YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR is an old-time expression. Most of us don’t like talking salaries with our friends/family. But It’s still very true—if its clothes, houses, cars, seats at a sporting event, etc-YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.  Let’s take a look at the sports world. Performing at exactly at the level that a player is paid at any time is somewhat unusual. Sometimes a player doesn’t perform at the expected level and on occasion, the player exceeds expectations according to their salary. Generally, teams & players don’t want to share salary vs performance rates with fans.

…The Blues have decided to hire an experienced, winning Head Coach. They expect to get WHAT THEY PAY FOR in new head coach, Jim Montgomery. The abrupt departure of Drew Bannister was not totally unexpected. The Blues lost 13 of their first 22 games this season. The Blues (9-12-1) are 30^th(of 30 teams) in the NHL in goals per game (2.36), 29th in shots per game (26.2) and 25th in power-play efficiency (16.7 percent). A 3-1 loss at the New York Islanders on Saturday marked the 13th time in 22 games they’ve scored two or fewer goals, and the seventh they’ve scored one or none. Only two teams have scored fewer than their 2.36 goals a game, and they rank in the bottom third of the league on the power play and penalty kill while ravaged by injuries.

…Bannister was a rookie Head Coach—he was on the lower end of the pay scale. It wasn’t necessarily his record that led to his dismissal. Bannister held a 39-31-6 in 76 games as Blues coach after replacing Berube on Dec. 14, 2023. But the team seemed to be spiraling towards another non-playoff season. Barring a miracle, it appeared to me that Bannister was just a place holder until the Blues found the Coach that they really wanted behind the bench.

…Jim Montgomery was the man! He’s not a rookie coach. He’s been a Head Coach –for the Bruins & Dallas Stars. He coached during the 2018-19 season and part of 2019-20 season, going 60-43-10 in 114 games. His NHL career record is 180-84-33 in 297 games. He was an assistant here under Craig Berube from 2020-22.  So….he’s a proven coach that has a background with the Blues. He signed a 5 year contract with the Blues!!!

…Montgomery has some solid credentials. He was hired as Bruins coach July 1, 2022, and led them to the best single-season record in League history (65-12-5) that season. Boston had 135 points one of the NHL bests. Montgomery won the Jack Adams Award that season as the League’s coach of the year. But the Bruins lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Florida Panthers in seven games after taking a 3-1 lead. Sooo…in the hockey world, losing early in the playoffs wipes out a glamorous regular season mark.

…Clearly the Blues hope to GET WHAT THEY PAY FOR in Montgomery. He’s a proven winner! He knows the St Louis “sports climate” (he played here for the Blues), staff, management. It’s funny…the NHL turns over their coaches quicker than any other sport. Maybe its because hockey is played with emotion each & every game.  A coach can only find so many different ways to motivate the emotions of the players 80+ times over a 6 month season & playoffs. No matter how good the coach, the message must become repetitious and land on deaf ears. Then, the play on the ice becomes…who has the best skills, stamina and a bit of luck (with some of the deflections that become “game winners”.

…Immediately in the 1^st game, we saw more shots(a firm belief of Montgomery)…many more shots by the Blues. Montgomery’s philosophy is to control mid-ice  i.e. get into transition and play offensively not defensively in the majority of the game. Let’s hope it works.

….With the change of the Blues HC, I had look @ the MLB situation. Remember, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR….soooo..here’s the top 10 paid managers in the MLB…  

                                           Team                                  Total Compensation

1          Craig Counsell Chicago Cubs                          $8 million

2          Torey Lovullo Arizona Diamondbacks          $5 million

3          Bruce Bochy   Texas Rangers                         $4.5 million

T-4-8    Ron Washington Los Angeles Angels,  Stephen Vogt Cleveland Guardians,

            Bob Melvin     San Francisco Giants,   Mike Shildt   SD Padres  

            Brian Snitker  Atlanta Braves — all tied for#4   all @ $4 million

9          Dave Martinez Washington Nationals          $3.5 million

10        Aaron Boone  New York Yankees                  $3.3 million

….On the other hand, this was the first time since 2016 that the ALCS did not feature the Houston Astros, who previously made seven consecutive appearances from 2017 to 2023. It was also the first time since 2000 that both teams from New York City appeared in the LCS, and the third time in postseason history that it has occurred (1999, 2000, and 2024).

 It’s also the first time that the AL Central had three teams reaching the postseason in the Tigers, Royals and Guardians. All three advanced at least one round!

