"People shouldn't be offended when somebody leaves," Alvarez said. "Someone else wants them and is going to spend more money than we're willing to pay. That's part of the business. It happens to everyone."
In fact, LSU's defensive coordinator has left following each of the past two seasons to take coordinator jobs in the SEC. Just this year, Pitt's offensive coordinator left to take the same job at Georgia (just a year after leaving Arkansas). Arkansas' offensive line coach took the same position at Georgia. The coaching carousel doesn't only apply to head coaches.
How can LSU afford to more than double Aranda's salary? One answer is that most schools in the SEC have around 18 sports programs to underwrite (the Tigers have 19 sports) while the average in the Big Ten Conference is 23 (the Badgers have 23).
"The reason they can go up higher (in the SEC) is they're not supporting as many sports," Alvarez said. "It's a difference in philosophy. The Big Ten is known for being more broad-based in its sports offerings. We are committed to supporting a broad-based athletic program. People may dismiss that, but it's a real thing. They can sink more of their money into football.
"But we still feel we're very competitive. We're very cognizant of what everyone else is paying. We make adjustments annually.
"You can get your entire staff out of whack if every time someone has a job (offer) you have to give them a raise. You have to make decisions as you go along, what you can handle and what you can't, and go from there."
Alvarez used associate head coach and offensive line assistant Joe Rudolph as an example of someone who deserves a raise. Rudolph molded a unit through a series of injuries and eight different starting lineups. The final product that faced USC had one senior and four redshirt freshmen.
