LSU basketball coach Will Wade has had his contract amended by the school.
The young coach was suspended for a substantial time this past season after he was allegedly caught on tape discussing payments to recruits. However, he was recently reinstated after the school didn’t find evidence to keep him away from his job. (RELATED: Dick Vitale Gets Into Heated Exchange Over LSU Basketball Coach Will Wade)
Sports Illustrated reported the following Wednesday on Wade’s new deal:
Under two amendments he agreed the school add to his contract, LSU can fire Wade for cause if he is found to have committed Level I or Level II NCAA violations, or if the NCAA infractions committee issues a formal notice of Level 1 or Level 2 violations to LSU involving the coach. Wade also agreed to waive the $250,000 in performance bonuses he contractually earned in 2018–19 and agreed not to sue the school if he were fired over NCAA violations.
Wade really had no choice but to take this deal. What was he going to do? If he left LSU, he wouldn’t get another major job right away.
That meant his only realistic option was to give up the money, accept the new stipulations and return to his job with the Tigers.
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The man can coach. There’s no doubt at all about it. However, it’s clear his leash with the school going forward is going to be incredibly short.
The fact he has it in his deal to not sue if fired over violations tells you just about everything you need to know. The margin for error with Wade is about as small as it can get.
The question now is how will he bounce back after returning from suspension? Will he slide right back in like nothing happened? Will the team accept him back with open arms?
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These are the questions that’ll be answered going forward. He has all the necessary skills to have a long and successful coaching career.
He just needs to make sure he can stay out of trouble, because LSU has made it clear he’ll be gone if he doesn’t.