College football and the coaches are the primary structures that help mold future stars. They are the ones with the eagles' eye who select the players with the most potential and groom them for the future.
Among the active coaches, Nick Saban is a widely known name. His seven National Championships and former proteges making it big in football speak volumes about the man's talent.
Jimbo Fisher, Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin, Mell Tucker, Mario Cristobal, Dan Lanning, and many others worked under him as his assistants at one point.
All these mentioned personalities and Saban are some of the highest-paid college football coaches. Who wouldn't want Saban to coach their team? His experience and wisdom are some of football's most sought-after things.
His $11.4 million annual salary is more than most NFL coaches.
Let's check out the coaches earning big bucks in 2023.
Nick Saban's salary at the Alabama Crimson Tide football team is $11.4 million, reports CBS Sports. He has been at Alabama since 2007.
The 72-year-old has 200 wins and 28 regular-season losses. Saban has led the Crimson Tide to 14 SEC Western Division, 9 SEC, and 7 National Championships.
Likewise, he has won SEC Coach of the Year five times and was awarded the AP College Football Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2008.
He has also coached the Miami Dolphins, LSU Tigers, Michigan State Spartans, and Toledo Rockets.
2. Dabo Swinney
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Dabo Swinney has been tenured at the Clemson Tigers since 2003. He was assigned the head coach role in 2009.
The two-time ACC Coach of the Year (2015 and 2018) makes an annual income of $10.9 million.
Mr. Swinney has helped the team secure 10 ACC Atlantic Division, 8 ACC, and two National titles. He has amassed 169 wins with only four losses. His bowl record is 11-8.
Apart from Clemson, he has been a position coach at Alabama from 1996 to 2000.
Kirby Smart's first head coaching role started at the Georgia Bulldogs in 2016, and he is already on his way to a three-peat.
The Bulldogs HC won the National Championships in 2021 and 2022. They are 12-0 in 2023 and are the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.
With a 93-15 record, Smart makes $10.7 million. According to the contract breakdown released by Georgia, the $112.5 million 10-year deal signed in 2022 will earn him $10.75 million in 2024 and $11 million in 2025. He will be liable for a $12.25 million salary in 2031.
4. Ryan Day
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Ryan Day landed the head coach role at the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2019. The Buckeyes were 12-0 that year, a perfect regular season.
He was named the 2019 Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Before getting promoted to the HC, he was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2017, and he was named the offensive coordinator and acting HC for the 2018 season.
Coach Ryan's annual salary is $10.3 million. He is the highest earner in the Big Ten Conference.
Brian Kelly joined the LSU Tigers football team in 2022. The Tigers are paying him $9.975 million in annual salary in 2023.
The veteran coach with 33 years of head coaching experience has coached the Grand Valley State Lakers (1991-2003), Central Michigan Chippewas (2004-06), Cincinnati Bearcats (2006-09), and Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2010-21).
The 62-year-old is a two-time AP College Football Coach of the Year (2012 and 2018) and three-time Big East Coach of the Year (2007-09).
Jimbo Fisher made $9.15 million as the Texas A&M; Aggies head coach before he was fired on November 12, 2023. His record with the team was 42 wins and 25 losses.
The Aggies owe him $77.5 million as a buyout amount. This is the largest school buyout figure in college football.
Before arriving in Texas, he coached the Florida State Seminoles from 2010 to 2017. He won the 2013 BCS National, three ACC, and four ACC Atlantic Division trophies.
Josh Heupel is the 27th Tennessee Volunteers head coach. He was handed the office on January 27, 2021.
The 2022 SEC Coach of the Year earns $9 million in salaries.
Under his reign, the Volunteers managed an 8-0 start to the 2022 season. It is the best start for them since 1998. His record with the football team is 26-12.
Before that, he coached the UCF Knights from 2018 to 2020, recording 28 wins and eight defeats.
Lane Kiffin has a college football record of 94-47, while his Ole Miss Rebels record is 33-15.
The 48-year-old makes an annual salary of $9 million.
Before arriving at Ole Miss, he managed the Florida Atlantic Owls for three seasons (2017 to 2019). He won two C-USA East Division and C-USA titles in 2017 and 2019.
As a Rebels coach, he won the 2021 Outback Bowl in his first year. Also, the 10-3 record of 2021 was the first ten-win season of the Rebels history.
The 2023 season saw them pull another 10-win season. They finished with a 10-2 record and a second spot in the SEC West.
The Penn State Nittany Lions mentor arrived at the football program in 2014. Before that, he held the steering wheel at the Vanderbilt Commodores from 2011 to 2013.
James earns a whopping $8.5 million in salaries.
As a Penn State instructor, he managed to take the team to eight bowl games and won half of them. He has pulled five ten-win seasons.
Likewise, during this period, the Nittany Lions won the Big Ten East Division and Big Ten Championships in 2016.
The most prosperous season handed him accolades like the Woody Hayes Trophy and Sporting News Coach of the Year award.
13. Jim Harbaugh
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The 59-year-old coach from Toledo, Ohio, has been handling the Michigan Wolverines for nine years. He joined the team in 2015.
Before that, he served as a head coach for the San Francisco 49ers (2011-14), Stanford Cardinal (2007-10), and San Diego Toreros (2004-06).
