Bailiff got his first head coaching gig, naturally, back at the alma mater. He won 21 games in three years and took his Bobcats to the 2005 I-AA semifinals, and that was enough to attract a rather desperate Rice. The Owls had gone 45 years between bowls (with only six winning seasons in the process) before first-year head coach Todd Graham brought them to the New Orleans Bowl in 2006 and left for Tulsa. Scorned and scrambling, the program went unorthodox.
The results have been … unorthodox. Bailiff has been known for innovative offenses despite his history as a defensive coach, and he has produced four bowls, a conference title, two 10-win seasons … and three three-win (or worse) campaigns. Either things click or they don’t.
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In the meantime, Rice has upgraded its facilities and shed most of its “You simply can’t win here” reputation.
With his six-year, $78 million contract, Berry now becomes the highest-paid safety in the NFL. Last year, Berry was paid $10.8 million under the franchise tag — good for second in the league, behind Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu, whose $62.5 million deal pays him $12.5 million per year. Berry’s deal makes him the richest safety in the NFL, earning $13 million per year.
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Rounding out the top five highest-paid safeties are Harrison Smith ($10.25 mil/year), Earl Thomas ($10 mil/year), and Devin McCourty ($9.5 mil/year).
Earlier this month, Chiefs general manger John Dorsey told Arrowhead Pride that the team had “very positive conversations” with Berry’s representatives about contract talks.
Berry’s agent, Chad Speck, had a slightly different take, though. He responded, “I wouldn’t characterize it as ‘positive’ — but we are talking. We’ve got a long ways to go.”