The Big Ten arguably includes college football’s best coach in Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, but the SEC has its highest-paid ones – and it isn’t even close.
With 10 SEC field generals earning $4 million or more, it’s no surprise that the league leads the nation in average head-coaching salary at $4.13 million this season. In fact, while trying to come up with a plan to stop up-tempo offenses, Alabama’s Nick Saban is earning more than $7 million per season, tops in the country.
But Saban isn’t the only SEC West coach bringing home some serious bacon. Every other coach in the division – Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, Arkansas’ Bret Bielema, Auburn’s Gus Malzahn, Mississippi’s Hugh Freeze, LSU’s Les Miles and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin – will all earn $4 million or more.
And coaching in the SEC East isn’t a bad place to be, either. Missouri’s Gary Pinkel, South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier and Georgia’s Mark Richt round out the $4 million-a-year club. Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason is the SEC’s, ahem, lowest-paid coach at $2.25 million per, according to one report. (The Commodores do not release salary figures.)
Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops might not win the “Big Game” every year, but he is raking in some big bucks, topping Big 12 coaches at $6 million a year. Texas is paying Charlie Strong $5.1 mil a season, not bad for a guy who is entering only his second year in the league. Art Briles is the only other Big 12 coach making more than $4 million per annum. With its coaches averaging $3.28 million per year, the Big 12 is second-best paying conference in the country.
Meyer trails only Saban nationally at $6.5 million a season, while the Big Ten’s Michigan men — the Spartans’ Mark Dantonio ($5.6 million) and the Wolverines’ Jim Harbaugh ($5 million) come in at second and third, respectively, on the list of the league’s highest-paid coaches. Overall, the conference’s coaches are third in America in average salary this season — $3.09 million. But those Big Ten coaches might want to inform their agents that their SEC brethren will earn on average a whopping 37 percent more than they will this season.
Nevertheless, things aren’t so bad in commissioner Jim Delany’s league. Five Big Ten coaches – Meyer, Dantonio, Harbaugh, Penn State’s James Franklin ($4.1 million) and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz ($4 million) – are making at least $4 mil a season. Meanwhile, the Pac-12 has only one coach currently earning that much; USC’s Steve Sarkisian leads the league at $4.25 million. Overall, Pac-12 coaches are currently bringing home 2.99 million per year to rank fourth in the land.
The ACC – even with Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher leading its coaches at $5 million per campaign – rounds out the Power 5 conferences at No. 5. Even with Louisville’s Bobby Petrino making a robust $3.5 million annually, the ACC’s coaches are averaging $2.33 million a year.
In case you were wondering, the average annual salary for a Power 5 coach this season is a whopping $3.17 million, which coincidentally is more than double the average haul of AAC coaches — $1.57 million this season – and that includes the $3.2 million Tommy Tuberville will be making this year for Cincinnati, a figure that leads his league.
In other words, mamas should let their babies grow up to be football coaches – especially in a Power 5 conference – and particularly in the SEC.
Top 2015 average coaches’ salaries among Power 5 conferences
AVERAGE 2015 COACHING SALARY BY CONFERENCE
| Conference | Average 2015 Salary |
|---|---|
| SEC | $4.13 million |
| Big 12 | $3.28 million |
| Big Ten | $3.09 million |
| Pac-12 | $2.99 million |
| ACC | $2.33 million |
Note: By comparison, the average coach’s salary in the AAC for 2015 is $1.57 million, which is less than the average salary for all Power 5 coaches this season ($3.17 million).
Sources: USAToday.com, ajc.com, coacheshotseat.com, ESPN.com and dallasnews.com.
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
