DamThatRiver22
Well-known member
Pretty good interview on the Pokescast podcast that sheds some light on everything: https://omny.fm/shows/pokescast/wyoming-ad-tom-burman-on-craig-bohls-retirement-ja
Says he had a pretty good idea over the summer that this might be it for Bohl. Did talk to numerous ADs, watched a lot of football (including FCS football), etc.
Kept coming back to Sawvell based on a number of factors, including:
-Worries about timing, and an exodus/not being able to stop the bleeding of recruits, overall system continuity
-Decades as a coach, P5 experience, has coached under numerous well-respected coaches, played himself at a college known for churning out HC talent
-Exit interviews with players; Sawvell is well-liked and respected amongst his players (this has been backed up by numerous players publicly congratulating him on social media and saying it's well deserved)
-Sawvell's vision for the future: Understands the strengths of our defensive philosophy under Bohl, knows that changes need to be made offensively and with special teams. Wants to pick up the pace offensively. Burman noted that a 7-9 point increase in PPG likely gets us a MWCCG appearance this year, and that's a glaring issue that's been discussed with Jay.
Contract details:
-5 years
-Base $1.1MM/year (300k salary +800k in guarantees)
-Incentives: Capped at $250k, half of which is pretty easily attainable
Puts him pretty much midpack in the MWC, still on the low end-ish but not uncompetitive. All amounts are incremental in subsequent years, obviously....he'll have a chance to work his way up. All in all, seems like a fairly average contract for a first year HC in the MWC with some qualifications.
I'm not a big fan of the term; I would have rather started at 3 years. But Burman made no mention of how large the buyout is. I'm okay with the term if the buyout is manageable.
Both Sawvel and Burman understand the need for a decent assistant pool; they'll converse after the bowl game regarding any changes Jay wants to make or that happen in general and how much they'll need to get who they want.
(Also various thoughts in there regarding the current state of the program, NIL, etc., and made mention that part of what put Bohl over the top in the MWC this year regarding salary was that a retention bonus came due, so his salary wasn't actually quite as high as has been noted.)
I know Burman's not very popular around these parts, but it's a good listen and he's not a complete idiot.
Says he had a pretty good idea over the summer that this might be it for Bohl. Did talk to numerous ADs, watched a lot of football (including FCS football), etc.
Kept coming back to Sawvell based on a number of factors, including:
-Worries about timing, and an exodus/not being able to stop the bleeding of recruits, overall system continuity
-Decades as a coach, P5 experience, has coached under numerous well-respected coaches, played himself at a college known for churning out HC talent
-Exit interviews with players; Sawvell is well-liked and respected amongst his players (this has been backed up by numerous players publicly congratulating him on social media and saying it's well deserved)
-Sawvell's vision for the future: Understands the strengths of our defensive philosophy under Bohl, knows that changes need to be made offensively and with special teams. Wants to pick up the pace offensively. Burman noted that a 7-9 point increase in PPG likely gets us a MWCCG appearance this year, and that's a glaring issue that's been discussed with Jay.
Contract details:
-5 years
-Base $1.1MM/year (300k salary +800k in guarantees)
-Incentives: Capped at $250k, half of which is pretty easily attainable
Puts him pretty much midpack in the MWC, still on the low end-ish but not uncompetitive. All amounts are incremental in subsequent years, obviously....he'll have a chance to work his way up. All in all, seems like a fairly average contract for a first year HC in the MWC with some qualifications.
I'm not a big fan of the term; I would have rather started at 3 years. But Burman made no mention of how large the buyout is. I'm okay with the term if the buyout is manageable.
Both Sawvel and Burman understand the need for a decent assistant pool; they'll converse after the bowl game regarding any changes Jay wants to make or that happen in general and how much they'll need to get who they want.
(Also various thoughts in there regarding the current state of the program, NIL, etc., and made mention that part of what put Bohl over the top in the MWC this year regarding salary was that a retention bonus came due, so his salary wasn't actually quite as high as has been noted.)
I know Burman's not very popular around these parts, but it's a good listen and he's not a complete idiot.