Buccaneers paying big money to Southern Miss for Todd Monken

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are paying the University of Southern Mississippi a whopping $350,000 to buy out Todd Monken's contract and get him to come in as their offensive coordinator, Jason Munz of the Hattiesburg American reports (h/t Greg Auman).

Monken was Southern Miss' head coach for the past four years, and he turned an 0-12 team into a 9-5 unit during that time, earning a bowl berth this past season. Southern Miss wanted to retain Monken, but he instead opted to bolt to the NFL and come coach Jameis Winston and Mike Evans under Dirk Koetter's guidance. It's a testament to how much the Bucs wanted Monken that they were willing to pay off his contract.

Say what you want, the Glazers haven't been cheap in paying for coaches recently. They're currently paying Greg Schiano, Lovie Smith and Dirk Koetter for head coaching jobs, after reportedly (Pewter Report) making Koetter the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the NFL last year.