Three-Point Stance: Bargain coaches, Malzahn, no visit policies

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here with a look at the highest-paid college football coaches, Gus Malzahn's decision-making and ineffective no visit policies.

MORE FARRELL: Teams on the rebound | Underrated coaches | Defender for Heisman?

USA TODAY has released its annual look at the highest-paid coaches in college football, and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh leads the way this season with an annual salary of more than $9 million. Here’s a breakdown of the top 10 and whether they're good or bad values.

Jim Harbaugh – CHEAP – The Michigan coach leads the way at more than $9 million, a lofty figure for sure, but he’s worth every penny. Before Harbaugh, Michigan was a mess and played little brother to Michigan State. Now? The Wolverines are the No. 2 team in the country, the Spartans have been relegated back to second place in the state and the Michigan brand is as hot as it’s ever been. Harbaugh is 17-3 overall since taking over and the alumni has never been happier.

Nick Saban – CHEAP – There's not much to say here, right? Saban, who could win his fifth national title in eight seasons this year, will earn just under $7 million in 2016.

Urban Meyer – CHEAP – Meyer joins Harbaugh and Saban as the only coaches to earn more than $6 million. Under Meyer, the Buckeyes are a national title contender every season and his recruiting alone is worth the fat check. Meyer is a staggering 56-5 at Ohio State.

Bob Stoops – CHEAP – Stoops, scheduled to earn $5.5 million this year, led his team to the College Football Playoff last season. His Sooners have won 10 or more games in five of the last six seasons. Oklahoma has a great coach even if he might need to say goodbye to his brother as defensive coordinator.

Jimbo Fisher – CHEAP – From 2012 to 2014, Fisher led his team to a 39-6 record and a national championship. The 2015 campaign was an average year at 10-3 for Fisher and 5-2 so far this season hasn’t been great, but you can’t say he’s not earning his $5.25 million.

Charlie Strong – PRICEY – At $5.2 million for 2016, 3-4 isn’t getting it done and the Longhorns often look worse than last season. Strong is 14-18 overall and 10-12 at Texas in the easiest Power Five conference. That is not good and certainly not worth the money.

Kevin Sumlin – PRICEY – At $5 million a year, a 21-16 record in the SEC is a bit pedestrian for the price tag. Since winning 11 games in his first season in Aggieland, Sumlin has posted win totals of nine, eight and eight games, so a 10-win season this year is a must. His overall record of 42-17 is good but not great.

Gus Malzahn – PRICEY – Like Sumlin, Malzahn started off with a boom leading Auburn to 12 wins and an appearance in the national title game. Since then he's posted middling 8-5 and 7-6 records, and is 5-2 so far this season. Auburn is hot right now, so this won’t be a popular tag but I expect a better record than 32-15 overall and 16-12 in the SEC for $4.7 million.

Hugh Freeze – PRICEY – Freeze is also set to earn $4.7 million this year, like Malzahn, but has posted a less impressive record – 37-22 overall and 18-18 in the SEC. His breakthrough season was last year at 10-3 and a Sugar Bowl victory. Ole Miss is in the middle of a 3-4 season which, coupled with his record, puts him on the pricey end of things right now.

James Franklin – PRICEY – Franklin is coming off a huge win over Ohio State and is off to his best season yet at Penn State, but a 19-14 overall record and 9-11 mark in the Big Ten still doesn’t equal $4.5 million a year.

Kirk Ferentz – PRICEY – Ferentz, who makes the same, is 132-90 overall and has a winning Big Ten record. He led the Hawkeyes to the Rose Bowl last season but, with only two 10-plus win seasons since 2005, the price tag is heavy. These guys make more than Dabo Swinney, Mark Dantonio and some other coaches who have had much better recent success.

Malzahn’s overall record and high price tag might put him on the pricey list for now, but the decisions he has made recently could have him headed back to cheap status in the near future.

First, he hired Kevin Steele away from LSU in the offseason to replace Will Muschamp as Auburn’s defensive coordinator. That hire alone has saved Malzahn’s job. The defense kept the Tigers in the Clemson game in the opener and led to a win over LSU a few weeks later. The LSU game was also the first game in which Malzahn turned over offensive play-calling duties to coordinator Rhett Lashlee. Things have taken off since.

Malzahn's indecision at the quarterback position in the Clemson game has transitioned, under Lashlee, to a run-heavy offense that has led to efficient quarterback play. You don’t typically see head coaches known for their offensive or defensive genius step away from the call sheet. Malzahn did it last season as well before the Texas A&M game, a 26-10 crucial win.

Following a 56-3 drubbing of Arkansas and with a less-than-daunting schedule leading up to the Iron Bowl, Auburn is suddenly an SEC West contender again. And, by the way, Steele makes $1.1 million and Lashlee makes $600,000 according to reports.

If you're a college football coach in 2016, you have to let committed recruits take visits to other programs. I am a cranky, old man who thinks your word is your word and a commitment is a commitment. But I am also a realist.

There are conflicting reports about what happened with Texas running back Eno Benjamin and his decommitment from Iowa, but all of these stories have one thing in common: The Iowa staff wasn’t comfortable with Benjamin visiting other schools while being committed.

Whether the Hawkeyes encouraged him to decommit, gave him grief about the visits or Benjamin simply used the conflict as an excuse to decommit is up for debate. But the bottom line is this: If you try to enforce a no visit policy in this day and age, it will bite you in the butt. Coaches take heed.