It’s a bit surprising to me that the Yankees (#10) and the Dodgers (#11) are not in the top 5 paid managers since they are #1-#2 in player salary!! It’s also not surprising that Ollie Marmol isn’t on this list to top paid managers since the Cards are in the “reset” mode!

…Since we’re in the fall season, let’s continue our look at top 15 salaries of the NCAA-Football Coaches. Most are not surprising. If these coaches don’t win….they’ll be gone. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR in a coach—his recruiting, won-lost record, interaction with fans/media, each one must make a bowl of some sort (hence the 2 or 3 useless, cupcake games that practically ensure a winning record).

Coach                          School             Conference     Salary per Season Kirby Smart                Georgia           SEC                  $13.3 million Dabo Swinney             Clemson          ACC                  $11.1 million Steve Sarkisian           Texas               SEC                  $10.6 million

Lincoln Riley,  USC-Big 10; Ryan Day-Ohio State-Big 10  Mike Norvell-Florida State ACC   Kalen DeBoer–Alabama  SEC & Brian Kelly-LSU  SEC –at  $10 million!!! Mark Stoops-Kentucky-SEC, Lane Kiffin Ole Miss-SEC Eliah Drinkwitz-Missouri-SEC,    Josh Heupel –Tennessee  SEC—all @ $9 million!  ***Notice that all of these are very recent coaches. As a side note–8 of the top 10 highest paid college coaches are in the SEC or the Big 10.

…btw… the HIGHEST WINNING PERCENTAGE belongs to Knute Rockne-ND, he compiled a          .881 percentage with a career mark of 105-12-5.

…Only ONE current college coaches ranks in the top 50 of coaches with the highest winning percentage!  It’s Dabo Swinney! Swinney as been the HC @ Clemson since 2008 and holds a 170-43, .798%  during that time frame! Sooo…it’s easy to see why he’s the 2^nd highest paid HC.

…Andy Reid, a 3-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs, ranks as the highest-paid coach of ANY sport with an annual income of $20 million. Widely regarded as the best active head coach, Reid is the only NFL coach to have won 100 games with two different franchises: the Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. Denver Broncos’ coach Sean Payton, who claimed the Vince Lombardi Trophy with the New Orleans Saints at Super Bowl XLIV, follows closely at $18 million annually.  The third and fourth spots are occupied by NBA coaches: Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors, earning $17.5 million per year, and Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, making $17 million.  Tied for 5th place are Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jim Harbaugh of the Los Angeles Chargers, each earning $16 million per season. Harbaugh, who led the Michigan Wolverines to a national championship in 2023, was signed by the Chargers to a five-year, $80 million contract. Btw….since Harbaugh’s departure from Michigan, they have fallen to a mediocre 7-5 record under 1^st year coach, Sherrone Moore.

…Now, sometimes players/managers far exceed their payrolls. With just 5 years of experience, Mike Schildt is 31^st of ALL MANAGERS in MLB history in win % @ .563. His winning percentage exceeds some very well known names—HOF-Walter Alston-.558; HOF-Bobby Cox-.556; Miller Huggins-.555; Billy Martin-.553; Dusty Baker-.540; Joe Torre-.538; Whitey Herzog-.532. In case you’re wondering, there has been 368 managers in MLB history.

…the MLB has evolved over the years—the Closer is now more important than some, probably most, of the starters.  Take a look at the salaries of the top closers below in the MLB in 2024 AND how many ended up in the MLB Playoffs—6 of the top 10 paid Closers made the playoffs in 2024. Even in the bullpen, you do GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR…

Edwin Díaz: New York Mets, $19.7 million –PLAYOFF TEAM Josh Hader: Houston Astros, $19 million –PLAYOFF TEAM Raisel Iglesias: Atlanta Braves, $16 million –PLAYOFF TEAM & Kenley Jansen: Boston Red Sox, $16m

Ryan Pressly: Houston Astros, $14 million – PLAYOFF TEAM Craig Kimbrel: Baltimore Orioles, $12 million –PLAYOFF TEAM Anthony DeSclafani: Minnesota Twins, $12 million Taylor Rogers: Giants, $12 million Rafael Montero: Astros, $11.5 million PLAYOFF TEAM Robert Stephenson: Angels, $11 million

Thanks for your read!  Hope that all of you enjoyed a wonderful THANKSGIVING weekend! Please pass the word to your “sports” friends & family about the Buzz! I’m looking for sports fans of all sorts. YOU DEFINITELY GET MORE THAN YOU PAY FOR in the Buzz!!!  Bob