And I don't mean that in the metaphorical, "his contributions will always be with us" kind of way. I mean that literally. Gary Williams will still be making his living at Maryland.

The beloved Terps legend has often talked about remaining at his alma mater and longtime hoops program in the wake of his retirement this spring. But what role would that entail? According to the Washington Post, which received terms of Williams's new agreement with the school through an open records request, Williams' new role will be called "special assistant to the athletic director." His pay? $400,000 a year.

Under terms of his five-year employment contract, released in response to an open-records request, Williams will help Maryland Athletic Director Kevin Anderson with fundraising and represent the university in speaking engagements “from time to time as reasonably requested” by Anderson, the document states. [...] According to his new employment agreement, Williams officially retired as coach July 1, the same day his job as special assistant to Anderson began. The contract runs through June 30, 2016. If Williams chooses to resign the post before then, he will be paid $200,000 annually until the contact expires on June 30, 2016.

Pulling in nearly half a million a year for appearing in public, shaking hands and occasionally offering advice sounds just about like the greatest job ever. (And $200,000 a year for choosing not do so is not too shabby either.) The Post's Liz Clarke and Steve Yanda bring up the possible concern some Maryland fans could have at the program's decision to keep Williams on, if only for cost reasons; the move makes Williams the fourth former or current head coach Maryland will be paying next season. Given the Terps' budget woes, that might not seem like the most prudent financial decision.

But none of the other coaches Maryland will pay in 2011-12 (former football coach Ralph Friedgen, current football coach Randy Edsall, and Williams' replacement Mark Turgeon) are nearly as beloved by Terrapins alumni as the national title-winning Williams. If Williams is able to convince a few deep-pocketed Maryland boosters to add an extra zero to their contributions in the coming years, he'll more than cover his annual special assistant's salary. Plus, who better to advise Maryland's athletics department?

This isn't just a (very) expensive version of your company's gold retirement watch. The Terps have plenty of reason to keep Williams around.