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Florida State will be in uncharted territory when it comes to hiring a new head baseball coach after the 2018-19 season. Over the coming days, we'll look at some of the key challenges facing the Seminoles and discuss which path might make the most sense going forward.
Part one: College powers have tried different approaches, found mixed results
Today: FSU will be making new hire as college baseball salaries soar
Coming next: Looking at the investments being made nationally in college baseball facilities
As soon as word began leaking out last week that baseball coach Mike Martin would be signing a one-year contract extension and setting a 2019 retirement date, Florida State fans began working on their wish lists for his replacement.
Some would like to see the Seminoles go after a big-name, proven college coach, while others believe longtime assistant Mike Martin Jr. deserves the opportunity to follow in his father's footsteps.
Still others would be happy with identifying a hungry, up-and-coming head coach from a smaller program, while another contingent is interested in going with a less-traditional approach -- tapping into the pool of former FSU players who have enjoyed success in pro baseball, such as Doug Mientkiewicz or Pedro Grifol, or popular figures with local ties like Chipola College coach Jeff Johnson or former MLB star David Ross.
Whichever route the Seminoles go, one of the considerations for Florida State's administration will be how much the school is willing to pay its next head coach. While on a slightly lesser scale than their counterparts in college football and basketball, coaches in college baseball have seen their salaries skyrocket over the last decade.
Where it was common to see top-tier baseball coaches earn about $500,000 just five years ago, several are now making roughly twice that much -- not including performance bonuses.
A perfect example of college baseball's soaring salaries exists right down the road in Gainesville, where the University of Florida hired Kevin O'Sullivan in 2007 for about $300,000 per year. His entire five-year contract was worth $1.5 million.
Now, O'Sullivan makes close to that each year in base salary, thanks to a 10-year contract he signed two years ago. It pays him $1.25 million per season, and it came with a $500,000 signing bonus.
O'Sullivan is one of several college baseball coaches now making more than $1 million per season, and others are expected to join that fraternity in the not-too-distant future. Here are some examples of the sport's top-end compensation packages.
