Wednesday, March 3, 2010

South Carolina State Coach Pough picks program progress over pay

Coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough and FAMU's Coach Joe Taylor shares the same attorney in Ricky Lefft. However, Coach Pough owns the MEAC championship crown.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Joseph “Ricky” Lefft and his family go back a long way with South Carolina State head football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough. If anyone can attest to Pough’s coaching credentials, it would be his friend, attorney and agent. “People know that Buddy is not just a good coach, he’s an exceptional coach,” Lefft said. “So his record (67-26 overall in eight seasons at S.C. State) speaks for itself. They haven’t backed down from anybody. He’s got a real good coaching staff. They’ve done it the right way. They’re extremely well-organized. They do it very professionally.”

Such insight was apparently not a secret to other schools like Southern University where rumors surfaced about interest in hiring a coach -- potentially Pough -- at an annual base salary of $300,000. Pough and Southern denied discussing that school’s opening, and the school eventually settled on Citadel graduate and former NFL running back Stump Mitchell, who has a contract that pays $200,000 per season. At the same time, Lefft was finalizing a contract extension which would keep Pough on the Bulldog sidelines through 2015.

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