Harbaugh's current salary is $8.25 million.
As a Wolverines instructor, he has an 86-25 record. They are heading for the eighth bowl game under Jim's reign.
The 2022 Big Ten Coach of the Year awardee has guided the team toward two Big Ten trophies. A win against Iowa Hawkeyes on 2nd December will add another one to his resume.
Mario Cristobal is a former offensive tackle who played collegiate football for the Miami Hurricanes. He was a graduate assistant at his alma mater from 199 to 2000.
After twenty-two years, in 2022, he returned to the Hurricanes as a head coach. He makes $8 million annually.
During the two years, the team was 5-7 (2022) and 7-5 (2023).
Before that, he coached the Oregon Ducks and won two Pac-12 titles in 2019 and 2020. He was awarded the 2019 AP Pac-12 Coach of the Year.
Luke Fickell arrived at the Wisconsin Badgers football program as a successor to Paul Chryst in November 2022. He managed and won the team in the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
The former New Orleans Saints nose guard has a yearly earning of $7.6 million. Previously, as the Cincinnati Bearcats coach, he made $5 million in 2022.
He helped the Bearcats win the 2019 ACC East Division and two AAC titles in 2020 and 2021. Fickell is a three-time ACC Coach of the Year awardee with a 71-30 HC record
The Oklahoma State Cowboys head coaching role went to Mike Gundy in 2005. He was an assistant head coach and offensive coordinator under Les Miles from 2001 to 2004.
Interestingly, Gundy played college football for the Cowboys from 1986 to 1989 and got his first position coach role in 1990.
During his era, he has amassed a 165-78 regular season record with an 11-6 bowl record. He helped them win the Big 12 trophy in 2011.
The two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year winner is tenured at a salary of $7.6 million.
The Florida State Seminoles acquired Mike Norvell on December 8, 2019. He penned a $26.5 million six-year deal.
In 2023, he is making $7.3 million a year.
As a Seminoles coach, Mike has a 30-16 record with a best of 12-0 in 2023. They played and won the 2022 Cheez-It bowl game under his guidance.
Previously, he handled the Memphis Tigers from 2016 to 2019. He recorded 38 wins and 15 losses. All four years were winning seasons. The Tigers qualified for four successive bowl games during this period.
18. Billy Napier
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According to USA Today, Billy Napier's salary at the Florida Gators is $7.27 million. He has been tenured at the football program since November 28, 2021.
After two seasons, he is 11-14. The team finished the second consecutive year in fourth place in the SEC Eastern Division.
Things haven't turned out as Napier would have liked. While he was managing the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, they were first in the Sun Belt West Division for four straight years. They won two bowl games.
He was 40-12 as Cajuns coach. He desperately wants to bring that magic and winning mentality to Florida.
Brent Venables was the nation's top assistant coach in 2016. He was awarded the 2016 Boyles Award.
The former Kansas State Wildcats linebacker arrived at the Oklahoma Sooners in 2022.
During his first campaign, they did not perform well and were 6-7 at the end of the season. Venables pulled the team through and helped them register a 10-2 record in 2023.
Brent has extensive experience working under people like Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, and Dabo Swinney.
Kirk Ferentz commenced coaching in 1977 as a graduate assistant at the UConn Huskies. He was a linebacker for the Huskies from 1974 to 1976.
His first head coaching job was at the Maine Black Bears in 1990. He coached them till 1992.
The veteran coach took the head coach role at the Iowa Hawkeyes in 1999 and has been there since. His first stint with them was in 1981 as offensive line coach. He worked there till 1989.
As a HC, Ferentz has 208 wins and 138 losses. The 68-year-old helped them win two Big Ten trophies in 2002 and 2004.
Dan Lanning worked under Kirby Smart at the Georgia Bulldogs from 2018 to 2021. He was the outside linebackers coach in 2018 and got promoted to defensive coordinator duty in 2019.
The 37-year-old took the Oregon Ducks head coaching job on December 11, 2021. He became the institution's 35th HC.
Mr. Lanning earns $7 million a year at the Ducks. It is well deserved for his back-to-back 10-win seasons.
He helped the team register 10 wins in 2022 and topped it with 11 wins in 2023.
The Auburn Tigers head coach has been coaching since 1992. He first started as the defensive backs coach and offensive coordinator for Briarcrest High School in 1992.
His first HC duty came in 2008 when Lambuth University hired him. He also coached Arkansas State Red Wolves (2011), Ole Miss Rebels (2012-16), and Liberty Flames (2019-22).
With Liberty, he won three consecutive bowl games.
The $6.5 million salary earner has an overall record of 80-53. He has won six and lost same number of matches for the Tigers.
Kyle Whittingham started as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, BYU Cougars, in 1985. After that, he worked with the Eastern Utah and Idaho State Bengals.
In 1994, he arrived at the Utah Utes as a defensive line coach and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1995.
Likewise, after twelve years, he got his break and was named the Utes head coach in 2005. He is 162-78 in regular season games.
His nineteen-year tenure has helped the team bag a National Championship in 2008 and a couple of Pac-12 titles in 2021 and 2022. He make $6.3 million a year.
