The defensive coordinator is one of the top assistants in college football.
In American college football, defensive coordinators are responsible for the team's defensive line and report to the head coach. This assistant coach position represents a middle management coaching opportunity as several assistants report to the defensive coordinator. All told, the coaching payroll for Football Bowl Subdivision coaching staffs can run into the millions of dollars annually, including base salary, bonuses and income derived from other agreements, such as product promotions. The pay scale of a defensive coordinator varies based on the team for which he coaches.
Coaching Staffs
College football coaching staffs are led by a head coach and include several assistants, such as an offensive coordinator and a defensive coordinator. Such coordinators call the plays and have several assistants working with them. How a coaching staff is arranged is up to the head coach. For example, the University of South Carolina doesn't have an offensive coordinator, but the school's passing game coordinator calls some of the plays.
Salary Ranges
The Southeastern Conference consists of 12 teams, 11 of which have made salary data available. For defensive coordinators, salaries range from $260,000 per year at Mississippi State to $1.2 million at Tennessee. However, not all defensive coordinators are paid. According to USAToday, Army and Air Force, two of the nation's three major military academies, have assistant coaches who are enlisted in the military and are not paid for their coaching, although they do receive pay for their military service.
Top Pay
Not all schools break down salary information by position. However, the top paying school for all assistants as of 2009 was Tennessee, where its nine assistants averaged $369,000 for a total assistant payroll of $3.325 million. Texas was second, averaging $327,000 with a payroll total of $2.949 million for its assistants. Top pay was seen typically with high profile football conferences, such as the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12, according to the USAToday survey.
Bottom Pay
Of the schools reporting salaries, some of the lowest salaries for assistant coaches, including defensive coordinators, were with smaller FBS teams. For example, at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, the salary range for assistants was $64,100 to $158,600, with an overall payroll of $953,050. Western Kentucky, with an assistant salary total payroll of just $486,132, paid its assistants $25,008 to $76,104. Bottom pay was seen typically with low profile conferences, such as the MAC and SWC.
Perks
Head coaches receive financial perks, including product endorsement pay, bonuses and other benefits. Assistant coaches, including defensive coordinators, sometimes are offered incentives as well, including job security, retention, and bonuses based on TV contracts, attendance and student academic performance. Multi-year contract deals are not as common, but when offered as they are at the University of Toledo, these are considered an additional perk.
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