I’m not sure if this is a continuation of a trend that started with Auburn and Tennessee a couple of years ago, or if it’s due to some other factors, but USA Today notes that while head coaching salaries have plateaued recently, that’s not the case with assistant coaches’ compensation.
… The list of assistants earning $250,000 or more in the NCAA’s top-tier Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) is up from at least 106 a year ago to 132 this season. Fifty-one are in the SEC.
Twenty-six assistants are pulling down $400,000 or more, double the number making that much in 2009. Thirteen are in the SEC, topped by four defensive coordinators making $700,000 or better.
I tell you what – with Malzahn’s raise, Auburn is laying out some serious jack on its coaching staff these days. I’m not sure any other school in the conference matches the Tigers in that department. But you can bet if Auburn wins the MNC next month, there will be those making the argument that you can’t have one without the other. And with all that TV money rolling in, there will be ADs who listen.
Get The Picture 
Senator…..here’s an interesting read to go with your post. More about the Benjamin$.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/151/bowled-over.html
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You know what? I think I am starting to come around to that philosophy as well.
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Then you’re probably glad Damon Evans is gone. Spending money on assistant coaches was definitely not his bag, with the notable exception of Grantham (and you see how that was balanced by some extent with McClendon).
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I seem to remember Norm Chow was the guy that got the first big assistant salary.
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Auburn isnt spending any more total money on coaches than they were 10-15 years ago. The difference is now it’s all going to people who are actually coaching, as opposed to a large chunk of cash going to former head coaches and former assistant coaches who are being paid hush money severance.
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*snap!*
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The hush money should start anew–and soon.
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I’m surprised Malzahn hasn’t been named the Head Coach-in-waiting at Abuurn. I would bet, if given the choice, that Abuurn fans would take Malzahn over Chizik right now.
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Yeah, people on the Dawgvent will start screaming that the reason Auburn won the national championship and Georgia didn’t is that they laid out more money for assistant coaches, therefore, they got better coaches.
Nuh-uh.
The reason Auburn is in the BCS Championship Game is because they’ve got Cam Newton. Without Cam Newton, maybe Mike Dyer and a few others, that team is the same squad they had last year, which was pretty forgettable. Maybe they’d be better after a second year with the same coordinators, and Gus Malzahn is still a great offensive coordinator without Cam Newton, but is he worth all that money without him? I doubt it. Perhaps Auburn is in the BCS Championship Game because they went out to Toledo and scooped him off of the scrap heap out there. Not because of the money they’re paying assistants. They’re employing TED ROOF, for crying out loud. And Trooper Taylor is nothing but a cheerleader and a recruiter in a backwards hat.
Now, if you want to argue that Auburn is in the BCS Championship Game because they’re laying out more money for PLAYERS… you might have something!
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I think the technical term is “bagman.”
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