Mike Bobinski: “We have a chance to build something much more significant."
MORE: Five observations from Brohm's amended contract
It’s a bold, new era for Purdue football.
That first was made evident when the school built the $65 million Football Performance Complex, which opened in August 2017. The school showed another big-time commitment in April when it approved a seven-year, $36.8 million contract for Jeff Brohm. GoldandBlack.com received Brohm’s amended contract on Monday though a Freedom of Information request.
According to reports, Brohm will be the third-highest paid coach in the Big Ten next season, when he makes $5.35 million (base salary etc.). That’s more than Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio, Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst, Nebraska’s Scott Frost and Ohio State’s Ryan Day, among others.
“To allow that to be disrupted by someone else’s interest in our head coach was something we couldn’t stand by and let happen,” Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski told GoldandBlack.com. “We needed to find a way to eliminate the economic issue from this question and allow it to be based solely on his feeling about what he has begun here, what he started and what he hasn’t yet brought to fruition in a complete way. Ultimately, we were able to do that.”
Not long ago, the thought of Purdue paying a football coach so handsomely would have seemed like folly. But the university realizes what it has in Brohm. What will Brohm have to do to justify such a lofty salary?
“I am not sure I ever looked at it that way,” said Bobinski. “The reason we were as aggressive as we felt we needed to be is the process of turning a football program is a complicated and labor-intensive and time-intensive endeavor. It doesn’t happen overnight if you are doing it above-board. It’s a build, it’s a layering of time, it’s a development of talent, it’s a building of a mind-set, it’s an environment that supports success.”
Purdue was forced to increase Brohm’s package this offseason when Louisville came in hot pursuit of Brohm, who is 13-13 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten with two bowls in two seasons in West Lafayette.
Brohm grew up in Louisville, where he also was a star quarterback for the Cardinals. It’s the same school where his father—Oscar—also played. And Brohm’s two brothers—Greg and Brian—also played for Louisville. The Brohm name is football royalty in Derby City. When Louisville fired Bobby Petrino in November, all eyes immediately focused on bringing Brohm home. He was the apple of Louisville’s eye. He was the No. 1 target.
But to the shock and amazement of many, Brohm rebuffed Louisville. He felt he owed it to Purdue and his players to remain loyal as he works to build the Purdue program. And Bobinski wanted to make sure he did all he could to keep Brohm on campus.
“I don’t think I’ll ever know exactly what Louisville offered,” said Bobinski. “We weren’t privy to that nor did they know what we were doing. I did know this: They were going to be extremely aggressive. They had a search target of one individual on their radar. And they were gonna push all the chips in on the table to that end. So we were as aggressive as we possibly thought we could be without crossing over into irresponsible. What will need to happen (to justify the big contract)? Honestly, what is happening will be what we expect to see as we continue to move in a very positive direction. I think this is something we look back on and say, 'Yes, we made the right decision here.' "
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Brohm will make $5.5 million in 2020. His salary will drop to $4.9 million in 2021 but jump $200,000 in 2022, and then by $100,000 the rest of the contract. The total value of the contract--which runs until 2025--includes supplemental income, base salary, retention bonuses and a signing bonus.
“I felt, President (Mitch) Daniels and the board that we were at a point where we had begun to see tangible evidence that we are no longer mired in a state of modest competitiveness,” said Bobinski. “We have a chance to build something much more significant.”
Will this lucrative contract finally put an end to what has become an annual pursuit of Brohm by other schools? Tennessee made a strong run for him after the 2017 campaign, followed by Louisville after last season.
“There aren’t a lot of people who can play in that world at this point,” said Bobinski. “You certainly have eliminated a lot of the noise out there, because it only would be people at the very top of the pyramid.
“This year was unique. Whenever (Louisville) opened and Jeff wasn’t there, it was gonna be a thing for whoever had him in their employment. Happened to be us. Happened to be last year. Didn’t see that coming. Don’t think any of us saw that coming last year. So, there it was. Absent that, I don’t think we would be in the soup the way we were. I can’t predict, but I would think the field of prospective destinations has narrowed considerably.”
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