Regarding my earlier point about Leavitt/Underwood being cheaper options to offset oscar's ultimate buyout...
Snyder currently makes $2.85 million a year. Weber makes $1.85 million. That's a combined $4.7 million. Each of them has $100k raises every year, so each year it's a $200k combined increase for both.
Here is what it would look like at the current rate as we move towards 2020:
2015-16: $4.9m
2016-17: $5.1m
2017-18: $5.3m
2018-19: $5.5m
2019-20: $5.7m
2020-21: $5.9m
So, let's say we keep Weber this year and next, and then we can him for being worthless. That will leave his salary on the books until 2018-19. Odds are that Bill won't be coaching then, so we'll have a need for a replacement there.
Currently, Underwood makes $400k at SFA. I'm guessing that he'd come here for a hometown discount, I'll just assume we can get him here for $1.15 million in 2016-2017. Let's say that Snyder sticks around for two years and leaves at the same time, so we promote Leavitt for, I don't know, $1.85m annually. I mean, really, who else is going to pay him that much at his age? Nobody. So, he'll take it. Give them the same $100k escalators each year that we give everyone else because that's just what we do.
If you add Underwood at $1.15m, Leavitt at $1.85m, and Weber's leftover salary at $2.05m, that's a total of $5.05m. That's $50k under our allotted budget should both Weber and Snyder still be here at their current rates ($5.1m). Given that there are three $100k escalators for all three contracts, and really, we're pretty much right on target with what we currently have budgeted right now. In 2017/18, we'd be $50k over normal allocation and the following year, which is the last with Weber's contract, we'd only be $150k over. in 2019/20, we'd be $2.1 million under budgeted allocation, so there would be a lot of room to increase and extend both coaches should the need arise.
If you're in Currie's position, this really is a win/win for you. Very safe hires, both of them would go over gangbusters with the fans, and you'd sell a ton of tickets. Not to mention the fact that it's right in his fiscal wheelhouse.
If you're Snyder, as has been already mentioned, you get the guy you wanted to follow you the first time, he will almost certainly keep every single person you want him to keep since it's "in the family", and you have an opportunity to bring him in now to get him into the program and stabilize it before you retire so the handoff is seamless.
The more I look at this, regardless of what I think specifically about the Leavitt hire, it really makes a lot of sense if you're Currie. No one would ever chastise him for hiring Leavitt. And he'd be a hero for bringing Underwood back with the tuck fans. And it fits his budget???
I think there's a better than average chance of seeing this within three years.
