Rolling in the dough: Salaries for assistant coaches skyrocketing
Rolling in the dough: Salaries for assistant coaches skyrocketing

By Jake Trotter

Published: July 20, 2008

Five years ago, Les Miles convinced Oklahoma State to become the first school in college football to offer multi-year contracts to all assistant coaches.

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The move added security to a profession that had felt little over the years.

Today, long-term contracts, performance-based incentives and rapidly rising salaries are reasons why there's never been a better time to be an assistant coach in college football.

An in-depth analysis by The Oklahoman of Big 12 coaching contracts and salaries revealed that assistant coaches have never been better compensated, with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State among those leading the way.

"Most of the guys making the big money would be doing it for peanuts because they love to coach,” said Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. "But it's nice now that they're able to do what they love to do and be compensated.”

In just the last three years, assistant coaching salaries in the Big 12 have risen by almost 37 percent.

At OSU, that figure is a Big 12-high 65 percent, and would've been even higher had former Cowboy offensive coordinator Larry Fedora — who was making $393,000 — not left to be head coach at Southern Mississippi.

Once a bottom dweller in assistant coaches' pay, OSU, at $2.13 million, is now second in the Big 12, trailing only Texas' $2.38 million payroll.

OU, which just five years ago had one of the nation's highest total compensation packages for assistants, has fallen to fourth in the Big 12 at $1.93 million.

Still, pay has risen at OU by almost 30 percent over the last three years, and defensive coordinator Brent Venables remains one of the highest-paid assistants in the league with a salary of $315,000.

"When you look at it, universities are investing millions of dollars into their football programs,” said Teaff, who estimates that 50 percent of Football Bowl Subdivision schools now offer contracts to assistant coaches. "It only makes good business sense to have the top quality guys running them. And if you take care of those assistant coaches, you're going to make your school an attractive place for other coaches to come.”

But does bidding on the best assistant coaches on average translate into better football programs?

What's happened at Missouri recently certainly suggests so.

In 2005, Missouri ranked eighth in Big 12 assistant coaches' pay and had never finished better than third in the North Division dating back to the Big 12's inception in 1996, even though Gary Pinkel had been head coach since 2001.

Since then, the Tigers have increased assistant coaches' pay by more than 52 percent.

The result?

After finishing second in 2006, the Tigers won the North last year and were ranked No. 1 in the nation heading into the Big 12 Championship against OU.

Missouri also just reeled in its first top-25 recruiting class in years. And in the Big 12 preseason polls released this past week, the Tigers received every first-place vote in the North and placed eight players on the first team, including quarterback and Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Chase Daniel.

Not paying assistant coaches competitive salaries can have the opposite effect.

Iowa State, which ranks last in the league in assistant coaches' pay and has five of the 10 lowest-paid assistants in the league, finished 3-9 overall and last in the North last season.

"Just like in corporate America, even though CEOs are paid huge inflated salaries, the frontline workers are the ones who really make it happen for the customers,” said Joy Huber, a business communications and personnel recruitment expert residing in Lincoln, Neb. "It's essential for thriving athletic programs to fairly balance the total compensation package between head and assistant coaches.

"The head coach can't be everywhere at once, so investing in hiring quality assistants in running a comprehensive athletic program ensures that you'll retain assistants who will represent the program well to recruits and donors.”

OSU, Texas and Texas A&M are hoping big investments in proven assistant coaches will help them better compete for dominance in the South with OU, which has one of the best assistant coach retention rates in the nation.

"It's my suspicion that we're not seeing wages going up in the economy as a whole, if not decreasing when you factor in driving for work,” said Robert Dauffenbach, associate dean for research at OU's Price College of Business. "But you have to recognize college football is a competitive environment. You're looking for a special talent.

"The market dictates the pay, and evidently there's a bidding war going on for the best assistant coaches.”

After finishing fifth in the league in defense last year, Texas swiped Will Muschamp from Auburn and made him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the Big 12 with a salary of $425,000. The Longhorns also paid Major Applewhite $250,000 to leave his offensive coordinator job at Alabama and become Texas' running backs coach.

Texas A&M is paying top dollar to offensive coordinator Nolan Cromwell ($330,000) and defensive coordinator Joe Kines ($400,000) to help first-year head coach Mike Sherman resuscitate Aggie football.

And OSU dished out $228,000 to get co-offensive coordinator Trooper Taylor from Tennessee, one year after luring current defensive coordinator Tim Beckman from Ohio State with a contract offer of more than $300,000.

"One of the best ways for a head coach to be successful is to surround himself with good people,” Teaff said. "That's why there's a very good premium on top quality assistant coaches.”

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