Big-time college football success is said to be about the Jimmys and the Joes, not the Xs and the Os.

Except if you can’t retain your coaching talent -- the Xs and the Os -- you’ll have trouble attracting those top-notch Jimmys and Joes.

Especially at a school that plays at the major college level but isn’t a major player just yet.

Word last month that Georgia Southern had awarded significant raises to Head Coach Chad Lunsford and every member of his coaching staff generated plenty of conversation. Aside from the faction that bemoans the fact that the coaches earn more than many faculty members, the public response was positive.

Those with a deeper knowledge of college athletics’ inner workings were downright impressed.

Georgia Southern boosted pay by tapping private dollars raised through the athletic foundation and earmarked to ensure GSU stays competitive when it comes to coaches’ compensation. Known as the Coaches’ Continuity Fund, the reserve was established two years ago.

The idea for the fund dates to late 2013 when Georgia Southern lost football coach Jeff Monken to Army, according to Athletic Director Tom Kleinlein. Army lured Monken away from Statesboro with a seven-figure contact. Two years later, Monken's successor, Willie Fritz, likewise left, and a leaked audio recording dated Dec. 16, 2015 featured Fritz telling his then-GSU players he was leaving for Tulane because he lacked “job security” in Statesboro.

How Fritz interpreted “job security” is unclear, but the Tulane offer exceeded $1 million, well beyond Georgia Southern’s resources at the time. Kleinlein told a Savannah Morning News reporter he offered Fritz $700,000 a year to stay.

Georgia Southern lost Fritz but gained an even greater understanding that it needed to grow its coaching coffers.The Coaches' Continuity Fund was established shortly after the Fritz "job security" recording was leaked to the public.

"The No. 1 strategy to being successful is having the right people," Kleinlein said. "And once you have them, you better be able to keep them."

The Coaches' Continuity Fund received more than $265,000 in commitments from individual donors in the fiscal year that closed Sunday. Those are significant dollars from a budgetary perspective, allowing Kleinlein needed flexibility should a need suddenly arise -- such as another school courting a Georgia Southern coach.

Further expansion of the Coaches’ Continuity Fund is a wise move. Many wondered when Georgia Southern made the decision to elevate its programs to college athletics’ highest tier if the school had the financial wherewithal to support its teams at that level.

Statesboro is a college town with a limited business base, and up until about a quarter-century ago, Georgia Southern was a small school known largely as a teachers college. Funding from local businesses and affluent alumni is required to be competitive at the major college level.

Georgia Southern's athletic programs operate with the second lowest budget among football-playing schools in its league, the Sun Belt Conference. The university was able to raise the money to upgrade its facilities, including Paulson Stadium, but the bigger test was in securing revenue for other, less tangible needs -- such as coaches salaries.

GSU’s leadership is meeting that challenge as well. Kleinlein is in his seventh year heading Eagle athletics and clearly has a vision for positioning the programs for the future. Keep it up.