The school's lawyers, however, thought something else. Citing Louisiana's strict nepotism law, the legal staff told Weatherbie that his son Jonas could serve as the school's quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator only if he drew no salary.

"It was disappointing," the coach says. "I thought maybe we could work something out where he had to report to the athletic director or maybe the university president."

USA TODAY research found that 13 of 120 (10.8%) NCAA Bowl Subdivision head football coaches have a relative on staff. The list includes Tennessee's Monte Kiffin, father of first-year head coach Lane Kiffin and one of the most respected defensive minds in the nation.

Kiffin, Tennessee's defensive coordinator, is also the best-compensated assistant in FBS at $1.2 million. Compensation for three of the schools where family members are on staff — Penn State, Southern California and Baylor — was unavailable because they work at private schools or where such open-records disclosures aren't required.

Tennessee also employs Lane Kiffin's brother-in-law, David Reaves, as quarterbacks coach.

Nepotism laws vary by state, but state-run institutions such as public colleges usually prevent managers from hiring, promoting or evaluating family members. Most schools approach nepotism similarly to Arizona State, which employs Dennis Erickson as head coach and his son, Bryce, as an assistant. Administrators set up a new chain of command in which Bryce has to report to senior associate athletics director Don Bocchi.

Texas-El Paso athletics director Bob Stull says a similar setup works well at his school, which employs head coach Mike Price and his son, Aaron, as co-offensive coordinator.

"It wouldn't be right if he directly reported to Mike, who would then make a decision on salary and whatever else," Stull says. "No matter who it is, they are going to be held accountable to the same standards."

That doesn't mean some don't question the merit of tapping a relative as an assistant. Ryan Cubit, son of Western Michigan head coach Bill Cubit, was hired as quarterbacks coach in January and says he understands how some people might question his ascent. "There may be some people who may say, 'Well, he's only getting the job because he's the coach's son,' " says Cubit, a former Western Michigan starting quarterback who spent last season as a graduate assistant. "I don't think (the other assistants) looked at it that way."

Cubit's contract includes language that forces him to report NCAA violations directly to the athletics director — putting him in a position to get his dad sanctioned or fired. "If something like that did come up — which I don't ever foresee happening — I would follow the rules," says Cubit, 27. "My boss is the athletic director."

But such an arrangement wouldn't work in Louisiana. McNeese State asked Louisiana's ethics board in 2006 if the school's then-head coach, Thomas Tate, could hire his son, Jared. The board concluded that even though Tate's son would be supervised by the offensive coordinator, he would only "be permitted to volunteer his services to the football team."

Jonas Weatherbie, a law school grad, says there's nothing that could be done short of getting the state legislature to add an exemption, a move he said would have been a long shot at best. Still, Weatherbie decided he wanted to prolong his football career that included a stint as Kansas' starting quarterback in 2002 and a volunteer position at LSU in 2006 where he helped break down tape.

Weatherbie works at a church to support his family. It's a job he finds rewarding, although it frustrates him that Louisiana's nepotism statute has made it his only revenue stream.

"It's one of those laws that has the right intentions, but there are situations where it should be allowed," Weatherbie says. "This is something that's allowed by everybody else in the country. Wouldn't you want to hire the most qualified person and somebody you trust?"

All in the family

Bowl Subdivision assistant coaches related to their head coaches:

Enlarge By Michael Dunlap, Monroe (La.) News-Star Louisiana's nepotism law means Jonas Weatherbie, left, can't draw a salary as an assistant coach to his father, Charlie, at Louisiana-Monroe.