Subject: Reeling from Dismal State Budget, La. Gov. Takes Aim at ‘Obscene’ College Coaching Salaries

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is making headlines for taking aim at skyrocketing college football coaching salaries. He said routine multi-year multi-million contracts were “obscene” and that coaching pay should be capped.

“I am concerned,” Edwards, a Democrat, told the editorial board atThe Advocate in Baton Rouge last week. “I do think that there has to be some look nationally at some sort of salary caps for the organizations. This is an arms race, and it’s gotten out of control. Some of the salaries and buyouts are obscene, and they can create all sorts of problems.”

The governor’s tough talk on coaching salaries this week comes against the backdrop of a historic budget crisis that has plagued the state for years and at a time when Edwards is asking lawmakers to decide between raising taxes by more than $800 million or slashing funding for major departments across the state and cutting back on the number of sheriffs, district attorneys and prison cells. At other times, Edwards has said some of the state colleges might have to be shuttered temporarily to help shore up the budget.

In his meeting with The Advocate, the governor acknowledged that the coaching salaries aren’t being paid by taxpayers but that “the general public doesn’t necessarily know that.”

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