Mind posting a list of HC salaries? I'm very interested in the raw data. Thanks.
Sorry, I don't have that data. I just know from other sources that Homlgren makes the most at $8M (I think that was negotiated when he had both coach & GM duties), Lovie Smith makes the least, and Cowher is paid just above $4M a year. I don't know that NFL coaches' compensation is a matter of public record league-wide.
We shall see. I think the first team to $7-8M+ willing to consider buyout compensation gets him. I agree with Clonmary that the marital spin is mostly wishful thinking on the part of Steeler fans. The Rooney's are cheap, always have been and likely always will be especially since they now have one for the thumb to coast on for a while. He knew that when he starting building the place in NC - over a year ago. He gave them 15 years of stability and capped it with a ring. He wants his payday. Had they offered him a decent deal he'd likely have stayed. But reportedly they only offered a 3 year extension with the salary not even reaching $6M until the final year.
I agree somewhat with the motivations you state, but there are obviously other factors at work. Of course money is an issue between Cowher & the Rooneys (rightly so, they won't give him $8M/yr after the tank job he did this year)... and Cowher is going to look for top dollar in his next gig. But like you said yourself, why not cash in right now? Wayne Huizenga or Arthur Blank would easily make him the highest paid coach in the NFL if money was the only issue (assuming the draft compensation w/ Pitt could be worked out -- and the Pitt FO should be jumping at the chance to get draft picks instead of nothing at all).
The marital discord is a rumor... who knows except Cowher & those close to him. There's even more gossipy speculation out there such as this:
http://community.foxsports.com/blog...eason_Cowher_Hasnt_ReSigned_With_The_Steelers
What is true though is that Cowher's wife and her family is from NC, whereas Cowher himself is a Pittsburgh native and his family has been installed there for a long time. If you have kids, or were a kid who moved during childood, you know it is the hardest thing to uproot all of a sudden when a child has grown up all in one place and is close to finishing high school. It takes some definitive pull for his family to do that when Cowher's job is somehwere else. That move alone said he wasn't going to stay in Pitt, but it also says he wasn't going to move to Cleveland, or Dallas, or Miami anytime soon. If you watched his press conference today you can tell the man is a little ****ywhipped. Hence why the marriage-on-the-rocks rumor has legs.
It will be interesting to see how Ben transitions through all this. Besides being accident prone there are continued rumblings that he just doesn't really get it, has no interest in putting in the consistent film study and tedious work of refining his game as a QB and becoming a real team leader. And his deal is at the half way point and was peanuts comparatively speaking. 6 years $22M with $8 of that not coming until 2008 in a roster bonus. There were $17M in incentives he could also earn but he's blown most of them of late. If Wisenhut doesn't get the nod he will likely go elsewhere and Ben will face a new OC. And some in Pittsburgh believe it's also time someone reigns Ben in anyway and gets in his face and retakes control of that situation going forward.
Well, it was no secret that Cowher and Ben did not have any special developmental relationship like Belichick-Brady... Cowher has always sucked at building up quarterbacks. He lucked out drafting a guy with tremendous physical skills and instincts. Cowher leaving might be much better for Ben and the offense. If Whisenhunt leaves, hopefully he does not take QB coach Mark Whipple with him, who probably has the most ability to coach up Ben on the current staff. Most educated Steelers fans would tag Whipple as their next OC of choice. I for one hope the next coach is an accomplished NFL assistant from outside the org (that was the case for both Noll and Cowher) and Whipple becomes the OC.
