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Again, with these swirling internet rumors. The internet rumor of the day is that Co-Offensive Coordinator Sonny Cumbie has met with and interviewed with TCU. Our friends at Frogs O' War have a story about how an assistant football coach position has been listed on their employment site and the thought is that they wouldn't have posted the position if it wasn't a done deal.
Earlier this morning, I posted the link to the USA Today database of assistant coaches' salaries and here's the list:
Matt Wallerstedt: $425,000
Mike Smith: $240,000
Trey Haverty: $235,000
Mike Jinks: $215,000
Eric Morris: $210,000
Sonny Cumbie: $210,000
Kevin Curtis: $205,000
John Scott: $175,000
As you can see, the salaries are very much loaded in favor of the defense at the top, while every one else is around the $200,000 range.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Cumbie might be thinking that with the primary role of offensive coordinator, he should be making more money, especially with the handful of years of experience in working with Tuberville. I can certainly understand that thought process of thinking that he should be making more money. You can also consider that Jinks makes more money that Cumbie and Jinks has never been a college football coach. You get where I'm going here.
More than anything, you could see how Cumbie might feel slighted a bit and is looking to TCU to figure out if he is a fit and if he's really worth an increase in pay. Coaches really can only gauge their interest when they actually interview. That's how they determine their value.
I'd guess that Kingsbury probably negotiated as much as humanly possible for his assistant coaches. As a head coach, that's what you do. So there may not be much, if any money, left in the salary pool to give to Cumbie and this may ultimately be a decision left to AD Kirby Hocutt to approve a bigger budget for Kingsbury's assistant coaches.
A couple of more thoughts. The offense really is covered I think. I'd hate to see Cumbie leave, but if it comes down to money, I understand that. Technically speaking, the very best offensive coordinator in the country is the head coach. I'm very confident of that. I mentioned in the comments earlier this morning that Cumbie's spot, if he leaves, could be utilized for a true special teams coach. I don't think I need to write much of anything about how the special teams were problematic.