Austin Ward: Changing jobs is normal, even for coaches

On one hand, there was the chance to groom a candidate for the Heisman Trophy.

The other option was home.

That was something of an easy call for Jay Graham as he left South Carolina for Tennessee, returning to coach running backs at his alma mater this month.

"Tennessee has a lot of great football traditions, the fans and support there, that was one of the reasons I chose to be there as a player," Graham said when he was hired.

"I'm excited to get back to my old stomping ground."

When a pirate ship docked at Washington State, close to Eric Russell's old stomping grounds, he too had a decision to make.

He was obviously familiar with the territory and swashbuckling Mike Leach, the guy who would once again be his boss. But there also was loyalty and the desire to finish what he started with the Vols to consider.

Ultimately home appears to have won out again.

Outgoing Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn can relate, as well, taking a promotion that comes with a pay cut to leave the Plains and head back to his own friendly confines at Arkansas State. And perhaps lost in the shuffle of all the dominoes falling across the country, the mudslinging and handwringing that the coaching carousel always produces as it spins so wildly at this time of year, is the simple fact that even football coaches are people, too.

Certainly they get paid better than most, and they live in a world that often expects them to value program traditions or history or championships above all else. And there are plenty of cases where those factors are at the top of the priority list.

Graham obviously has an appreciation for what the UT brand stands for, and his name is featured prominently in the record books as part of its proud history. And while helping the Vols put up a banner after a few years without much use for a ladder is surely among the reasons he returned to campus, if winning was his only priority, in the short term he might have done that more easily with the Gamecocks and star pupil Marcus Lattimore.

If Russell only wanted to be part of a successful renovation of a program, he could have stuck with the Vols instead of launching another with Leach at Washington State.

If Malzahn just needed to keep cashing big checks, the Tigers would be more than willing to sign them.

But what makes the offseason so eventful and difficult to predict every year is that no two coaching candidates are exactly alike, and neither are the guys hiring them. The motivations for any two people in any profession are always going to be different, and they rarely match up with what others expect them to be.

Of course, there aren't many accountants who have websites, newspapers, radio stations, Twitter accounts or television broadcasts breathlessly following their every move and scrutinizing the decisions. Nor are there athletic directors and boosters who can buy or buyout, hire or fire guys like they're little more than trading cards.

That doesn't mean anybody should feel sorry for somebody like new Arizona State coach Todd Graham, who spurned Pittsburgh after one season in a way that even Lane Kiffin would find to be in poor taste.

Nor does it mean that any fans should tone down their disappointment if a coach trades in one polo shirt for another even after seemingly embracing everything about his old program — and preaching it to both current players and recruits.

It goes without saying that the players end up with a raw deal when a coach leaves, regardless of the circumstances. They don't have the same options to jump around when better opportunities pop up or the guy they wanted to play for takes advantage of one offered to him, and they probably should be afforded that luxury.

But it's hard to blame the coaches for doing what makes them happy.

Despite the passion, the attention and the fact that their work revolves around a game, it's still just a job. Most people don't call it a career after they get the first one.

In at least that way, coaches are exactly like everybody else.

Austin Ward covers Tennessee football. Follow him at http://twitter.com/Vols_Beat and http://blogs.knoxnews.com/ward.