Tis the season for college football coaches hirings and firings.
Or maybe it’s more accurate to say it used to be the season for coaches hirings and firings.
The college football landscape looks dramatically different in 2024 than it did just a few years ago. With the advent of NIL and booster-run collectives, coupled with looming revenue sharing, schools have started to shift their focus when it comes to how they dole out money for winning football teams.
In the past, the highest earners on teams were coaches — by a long shot. And while that’s still true for now, schools are starting to prioritize putting money toward their roster as opposed to their coaching staff.
How else do you explain Florida coach Billy Napier hanging on to his job when the Gators had amassed a 4-4 record midway through the season? In a statement that likely portends the future, Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin told fans on Nov. 7 that Napier would continue as UF’s coach amid speculation that he was about to be shown the door. (Napier’s buyout is more than $26 million.) USA TODAY NETWORK columnist Blake Toppmeyer described it as a “flimsy endorsement.” The Gators have since become bowl eligible, but the reality is that to build a program that can contend for College Football Playoff berths, Florida needs to spend its money on top prospects; it also knows stability goes a long way with recruits.
Often at this point, with bowl season right around the corner, underachieving coaches would be looking for work. So far this year, there have been just four Power Four openings — North Carolina, UCF, Purdue and West Virginia — and there are now two left after UCF re-hired Scott Frost and Purdue hired UNLV’s Barry Odom. But numerous programs already are reevaluating what assistants are making, and a handful already have been shown the door.
USA TODAY Sports analyzes the five most overpaid college football assistant coaches:
(Fired coaches were not eligible for the list, though getting paid to do nothing — like former FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller — would qualify as peak overpaid. Tony Gibson took the job as head coach at Marshall after the season ended.)
Compensation: $2.5 million
Good golly, this guy could make an argument to take up all five spots. Consider that Baker, 42, is the highest paid assistant in the country … and his team finished the regular season 8-4. Worse, he is presumably being paid $2.5 million to put together a stout defense, but the Tigers rank 52nd — 52nd! — in total defense. Surely being ranked that low contributed to their 5-3 finish in the SEC and another missed playoff opportunity under head coach Brian Kelly. Giving up 38 to Texas A&M and 42 to Alabama, both losses, is a good way to make this list.
But it’s even worse when you remember that LSU paid Missouri $950,000 to cover Baker’s buyout when it hired him in January. Add that LSU owed his predecessor Matt House about $3.7 million and, well, accountants in the Tigers athletics department can’t be happy. (House was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an inside linebackers coach, which offset some of his buyout.)
Compensation: $1.5 million
Did you know the 6-6 Wolfpack had one of the highest paid assistant coaches in the country? Yeah, we’re as perplexed as you. Gibson, in his fourth year at NC State, was being paid a lot of money to put together a top defense. But the Wolfpack finished the regular season ranked 84th in the country, and barely made a bowl game. Gibson, who may have felt some pressure to move on, probably is taking a pay cut to be head coach at Marshall.
Compensation: $2 million
Well, this is awkward. Not only is Scalley overpaid when you consider Utah’s abysmal year — the Utes missed a bowl game for the first time since 2013, finishing 5-7 — but in the summer, Utah revealed that Scalley is the coach-in-waiting whenever Kyle Whittingham steps down. The Utes did not rank higher than No. 30 in total defense. Yikes.
Andy Ludwig, another candidate for this list considering his $2,050,000 salary, resigned as the Utes’ offensive coordinator in October. While it’s true many of their problems this year go back to a banged-up roster, the reality is, if you’re going to make $2 million annually, you need to be playing in the postseason annually, too.
Current compensation: $2 million
Win the one game you’re supposed to win (vs. Michigan) and you don’t make this list. Continually lose that game — especially in a year when you are absolutely the more talented team — and people are going to start looking hard at payroll. Chip Kelly has long been considered one of the more brilliant offensive minds in college football and while his offense isn’t as innovative or unstoppable under head coach Ryan Day, it should at least be able to hang more than 10 points on OSU’s biggest rival.
Compensation: $2.3 million
This one is a little tricky. Defending national champion Michigan finished the regular season ranked No. 15 in total defense, which isn’t terrible, but also isn’t good for one of the highest paid assistants in the country — especially when you consider that Martindale returned to the college ranks after making headlines with his NFL defenses, particularly with the Baltimore Ravens. Martindale is due for a substantial raise ($200,000) each year of his three-year contract, which runs through Jan. 10, 2027.
It’s worth pointing out that a lot of the Wolverines’ problems go back to former coach Jim Harbaugh, who jumped ship for the NFL in late January, which put Michigan in a bind. Still, when you add it up for Martindale, it doesn’t look good for someone whose team is 7-5, a considerable tumble for the 2023 titlist. Of course, beating your archrival during a season when you have no business doing so always makes fans and administrators appreciate you more.
Also considered: Brad White, Kentucky defensive coordinator; Pete Golding, Mississippi defensive coordinator; Joe Rossi, Michigan State defensive coordinator; Brian Hartline, Ohio State co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers; Kane Wommack, Alabama defensive coordinator.
Follow Lindsay Schnell on social media @Lindsay_Schnell
