UB notebook
Gill on track to move up coaching (and salary) ladder
DETROIT — Turner Gill’s name is certainly caught in the coaching rumor mill.
The University at Buffalo football coach has been linked to job openings at Syracuse, Auburn, Mississippi State, New Mexico and New Mexico State. Meanwhile, Gill, who is 14-22 with a pair of East Division titles in three-plus seasons at UB, is preparing his team for tonight’s Mid-American Conference Championship Game at Ford Field. In the near future, he will sit down with UB Athletic Director Warde Manuel and discuss the possibility of another extension.
“He knows that we’re committed to him and committed to his success and we’ll take care of that at some point this month or next month,” Maunel said on Thursday.
Manuel said they will more than likely have initial conversations prior to the Bulls’ bowl game, most likely the International Bowl on Jan. 3.
After last year’s 5-7 finish, Manuel extended Gill through the 2012 season with a contract that pays him $263,000 annually. Under the old deal, Gill was set to make $190,000 for the 2008 season with incentives.
Nevertheless, financially it will be difficult for UB to keep Gill if a school like Syracuse or Mississippi State makes an offer. Sylvester Croom reportedly earned $1.7 million at Mississippi State before he resigned, and Greg Robinson earned $1.1 million at Syracuse before he was fired.
“I’d love to be in a position to pay million-dollar-plus salaries, but it’s not that time here right now,” Manuel said. “It might come a day in the future where that will be possible, but not now. But we’re not going to go outside of ourselves financially. We’re going to be stewards of the resources that we have and at the same time make sure from a salary standpoint that Turner knows his value to the institution.”
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The MAC has an undefeated team in Ball State, but is still on the outside of a coveted BCS berth. The Cardinals (12-0) are currently ranked 12th in the BCS rankings and appear headed for the Motor City Bowl.
But league Commissioner Rick Chryst said Ball State’s flirtation with the BCS will only improve the public’s perception of the MAC.
“Would it be great to have an Orange Bowl rep sitting next to me? Sure it would be,” said Chryst. “But the way I look at it, this is the new landscape of college football. If you’re contending for the MAC, all this other stuff is going to be part of it. I would love to see, if they can finish it out, get tested at the highest level, but I hope it reinforces that they can play at this level.”
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Buffalo has played in four overtime games this season — the most of any school in the Football Bowl Subdivision and tying the record with Northwestern of 2004. The Bulls are 3-1 in those games. Included in that figure are six overtime periods in two pivotal late-season games.
Since Gill’s arrival in 2006, UB has played the most games (seven) and recorded the most wins in overtime (5-2) of any FBS school in the country.
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