Talking about money

TDP gave his first interview in some months to the P&C, talking about his health and the financial status of the athletic department.

The basics:
-Oliver Purnell hasn't been contacted by other schools, and they have been discussing a payraise to his contract for several months now.

-The department is sound financially, and IPTAY renewals are coming in at a good rate. They have budgeted for a 10% decrease in revenue though. They won't know for sure til all the ticket applications have come in.

-The university basically took extra money from the AD to run the general budget, increasing the giving from $1.3 to 2.8 million.

-Dabo's contract is still unsigned. He and his agent have it, but haven't signed it. No word on the holdup.

Then he talks about Bowden's conrract and how it cashed in on potential rather than production, and this one is heavily incentive-laden. In reality, the number of years on a contract means squat, because its really a one-year deal every year that you renegotiate if the team does well, and either side can leave when they want. Dabo will be able to in particular, because there is no buyout. The only people who do care deal with recruiting, because the media likes to make a big deal of a coach only having 3 years left.

When asked on whether we'll have an indoor practice facility soon, the answer was no, unless somebody wants to donate the money. He points out, rightly, that most teams who have one don't use them that often, and only when its pouring or extremely cold. So when WEZ is done, we're done from a football standpoint.

I park beside LSU's indoor facility everyday, and I can tell you they are always outside practicing, and the band probably uses the indoor facility more often than the football team.

Napier is trying to bring the offense together, and was encouraged by the performance in the scrimmage last weekend. Another article belabors the same points for the OL you've always heard. Billy, just give the ball to CJ 25 times a game, and watch the yards pile up. Ya'll wouldnt give it to JD, so I'll believe you'll do that when I see it.

Salaries of the new staff have been released. Nothing stands out to me here except that Napier is making so little in comparison to other more experienced guys, even on offense, and that the coaches are now on multi-year deals. Steele through Dec. 2011, Harbison through Dec. 2010, for example.