The outcomes of bowl games, the College Football Playoff and final poll rankings released Tuesday gave public-school head coaches just over $1.8 million …
The outcomes of bowl games, the College Football Playoff and final poll rankings released Tuesday gave public-school head coaches just over $1.8 million in bonuses, according to tracking by USA TODAY Sports based on contracts acquired through open-records requests. That increased the head coaches’ total for the season to nearly $13.6 million, a figure that does not include forfeited amounts or the value of automatic contract extensions and pay increases that coaches picked up. The total for the 2021 season is roughly 2½ times more than what head coaches got last season, when the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts included all manner of changes to bonus provisions. Georgia coach Kirby Smart added $250,000 for the Bulldogs winning their CFP semifinal over Michigan and another $200,000 for Monday night’s national championship victory over Alabama. He ends with $850,000, a total that also includes $50,000 for being named Southeastern Conference coach of the year. His assistant coaches will be getting just over $2.1 million in bonuses. Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell matched Smart’s $450,000 postseason total. Chadwell will be getting $200,000 for the Chanticleers’ bowl victory, which was over Northern Illinois in the Cure Bowl. He’ll be getting $250,000 more for the team finishing among the top 50 teams in either the USA TODAY Sports AFCA coaches poll, the AP poll or Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings. Coastal Carolina was No.57 in Sagarin’s rankings, but it was 31st among the 34 teams receiving votes in the coaches poll and 33rd among the 35 receiving votes from the AP panel. Altogether, Chadwell will be due $600,000 in bonuses – an amount that is nearly three-fourths of his $871,250 in basic annual pay from the school for 2021. Smart’s basic pay from Georgia was $7 million. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, San Diego State’s Brady Hoke, Houston’s Dana Holgorsen and Utah State’s Blake Anderson also picked up bonuses Tuesday, based on their respective teams’ final rankings. Ferentz will get $125,000 because the Hawkeyes finished No.25 through No.21 (they were No.23 in both polls). They other rankings amounts range from $15,000 to $25,000. For the season, the top bonus totals belong to: ►Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh: $2 million, which he has said he will donate his bonus money to other Michigan athletics department employees whose pay was reduced because of financial issues related to the pandemic. ►Ferentz: $925,000, which gives him a total of $5.1 million in bonuses over the past seven seasons. ►Smart: $850,000. ►Alabama’s Nick Saban: $725,000, including the $200,000 for Crimson Tide’s CFP semifinal victory over Cincinnati. ►Utah’s Kyle Whittingham: $655,000, not including a $75,000 bonus he’ll be getting based on the team’s recently published NCAA Graduation Success Rate. Joining Chadwell with amounts of at least $500,000 are Mississippi’s Lane Kiffin, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops and Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell. Mario Cristobal hit benchmarks worth $650,000 while coaching Orgeon, but he departed for Miami without coaching the Ducks in their bowl game, so he forfeited that money. Here is a school-by-school list for all coaches, alphabetical by school: ►$65,000: Sixth win, eligible for bowl game not among with the six connected to the College Football Playoff. ►$110,000: 11-1 record all but assures that team will be playing in one of the six bowl games connected to the CFP *** ►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game ►$25,000: Eighth regular season win *** ►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game ►$25,000: Win Sun Belt Conference East Division title ►$25,000: Ninth win of the season ►$25,000: Win non-CFP bowl game *** ►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game ►$100,000: Eighth regular season win *** ►$100,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game ►One-year contract extension for bowl appearance. (Agreement now set to run through Dec.31,2026.) ►$250,000 pay increase, beginning with next contract year: Sixth regular season win ►Additional $250,000 pay increase, beginning with next contract year: Seventh regular season win. ►Additional $250,000 pay increase, beginning with next contract year: Eighth regular season win. (Compensation for additional contract year now scheduled to be $3.75 million, with at least $1.875 million guaranteed.) ►$50,000: Increase in bowl-appearance bonus with team’s selection to an SEC “Group of Six” bowl game *** ►$50,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game *** ►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game *** ►$15,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game *** ►$25,000: Win over Stanford *** ►$25,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game ►$25,000: Win non-CFP bowl game *** ►$20,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game ►$7,500: Seventh win of the season ►$2,500: Eighth win of the season ►$25,000: Win bowl game ►$2,500: Ninth win of the season *** ►$75,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game ►$30,000: 10th regular win ►$40,000: 11th regular win ►$50,000: 12th regular win ►$50,000: Win share of American Athletic Conference regular season title ►$25,000: AAC coach of the year ►$50,000: Win AAC title ►$175,000: Team selected to play in any CFP-affiliated game ►$50,000: Team in top 25 of final CFP rankings *** ►$50,000: Eligible for non-CFP bowl game with least eight wins *** ►$150,000: Sixth win, eligible for non-CFP bowl game ►$200,000: Win bowl game ►$250,000: Team finished among top 50 in final Coaches or AP media rankings or Jeff Sagarin computer rankings (No.
