Second thoughts

Muschamp getting paid well, twice

FILE  - Int his Jan. 1, 2015, file photo, Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp watches before the Outback Bowl NCAA college football game in Tampa, Fla. . The former Gators coach, who was fired last season and hired as Auburn's defensive coordinator two weeks after he coached his final game for Florida, has the Tigers in position to make a signing day surge. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
FILE - Int his Jan. 1, 2015, file photo, Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp watches before the Outback Bowl NCAA college football game in Tampa, Fla. . The former Gators coach, who was fired last season and hired as Auburn's defensive coordinator two weeks after he coached his final game for Florida, has the Tigers in position to make a signing day surge. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

Not too many times in life does someone get to "double dip."

Such is the case with Auburn's football defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who was fired as Florida's head coach in November and is collecting $6.3 million from the Gators and is being paid $1.6 million to be in charge of Auburn's defense.

When Florida terminated Muschamp, it did not put any mitigation in the contract that relieved it of any financial responsibilities if Muschamp took another job.

With Muschamp collecting paychecks from both schools, he's used his connections in Florida to land some valuable recruits from the state. He played a role in signing five-star defensive end Byron Cowart (Seffner), four-star linebacker Jeffery Holland (Jacksonville), wide receiver Ryan Davis (St. Petersburg) and Javarius Davis (Jacksonville). He also helped convince Atlanta's Michael Horton to change his commitment from Florida to Auburn.

The only provision in Muschamp's Florida contract was that he was precluded from recruiting against the Gators once leaving the school, if his new school did not previously have any contact with those recruits. But since Auburn and Florida are in the SEC, chances are both of those schools are going to be battling for similar recruits.

In other words, good luck enforcing the provision.

Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said he realizes there's not much he can do and still has a contractual obligation to meet.

"I get the angst that that causes," Foley said Monday. "But at the end of the day, we terminated Will. It's not like he moved on his own. We terminated his contract. We said we needed to go in a different direction. He's free to work. He's free to go get a job. He's free to do his job.

"I'm not really hung up on that. I know some people are. If Will didn't work at all, we're still paying him the same amount of money. That's the world we live in. This is the big leagues.."

Painful ring

Former Buffalo Bills kicker Scot Norwood, who missed a 47-yard field goal at the end of Super Bowl XXV that would have defeated the New York Giants, has his AFC Championship rings from the 1990 and 1991 seasons up for auction.

The 20-19 loss to the Giants was the first of four consecutive Super Bowl losses for the Bills.

Losses in championship games for teams that have experienced droughts can be hard to relive. For example, the foul ball that Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman failed to catch that helped start a Florida Marlins rally in Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series, went on the auction block and was later destroyed.

But Dan Imler, vice president of SCP Auctions, which is auctioning off Norwood's two rings, said he expects the 1990 ring, valuated at $15,000, to command a large price from a Bills fan, especially given the close nature of the loss.

"I think this would mean more to a Bills fan," Imler said.

Imagine the value of the rings if the kick was good.

Web heads

From the web site fark.com:

• "Tony Dorsett can't remember when the Cowboys were ever any good."

• "Adam Silver not done fixing the NBA. I thought the NBA had been fixed for years."

Sports on 02/10/2015

Upcoming Events