Copyright San Diego Union-Tribune
Two games into the college football season, after San Diego State’s lopsided loss to Washington State, chatboard threads regarding SDSU coach Sean Lewis included discussion of his dismissal, how much his buyout would cost and potential replacements. With the Aztecs now enjoying a six-game winning streak, chatter has turned to fears Lewis could be lured away by another school. His popularity has suddenly soared. The title on one thread: “Sean Lewis for Mayor!” John David Wicker, SDSU’s director of athletics, doesn’t want to lose Lewis to another school (or politics, for that matter). After this season, Lewis will have three years remaining on his five-year contract. Given the turnaround in the program this season, the subject of an extension has been broached. “We’ve met,” Wicker said. “Just chatted about all the things that are going on in the world of college football right now. So we feel like we’re at a good, comfortable place right now.” There are currently a dozen FBS openings. It includes nine Power Four schools — Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Stanford, UCLA and Virginia Tech — as well as Colorado State and Oregon State, two schools that will be in the new Pac-12. The 12th: Alabama-Birmingham. Lewis isn’t necessarily being considered for one of those positions. But that’s what gets the coaching carousel spinning. For example, here are the chain of events set off two years ago when Alabama coach Nick Saban retired: the Crimson Tide hired Washington coach Kalen DeBoer to replace Saban; the Huskies hired Arizona coach Jedd Fisch to replaced DeBoer; the Wildcats hired San Jose State coach Brent Brennan to replace Fisch; and San Jose State hired UCLA assistant Ken Niumatalolo to replace Brennan. It’s early in the cycle, but that’s when discussions get going. Wicker and Lewis have yet to discuss the timing or terms of an extension. “I think it’s, you know, whatever he’s comfortable with, whatever I’m comfortable with,” Wicker said. There was a time when schools regularly extended contracts to show potential recruits coaching stability within the program. “It’s a little different now that you’ve got the transfer portal and, you know, a lot of churn each year,” Wicker said. “We’ve had good discussions and happy with where we’re at right now, knowing that we’ve got the rest of the season to work through, and there’s a lot going on out in the rest of the college athletics world. “We’ll continue to have good dialogue.” Lewis is scheduled to make a base salary this season of $1,853,100, with annual increases of $100,000 over the next three years. He also has several contract incentives that could boost his pay. He already has earned a $10,000 bonus for beating a Power Five school (Cal). He also has qualified for at least $50,000 for being bowl eligible. The amount grows if SDSU plays in a bowl with a payout greater than $1.5 million or participates in the College Football Playoff. “We’re going sit down and figure out what works best for Sean and the Aztecs going forward,” Wicker said. “Obviously, we want to keep him as long as we possibly can. We also know we’re San Diego State and the people that we might be competing against. We’re going to try to put every resource that we can in front of it.”
