Not surprisingly, the man who has held the top spot for the last couple of years, and who received a new and improved contract thanks to Texas rumors, sits atop USA Today‘s annual coaching salary list once again.
According to the chart for 2014 released by the newspaper Wednesday, Alabama’s Nick Saban is far and away the top earning coach in college football, with total pay amounting to $7,160,187 in 2014. Saban’s salary increased more than $1.6 million over what he made in 2013. That $1.6 million increase, incidentally, is more than 63 coaches made for the entire 2014 season.
At the opposite end of the spectrum from Saban is Appalachian State’s Scott Satterfield, whose total pay in 2014 is $225,000. To put that into perspective, what USA Today lists as “Other Pay” has the amount of $209,984 under it for Saban.
In what will likely come as a surprise to many, or even most, the SEC and, yes, Big Ten have the most coaches in the Top 10 in salaries with four apiece. In what will likely come as another surprise to many, including me, the highest-paid B1G coach doesn’t call Columbus home... and only Saban will make more than him in 2014. That coach? Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio at $5.636 million, although $2 million was a retention bonus he received earlier this year as part of a new contract.
Below are the Top 10 coaching salaries, based on total pay:
1. Alabama’s Nick Saban, $7.16 million
2. Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio, $5.636 million
3. Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, $5.058 million
4. Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin, $5.006 million
5. Texas’ Charlie Strong, $5 million
6. Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, $4.536 million
7. LSU’s Les Miles, $4.369 million
8. Penn State’s James Franklin, $4.3 million
9. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, $4.075 million
10. South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier, $4 million
The SEC, though, still reigns supreme when it comes to coaching salary as every one of its listed coaches are in the top 34. The lowest-paid coach from that conference? Kentucky’s Mark Stoops at $2,701,600, but that’s still more than 87 coaches made this year.
You have to go all the way down to No. 44 on USA Today‘s list to find the first head coach from a Group of Five school: Cincinnati’s Tommy Tuberville at $2.2 million. SMU’s June Jones was the only other Group of Five coach above the $2 million mark ($2.019 million), although he resigned his position early on in the 2014 season.
There’s just one Power Five head coach who makes less than $1 million, and that’s Rutgers’ Kyle Flood at $987,000. There are 13 Group of Five head coaches who make more than Flood.
Below are the highest- and lowest-paid head coaches for each of the 10 FBS conferences.
AAC
Highest: Tommy Tuberville, Cincinnati, $2.2 million
Lowest: Bill Blankenship, Tulsa, $759,436
(No data for Temple’s Matt Rhule)
ACC
Highest: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State, $3,591,667
Lowest: Paul Chryst, Pittsburgh, $1,578,757
(No data: Boston College’s Steve Addazio, Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson, Syracuse’s Scott Shafer)
BIG 12
Highest: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma, $5,058,333
Lowest: Paul Rhoads, Iowa State, $1,808,025
BIG TEN
Highest: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State, $5,611,845
Lowest: Kyle Flood, Rutgers, $987,000
CONFERENCE USA
Highest: Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee State, $803,129
Lowest: Larry Coker, UT-San Antonio, $402,150
MAC
Highest: Frank Solich, Ohio, $554,500
Lowest: Dan Enos, Central Michigan, $360,000
MWC
Highest: Jim McElwain, Colorado State, $1,500,000
Lowest: Ron Caragher, San Jose State, $525,000
PAC-12
Highest: Chris Petersen, Washington, $3,681,720
Lowest: Mike Riley, Oregon State, $1,510,008
(No data: USC’s Steve Sarkisian)
SEC
Highest: Nick Saban, Alabama, $7,160,187
Lowest: Mark Stoops, Kentucky, $2,701,600
(No data: Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason)
SBC
Highest: Mark Hudspeth, Louisiana-Lafayette, $1,003,156
Lowest: Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State, $225,000