Illinois. That being the case, $3MM buyout should be the base level and would allow us to cover the cost of an elite HC ‘s salary for their first season (for reference, Scott Drew is about the 10th highest paid coach at $2.9MM/yr).
Get it done, Kirby.
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