I think a lot of people are not realizing an important factor in assembling a coaching staff. You can't just throw money at a bunch of big-name assistants and expect success. The goal is to hire the most qualified guys who all have bought into the HC's philosophy and style.
Something else, if you look at it, the two guys we have confirmed are both going to be hired at around 200K/year, which is barely a dent into the 4M pool. McGee, if hired, will take up a large chunk. We can get Nickerson ~650K I would think. There is still a lot of money out there, and I think it will be interesting to see who the recruiting coordinator is.
Agreed, and I think the rumored guys, so far, are about what I expected. Guys who have been around and guys Lovie is comfortable with.
-Retaining Phair was basically a given solely on familiarity.. I like the fact that he will be in the DL role especially, I thought the DL made great strides last year. Make no mistake about it, most of the credit for our defensive improvement (Giving up over 100 ypg and 11 ppg less) should go to Phair, IMO. Whether it was previously Beckman or Banks's defense prior to Phair being named co-dc is different debate, a lot of the tea leaves tell me that Phair was largely responsible. All my questions that I had of Phair (me, along with alot of others didn't like the hire at the time) were squashed.
*assuming his salary would stay around the 450-500k region.
-I think Butkus gets alot of wrongful blame for his time here. He and Beck never saw eye-to-eye and he was doomed from the start IMO. There were alot of factors here. I think his familiarity with the state already can only be a plus.
*Projected salary: ~200k
-Hayes-stoker I like a whole lot. I think his potential as a recruiter is pretty significant solely based on his past: his connections deal mostly with Florida and Texas are great. Also another familiarity factor with Lovie that can't be understated.
*projected salary: ~150-200k I would assume?
-McGee: proven recruiter, ties to Chicago. Coached Mallett (who is somehwhat similair to Wes), where he had great success and had the SEC's top offense in 2011. His work with quarterbacks, especially, cannot be overlooked.
*salary:~800k-1M
-Nickerson I don't know a whole lot about, but certainly being a 5 time pro-bowler carries some weight. To me, this hire is one of those that has a lot of potential. Maybe one of those guys that has just been patiently waiting his turn.
*salary: ~700-850k
Overall, i still like the early direction this is going. A lot of experience, familiarity with lovie so far. My only issue is Butkus but given the circumstances of his previous time here, I'll reserve judgment. The two I'm looking at the most closely now are recruiting coordinator and S&C coach.
