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Kirby Smart has usually come out on top in recent seasons from the sideline, where he’s coached Georgia to 2 of the past 3 national championships and has the Bulldogs ranked 5th this season and in contention for another crown.
But he’s also at the top in another area — his own annual salary. The annual list of the highest-paid coaches was released on Wednesday by USA Today, and Smart is at the top of the heap in that regard, too, making $13,282,580 in total compensation. Smart being atop the list is part of another round of SEC dominance, this time off the field, as 8 of the highest-paid coaches hail from the SEC.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, who will oppose Smart on Saturday night in the Texas-Georgia showdown in Austin, is 3rd on the list ($10.6 million), behind Clemson’s Dabo Swinney at No. 2 ($11,132,775). USC’s Lincoln Riley ($10,043,418), Ohio State’s Ryan Day ($9,946,250) and Florida State’s Mike Norvell ($10 million) are 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively, on the list, and then the parade of SEC head coaches resumes at No. 7 with Alabama 1st-year head coach Kalen DeBoer ($10 million).
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After DeBoer, the next 5 highest-paid coaches also hail from the SEC, with LSU’s Brian Kelly ($9.975 million), Kentucky’s Mark Stoops ($9,013,600), Ole Miss’s Lane Kiffin ($9 million), Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz ($9 million) and Tennessee’s Josh Heupel ($9 million) ranked 8th through 12th on the list.
The Big Ten is also well-represented with 8 head coaches in the top 25, while the ACC has 3 head coaches amongst the top 25, with Miami’s Mario Cristobal ($7,783,059) joining Swinney and Norvell at No. 16 on the list.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
