Auburn needed to do something to shore up a weak defense, so they added Will Muschamp as their defensive coordinator. And, not surprisingly, the school on The Plains will shell out a sizable chunk of change to the man they hope can turn that unit around.
Wednesday, the school released the details of Muschamp’s new contract, revealing that the former Florida head coach will earn $1.6 million in 2015. If he’s around for Years 2 and 3 of the deals, he would make $1.7 and $1.8 million, respectively.
If he is fired without cause by the Tigers before his three-year deal expires, he would be entitled to a lump sum payment equal to the full value of the remainder of his deal, with that payment due within 30 days of the dismissal. Conversely, he would owe the university $1 million if he leaves prior to the end of the 2015 regular season, including the SEC title game.
The agreement between AU and Muschamp makes the coordinator the highest-paid assistant in college football. Last year, five coordinators made roughly $1.3 million -- Virginia Tech DC Bud Foster at $1.369 million; Alabama DC Kirby Smart at $1.355 million; LSU OC Cam Cameron at $1,315,967; former LSU DC John Chavis ($1,312,300); and former Clemson OC Chad Morris ($1,301,250).
Chavis, incidentally, will be paid $1.5 million by Texas A&M in 2015 after his less-than-amicable split from LSU earlier this year/late last year. Morris, meanwhile, left to become the head coach at SMU.
Todd Grantham received a bump to $1.4 million from Louisville earlier this year to add himself to the highest-paid discussion.
If Muschamp’s buyout from Florida is included in his 2015 pay -- $6.3 million over the next three years -- he will make $3.7 million this season; as UF’s head coach, Muschamp made $2.7 million in his final season. In fact, that $3.7 million figure is more than all but a dozen head coaches at the FBS level made last year, per USA Today’s salary database.