Packer: Price tag makes Vols' gamble large

We are in one of the toughest financial times in our nation's history. Companies are shutting their doors every day. Americans are losing jobs at an alarming rate. Retirement accounts are dwindling down to nothing leaving people wondering how they'll make it.

Most people are holding their pocketbooks a little bit tighter. On the other hand, there's the University of Tennessee Athletic Department. It is one of the few businesses in America that is going to the other extreme, using the old phrase, "you have to spend money to make money."

It was July 1, 2008, that UT athletic director Mike Hamilton announced Phillip Fulmer had received a contract extension. Hamilton said, "I am very proud to have Phillip as our head coach for many years to come. We're fortunate to have such a talented and proven coach leading our program."

Then 125 days later it was worth a $6 million buyout of Fulmer and nearly $4 million to buy out the assistant coaches. As the assistant coaches take jobs, they are slowly going off UT's books and off the debt line, but the $6 million to Fulmer isn't going off any line except the budget line.

What is amazing to see is how much this change will end up costing the athletic department. The Fulmer buyout was a given as soon as it was announced Fulmer wouldn't be retained. To see what Lane Kiffin has been given to work with is incredible.

UT didn't go out and spend $4 million to get a Nick Saban. The school kept the head coach's salary right in line with what they had been paying. Nothing has been done there to raise the market value for a head coach. Where UT is raising the market value is on the assistant coaching front.

In 2008, the total pool for assistant coaches was $1.935 million. That was for the entire staff. As Kiffin hires his assistant coaches, the salaries UT is handing out are astounding.

Consider that John Chavis made $340,000 as UT's defensive coordinator. Multiple sources at UT have reported that Monte Kiffin will make $1 million. Defensive line coach Dan Brooks made $190,000. Sources say that Ed Orgeron will make in the neighborhood of $650,000.

Those two assistant positions alone raised UT's assistant coaching spending by $1.12 million. That's for just two positions. Lane Kiffin said at the time of his press conference that we all would be impressed with the staff that he would put together. Yeah, I think we're all pretty impressed with all of the NFL coaches that he's bringing in.

I understand the need to be able to tell high school kids how, "No one will put you in the NFL quicker than the NFL grooming factory we are putting together at Tennessee." I get that. I also understand that the athletic department's budget is different than the university's for academics.

Football fans can scoff at the argument about why this blank-check mentality works for the football program when the university is financially struggling like never before. Fans can say, "It's a different budget. Athletics are funded by donors and boosters."

We hear from the university that one answer to the financial crisis is to put more students in each class and raise tuition. In other words, compromise the education of our children to survive. There are tough decisions being made every day in our country that are difficult to deal with.

But, if I were Phillip Fulmer I'd ask, "Where were the blank checks when I was head coach?" Imagine if Hamilton had told Fulmer that he could spend as much money as he wanted on a new offensive coaching staff? Heck, with more than a million dollars more to play with Fulmer could have gotten awfully creative.

Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron's combined salaries will be nearly $300,000 less than what all the assistant coaches made last year combined. When you throw in all these other NFL guys, it's obvious Hamilton is trying to buy an instant turnaround.

Just days after the Lane Kiffin hire was announced, Hamilton sent out a letter to all UT season-ticket holders. He signed off on the letter with the phrase, "Expect to win!" It's become his phrase, and for very good reason. With the money the athletic department is spending, we all should expect every Tennessee team to win.

And, with the staff that Lane Kiffin is putting together we will find out very quickly if the money Hamilton is spending on assistant coaches will pay off. This spending is not just important to the success of the football program, it's important for all sports at UT.

Football is the "cash cow" at Tennessee. Back to when Hamilton gave Fulmer that extension, he said, "Coach Fulmer's success on the field has allowed all 20 sports the opportunity to compete at the highest level."

Don't think our failing economy doesn't affect the football program and the entire athletic program. It affects them just like any other business. What Hamilton is doing right now with this big spending is like a broker on Wall Street hoping to hit it big with one huge gamble. And, just like the gamble of that broker only time will tell if the big spending pays off or bankrupts him.

Mark Packer hosts the Locker Room, presented by Parkwest Medical Center, on Sunday at 10 p.m. on MyVLT2.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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