Every college football coach wants their team to do well. They wouldn't take the job otherwise. Success also looks different for each school. Someone like Kirby Smart has championship aspirations for the Georgia Bulldogs. The Colorado Buffaloes finished this season with a losing record, but the amount of attention and revenue Deion Sanders brought to the school was definitely worthwhile.
However, when things don't go your way, getting fired isn't the worst alternative in the world. That's because buyouts for college coaches are rampant, especially this year.
Just ask Tom Allen, the most recent Power 5 coach to be fired. Indiana parted ways with Allen after three losing seasons in a row. He agreed to a $15.5 million buyout with the school.
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Allen led Indiana to a 6-2 record during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, finishing No. 12 in the country. That was Indiana's best ranking at the end of a season in more than half a century. The Hoosiers rewarded Allen with a new seven-year contract worth $4.9 million per year.
But things went downhill from there. Indiana managed just nine wins over the following seasons, finishing 9-26 (including 3-24 in the Big Ten) from 2021 through 2023. After the Hoosiers lost their rivalry game with the Purdue Boilermakers to end the season, the school had seen enough and fired Allen.
Indiana actually caught a slight break with this deal. Allen's contract included a buyout worth $20.8 million if he was fired before December 1. If they waited until next year, the buyout would have only been about $8 million.
Instead, Allen and the university found some middle ground with a $15.5 million agreement. Allen will receive $7.75 million in payments both this year and the next. He can also take another job in the meantime, and those earnings won't impact this buyout.
Including the buyout, Allen will receive more than $3.35 million for every win he got at Indiana. His on-field success wasn't what he hoped for, but it's hard to complain about the financial aspect.
