NCAA D1 Football Coaching Contracts

In-depth Contract Analysis

Coach Contract Rankings

Full Rankings

  1. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)
  2. Nick Saban (Alabama)
  3. Steve Sarkisian (Texas)
  4. Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma)
  5. Ryan Day (Ohio State)
  6. Mel Tucker (Michigan State)
  7. Kyle Whittingham (Utah)
  8. Jeff Brohm (Purdue)
  9. Bret Bielema (Illinois)
  10. Scott Frost (Nebraska)
  11. Jim Harbaugh (Michigan)
  12. Geoff Collins (Georgia Tech)
  13. Dana Holgorsen (Houston)
  14. Neal Brown (West Virginia)
  15. Chip Kelly (UCLA)
  16. Bryan Harsin (Auburn University)
  17. Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M)
  18. Tom Allen (Indiana)
  19. Mike Norvell (Florida State)
  20. Jedd Fisch (Arizona)
  21. Dan Mullen (Florida)
  22. Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State)
  23. Ed Orgeron (LSU)
  24. Paul Chryst (Wisconsin)
  25. Matt Campbell (Iowa State)
  26. Gus Malzahn (Central Florida)
  27. Bill Bradford Clark (UAB)
  28. Bronco Mendenhall (Virginia)
  29. Justin Fuente (VA Tech)
  30. Gregory Schiano (Rutgers)
  31. Chris Klieman (Kansas State)
  32. Jeff Scott (South Florida)
  33. Nick Rolovich (Washington State)
  34. William Mack Brown (North Carolina)
  35. Luke Fickell (Cincinnati)
  36. Joshua Heupel (Tennessee)
  37. Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)
  38. Karl Dorrell (Colorado)
  39. Sam Pittman (Arkansas)
  40. Matt Wells (Texas Tech)
  41. Justin Wilcox (UC Berkeley)
  42. Jimmy Lake (Washington)
  43. PJ Fleck (Minnesota)
  44. Shane Beamer (South Carolina)
  45. Mario Cristobal (Oregon)
  46. Dave Doeren (North Carolina State)
  47. Michael Locksley (Maryland)
  48. Willie Taggart (Florida Atlantic)
  49. Mike Leach (Mississippi State)
  50. Herman Edwards (Arizona State)
  51. Jonathan Smith (Oregon State)
  52. Craig Bohl (Wyoming)
  53. Mike Bobo (Colorado State)
  54. Andy Avalos (Boise State)
  55. Seth Littrell (North Texas)
  56. Randy Edsall (Connecticut)
  57. Brady Hoke (San Diego State)
  58. Kalen DeBoer (Fresno State)
  59. Doug Martin (New Mexico State)
  60. Brent Brennan (San Jose State)
  61. Mike Houston (East Carolina)
  62. Jacob Spavital (Texas State)
  63. Ryan Silverfield (Memphis)
  64. Dana Dimel (UTEP)
  65. Tyson Helton (Western Kentucky)
  66. Billy Napier (Louisiana at Lafayette)
  67. Walt Bell (Massachusetts)
  68. Chuck Martin (Miami of Ohio)
  69. Jason Candle (Toledo)
  70. Will Hall (Southern Mississippi)
  71. Butch Davis (Florida International)
  72. Danny Gonzales (New Mexico)
  73. Skip Holtz (Louisiana Tech)
  74. Frank Solich (Ohio University)
  75. Blake Anderson (Utah State)
  76. Charles Huff (Marshall)
  77. Jeff Traylor (Texas at San Antonio)
  78. Chad Lunsford (Georgia Southern)
  79. Ricky Rahne (Old Dominion)
  80. Tim Lester (Western Michigan)
  81. Rick Stockstill (Middle Tennessee State)
  82. Lance Leipold (Buffalo)
  83. Jay Norvell (Nevada)
  84. Chris Creighton (Eastern Michigan)
  85. Scot Loeffler (Bowling Green State)
  86. Will Healy (North Carolina Charlotte)
  87. Jim McElwain (Central Michigan)
  88. Thomas Hammock (Northern Illinois)
  89. Shawn Elliott (Georgia State)
  90. Tom Arth (Akron)
  91. Michael London (William and Mary)
  92. Mike Neu (Ball State)
  93. Shawn Clark (Appalachian State)
  94. Sean Lewis (Kent State)
  95. Marcus Arroyo (UNLV)
  96. Terry Bowden (Louisiana-Monroe)
  97. Paul Petrino (Idaho)
  98. Todd Graham (Hawaii)

Rankings Methodology

These rankings reflect my subjective analysis of the best employment contracts for the coaches.  As an employment lawyer, I have had an opportunity to review hundreds, if not thousands, of employment contracts, in my career.  In this sense, I reviewed the contracts and attempted to determine the “best” contract.

Of course, this is subjective.  Does overall compensation matter?  Yes, very much so.  But it is not everything.  There are considerations that also go into a good contract, including perks, benefits, length of contract, golden parachute clause, and buy-out if the coach leaves.  In this sense, I reviewed the contract on seven factors:

  1. Length of Contract
  2. Overall Compensation/Year
  3. Bonus Opportunities
  4. Buy-Out Provision (that is, if the Coach resigns)
  5. Golden Parachute Provision (that is, the compensation to the Coach if the Coach is fired)
  6. Perks
  7. Duties of Coach for Academic Performance and Team Off-the-Field Issues

These rankings also reflect my subjective value to each category.  For examples, some may value overall compensation as the most important, whereas others may find the perks the most important factor.  Overall, the rankings reflect my subjective of the “best” contracts based on these various factors.  If you disagree, I would enjoy hearing why.

-Dan Kalish