re: Coaches pay should be based on winning not on the possibility of winning

It's obviously not practical, but I understand the OP's point. There are, at all times, coaches making elite money for mediocre performance. That's screwed up. But the trade off here is that there is absolutely no loyalty from colleges to coaches. You can go from national championship to being fired in less than one year. Before anyone flames and says I'm an apologist for O, please chill. I think letting him go was the right decision. My only point, is that it's completely reasonable for coaches to demand big guaranteed contracts, because everyone knows that they're a season or two away from being fired at all times.