With the firing of head football coach John Cooper, finding a replacement isn’t the only worry for Ohio State’s Department of Athletics. If the salaries of other coaches in the Big Ten are any guide, the department will have to shell out a large amount of cash to lure a new coach to Columbus.While Cooper’s replacement likely won’t receive the $10 million offered to Dick Vermeil to coach the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, he will probably demand a salary exceeding that of most would-be masters of the sport. Big Ten football earns big money, and the eventual head coach will want to be paid accordingly. With athletics already giving Cooper $1.8 million to buy him out, affordablity will probably remain one of the key factors determining who the new head coach will be.As head coach of the Buckeyes, John Cooper made a base salary of $200,000 and collected a total of $1.1 million per year, including media appearances, camps and endorsements. His five-year contract also included team and academic performance bonuses.Cooper’s deal was re-worked in 1999 after he had been head coach at OSU for more than 13 years. His replacement’s first contract will most likely be for less money.The status of the head coaching position at OSU closely mirrors that of the Buckeye’s rival from Ann Arbor. At the University of Michigan, head football coach Lloyd Carr has a seven-year contract, signed in 1998, with a base salary of $280,000. He also receives an additional $465,000 “as compensation for his television, radio, Internet, and other services,” according to his contract.Barry Alvarez, head coach at the University of Wisconsin, earns a base of $400,000 in addition to around $490,000 from media appearances and endorsements. “All together he makes about $1 million,” said Kip Marvin of UW’s personnel department. In addition, Alvarez can make bonuses of 5 percent for winning the conference, 10 percent for going to a Big Ten bowl and 5 percent for making it to a Bowl Championship Series game.With Penn State’s Joe Paterno having legendary status and Michigan’s top-ten rankings almost annually, Wisconsin is arguably the closest school for comparison. Hiring a prominent Division One head coach could call for a similar package.The Badgers have had success on the field, winning three Rose Bowls in the 90s, but have also had off-the-field problems, most notably when players were suspended this past season for receiving improper discounts from an athletic shoe store.On Dec. 5, 1999, Bobby Williams, head coach at Michigan State, was promoted from within the program, replacing Nick Saban, who left for the same position at Louisianna State Universtiy. According to the Lansing State Journal, Williams agreed to a five-year, $485,000 contract, with bonuses for player’s grade point averages and for bowl appearances. This was significantly less than the near $700,000 that Saban made. Williams salary was much more than the $85,285 he made as running back coach. If OSU hires an assistant from another team, or promotes assistant head coach Fred Pagac from within, they could get a similar deal.Glen Mason at the University of Minnesota, another candidate for the OSU position, signed a seven-year contract this past June. A university spokesperson said Mason earns a salary of $635,000, along with $325,000 in media fees.It can be argued that Mason would receive a raise if he came to the Buckeyes, or that he would take a pay cut to coach his alma mater. Regardless of speculation, arrangements would have to be made regarding his existing contract, which runs through 2007.