Smart is the highest paid coach for a reason. He’s won two national championships and his Georgia team is in position to return to the College Football Playoff and compete for a third.
Swinney’s Clemson team turned it around after a season opening loss and the two-time national champion head coach might be earning his paycheck this year. Despite the criticisms of him lately, Swinney is proving he’s still one of the best in the game.
Sarkisian hit the ground running at Texas and once he found his footing, the Longhorns were “back.” Recruiting, transfer portal, QB development, you name it. All that remains is winning a national title and this could be the year.
Riley commanded a lot of money from USC when they pried him away from Oklahoma. There’s been some highlights, but no CFP appearances with the Trojans and that might be a pipe dream this year.
The Ohio State head coach gets a lot of flak for recent losses to Michigan and coming up just short of a title a couple of years ago. Still, Day is a winner, sporting a 61-9 record, but has to win the big one.
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Norvell commanded a lot of money from the Seminoles and had a great run from 2022-23. But this year’s been a disaster, going 1-5 through the first half. You have to give him the benefit of the doubt to turn it around for 2025 though.
DeBoer’s Alabama squad is 5-1 through the first half of the season. Coming off a national title run at Washington, there’s a lot to like. But of course, despite winning everywhere, DeBoer is at the ultimate pressure cooker with the Crimson Tide.
It may not seem like it, but do you know that Kelly won 10 games in each of his first two seasons at LSU? Yes, it was 10-4 and 10-3, so there were extra opportunities. But the Year 3 bump could be real as Kelly is 5-1 this year and could get over the hump that was in his way at Notre Dame.
Stoops has been at Kentucky since 2013 and he’s been solid. Not great, but very solid for the program with two 10-win seasons. But this year, the Wildcats are just 3-3, a similar trajectory of the last two years.
Could Kiffin command more money this offseason from Ole Miss or heck, even Florida? That’s the hot rumor of course. Kiffin’s been really good at Ole Miss, but he’s another coach that needs to get over the hump and get to the College Football Playoff.
Top 25 highest paid coaches
The full salaries, bonuses and more can be seen below.
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