First, Shibest was not a recruiting powerhouse so you completely invalidate your point on that front. We are paying big but certainly not getting SEC recruiting - just because he was in the SEC doesn't make him a major recruiter (he was also at of the bottom programs as far as recruiting in the SEC).

Second, we paid our former OC (Stiney) only $330k but a ST coordinator makes over $400?!? That doesn't make any sense!

Also, Torian would not have made more than his current salary by "just making a bowl" - you need to understand percentages a bit more. Even making a Tier 1 bowl it would have been a pay cut - plus he lost out on the automatic 5% pay increase each year if they didn't make a bowl.

Brad's salary makes sense but Galen seems like a forced fit (and could lead to some issues in the long term).

Finally, you have a lot to learn about change management. This current approach is what most companies do when they acquire other companies; however, that typically ends up poorly for the staff. CJF (while I like him) came in and undervalued the existing staff that build the program and overvalued his previous staff. That is not how you should bring people together. Even if they like each other, the current staff are going to resent the fact they are undervalued and that their new colleagues with fewer accomplishments are getting paid more.