While most would assume the highest-paid assistant would hail from the money-rich SEC, that’s not the case in 2014. The title that belongs to an ACC coach, though, comes with a six-figure asterisk.
USA Today Wednesday released its annual assistant coaches’ pay database, and Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster tops the 2014 version at $1.369 million. However, $800,000 of that total salary is a one-time longevity payment due on Dec. 31; take away that retention bonus, and Foster’s $536,000 salary is seventh among assistants in the ACC and 50th nationally.
As USA Today wrote, Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart is “the nation’s highest-paid public-school assistant coach in terms of recurring annual pay at” $1.355 million. Private universities are not subject to open-records requests and therefore aren’t required to release coaching salaries.
Behind Smart are a pair of SEC coordinators who both happen to call LSU home: Cam Cameron (offense) and John Chavis (defense ) at $1.315 and 1.312 million, respectively. Those two are also, obviously, the highest-paid offensive/defensive coordinator combo in the country.
The only other assistant in the seven-figure club was Chad Morris, who earned $1.301 million as Clemson’s offensive coordinator before taking over as the head coach at SMU. Louisville defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, though, is nipping at those exclusive heels at $975,000.
The highest-paid non-coordinator? Also from LSU as Frank Wilson earned nearly $666,000 as running backs coach/recruiting coordinator. At the opposite end of the pay spectrum are Texas Tech inside linebackers coach Matt Brock and Georgia State running backs coach Brock Lough, who each earned $35,000 in 2014.
Among the Group of Five football programs, Houston offensive coordinator David Gibbs is tops at $400,000. That figure is good for 110th nationally, tied with six other Power Five assistants.
The SEC may not have the highest-paid assistant individually, but they are No. 1 collectively. LSU is No. 1 nationally with a total staff pay of $5.499 million, followed closely by Alabama at $5.213 million. Auburn, at $4.37 million, is also in the Top Five at No. 4, with Clemson ($4.448 million, No. 3) and Oklahoma ($4.077 million, No. 5) the only non-SEC schools in the first five.
The rest of the Top 10 consists of Texas ($3.841 million, No. 6), Ohio State, ($3.592 million, No. 7), Virginia Tech ($3.583 million, No. 8), Michigan ($3.504 million, No. 9) and Texas A&M ($3.484 million, No. 10).
Among the four teams that earned berths in the College Football Playoff, only Alabama and Ohio State made the Top Ten, although Florida State at No. 11 (3.386 million) is outside of it by less than $100,000. Oregon’s staff is the lowest-paid, as it were, of the CFP teams at $3.277 million (No. 14).
One quick quirk: the budget for Idaho’s entire coaching staff is just over $699,000; there are 22 individual assistants who made more than that in 2014.
Below are the highest- and lowest-paid coaching staffs in each conference followed by the highest-paid assistants per conference, again based on information that was made publicly available by USA Today:
AAC
Highest: Memphis ($2.033 million)
Lowest: East Carolina ($1.419 million)
ACC
Highest: Clemson (4.448 million)
Lowest: North Carolina ($2.051 million*)
BIG TEN
Highest: Ohio State ($3.592 million)
Lowest: Purdue ($2.095 million)
BIG 12
Highest: Oklahoma ($4.077 million)
Lowest: Kansas ($2.105 million)
CONFERENCE USA
Highest: UTEP ($1.167 million)
Lowest: UT-San Antonio ($786,185)
MAC
Highest: Northern Illinois ($915,018)
Lowest: Kent State ($707,345)
MWC
Highest: Boise State ($2.052 million**)
Lowest: San Jose State ($1.073 Million)
PAC-12
Highest: Oregon ($3.277 million)
Lowest: Cal ($2.081 million)
SEC
Highest: LSU ($5.499 million)
Lowest: Ole Miss ($2.596 million)
SBC
Highest: Louisiana-Lafayette ($1.064 million)
Lowest: Idaho ($699,088)
(*Lowest of available Power Five programs)
(**Highest of available Group of Five programs)
AAC: Houston offensive coordinator David Gibbs ($400,000)
ACC: Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster ($1.369 million)
Big Ten: Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi ($907,033)
Big 12: Baylor defensive coordinator Phil Bennett ($897,926)
Conference USA: Western Kentucky defensive coordinator Nick Holt ($303,000)
MAC: Akron defensive coordinator Chuck Amato ($199,920)
MWC: Boise State defensive coordinator Marcel Yates ($317,512)
Pac-12: Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell ($901,560)
SEC: Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart ($1.355 million)
SBC: Arkansas State offensive coordinator Walter Bell ($205,000)