We've all heard about how CEO's identify with sports coaches and borrow sports clichés ad nauseam. Here's an example of a big-time college program taking a page from the business world playbook.

University of Texas football coach Mack Brown apparently has no plans to leave any time soon. Obviously happy with Brown at the helm, the dilemma for UT has been how to retain highly regarded defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. The result was a page right out of the business school playbook and something called `succession planning," says labor & employment attorney Audrey Mross of Dallas' Munck Carter, P.C. To keep Muschamp, the university named him `head coach in waiting' and also gave him a hefty raise. In return, the school keeps a valuable coaching talent and provides peace of mind that the program is in good hands long-term. "The promise given to Coach Muschamp demonstrates what businesses will need to do to remain competitive -- attract and keep the best talent," Mross says. "It's no secret that the baby boomer generation is retiring in droves, so employers need to get creative to keep key players in place. However, the last thing an employer, or athletic director, wants to do is make these promises only to see employees get complacent, or lose ballgames, and be stuck with them or pay exorbitant buy-outs." For more information, contact Alan Bentrup at 800-559-4534 or at alan@androvett.com.