The Tulane $5 Million Dollar Question
The Tulane $5 Million Dollar Question
FOX 8's Garland Gillen reported today that if Tulane wants to move on from Will Hall after this season, "it's going to cost between five and six million dollars." He said he did "a lot of searching and digging" and called it "the number."
I'm not buying it, nothing against Garland I’m just calling BS and here’s why.
What's actually public:
Tulane is a private school. Hall's contract has never been released. No document has been shown. Contract trackers that won't guess, including CFB Apex and TWO·DEEP, still list the buyout as unpublished or as having no supportable figure.
Gillen did not cite a contract, a named source, or a breakdown of what that $5 to $6 million even covers. Until somebody does, it's a report, not a fact we can check.
How we got here
The Wave is 4-5 (2-3) after a 60-10 homecoming loss to Tulsa on Nov. 7, the kind of night that ends coaches. Athletic director David Harris called the performance "unacceptable," said he was "embarrassed," and said the season "has not met the expectations of our department." There was no vote of confidence in Hall by name. Next up is at Rice on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 1 PM CT on ESPN+.
The hire, and the leverage
Hall was named head coach on Dec. 8, 2025, an in-house promotion from passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. That came after he was fired at Southern Miss in October 2024 with a 14-30 record. Tulane had been locked in on LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker, who stayed in Baton Rouge under Lane Kiffin. At his introduction, Hall said it himself, per the Associated Press: "I know I wasn't the first choice for some people in here."
A coach hired without much of a market behind him rarely walks into a $5 million buyout. That's my read. This was not a bidding. There never was a bidding war!
What I think is going on
The timing is convenient. A 50-point homecoming loss. An AD statement that puts heat on the program without saying Hall is out. Then, three days later, a $5 to $6 million price tag hits the street, with no contract to look at.
I think this number is doing a job. If Tulane can't land the right replacement, or doesn't want to spend what a real search costs, a giant buyout is the perfect excuse to stay put and sell it as fiscal responsibility.
Gillen even said he's not advocating Hall get fired after year one, and that somebody has to be willing to put up that kind of money. That's the door this figure opens.
Bottom Line
Maybe the buyout really is that high. I can't prove it isn't, because Tulane doesn't have to show the contract. But I'm not buying a $5 million golden parachute for a coach who didn't have the leverage to demand one, not without seeing the paperwork.
If this becomes the official story, brace yourselves, Wave fans.
It could mean another year of Hall Ball, or more.
#RollWave #RMFW
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