Cal Football: Coordinators Bill Musgrave and Peter Sirmon to Earn More than $900K

Bears' assistant coaches get pay boosts per requirement in Justin Wilcox's new deal.

The USA Today reported in December that 34 Division I football offensive or defensive coordinators earned north of $1 million in 2021, 16 of those at schools in the Southeastern Conference.

Cal still hasn’t cracked that barrier in its compensation for Justin Wilcox’s two top aides, but the Bears are closing the gap.

Figures obtained by Cal Sports Report in a public records request show that offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon both will earn $910,000 in base salary, talent fees and signing and/or retention bonuses.

Wilcox signed a new six-year contract extension through 2027 entering this year, and it came with a guarantee that his 10 assistant coaches and head strength and conditioning coach will have access to a greater salary pool.

Those 11 staff members will share as much as $4.6 million in salary this year, an increase of about 19.5 percent over the total pool of $3.85 million in 2021, according to the Wilcox’s contract. The assistant pool was $3.6 million in 2020, according to USA Today figures reported by Jon Wilner of the Mercury News.

“It was an important piece for Justin,” Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton says in the video above.

Wilcox, beginning his sixth season in Berkeley, has none of the original assistant coaches he hired before his debut season of 2017. They departed for a range of reasons, and the last of them, special teams coordinator Charlie Eagle, exited in December to become head coach at Idaho State.

Keith Hayward, who coached outside linebackers at Cal, left after just one season when he was offered a promotion to defensive coordinator at UNLV.

Assistant coaches will often leave in those circumstances, but Wilcox and Knowlton don’t want to lose assistants simply because of salary considerations.

“Justin and I have been talking about this since the day I got here,” Knowlton said. “We’ve been working hard to make sure our staff is compensated appropriately based on the Pac-12 and the national landscape. It’s a huge part of keeping good people.

“Good people want to be here because of the culture of our football program and Justin Wilcox. At the same time, they don’t want to feel like they’re not getting compensated appropriately.”

Coaches in the Pac-12, on average, are paid less than their counterparts in other Power 5 conferences. Not surprisingly, according to a Dec. 9, 2021 report by USA Today, assistants in the Southeastern Conference led the way with average salaries of just under $605,000 in 2021.

The Big Ten was second ($497,000), followed by the ACC ($483,000), the Big 12 ($475,000) and the Pac-12 ($408,000). According to research compiled by Wilner a year ago, three of the four lowest-paid staffs among Power 5 conferences came from the Pac-12 — Oregon State, Colorado and Arizona.

Cal’s salary pool works out to an average of about $418,000 when split among 10 assistants and head athletic performance coach Brian Johnson. That’s an increase of $68,000 over a year ago and elevates Cal to somewhere in the middle of the Pac-12, which is critical in one of the most expensive housing markets in the conference footprint.

Below are salary figures for Cal’s assistants. Not provided by Cal were numbers for strength coach Johnson and Hayward's replacement as outside linebackers coach, Vic So'oto, who wasn't hired until March 1.

Every assistant’s contract also calls for performance bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 if the Bears participate in various bowl games following the 2022 regular season, provided that the team maintains a four-year Academic Progress Rate score of 930 or better.

It’s interesting to note that while Musgrave and Sirmon both will receive the same total compensation, there are differences in how their contracts were constructed. Sirmon has a higher talent fee ($625,000 to $495,000) but Musgrave’s contract includes a $155,000 retention bonus if he remains on staff through March 1 of next year.

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Offensive coordinator BILL MUSGRAVE (Feb. 1, 2022 thru Jan. 31, 2023)

$250,000 base salary

$495,000 talent fee

$155,000 retention bonus (if he stays through March 1, 2023)

$10,000 signing bonus

2022 total: $910,000

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Defensive coordinator PETER SIRMON (Feb. 1, 2022 thru Jan. 31, 2023)

$250,000 base salary

$625,000 talent fee

$10,000 signing bonus

$25,000* renewal signing bonus (if agrees to new contact before Dec. 14)

2022 total: $910,000

* The renewal signing bonus drops to $15,000 if he he agrees to a new contract between Dec. 14 and Jan. 15, 2023

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Defensive backs coach TERRENCE BROWN

$175,000 base salary (Jan. 3, 2022 thru Dec. 1, 2022)

$250,000 base salary (Jan. 1, 2023 thru Jan. 31, 2024)

2022 total: $175,000

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Defensive line ANDREW BROWNING (Feb. 1, 2022 thru Jan. 31, 2023)

$250,000 base salary

$55,000 talent fee

$20,000 retention bonus (if he stays through end of 2022 regular season)

$10,000 signing bonus

$25,000 renewal signing bonus

2022 total: $360,000

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Tight ends coach GEEP CHRYST (Feb. 1, 2022 thru Jan. 31, 2023)

$250,000 base salary

$100,000 talent fee

$10,000 signing bonus

2022 total: $360,000

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Offensive line ANGUS McCLURE (Feb. 1, 2022 thru Jan. 31, 2023)

$250,000 base salary

$75,000 talent fee

$10,000 signing bonus

2022 total: $335,000

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Running backs coach ARISTOTLE THOMPSON (Feb. 1, 2022 thru Jan. 31, 2023)

$190,000 base salary for Feb. 1, 2022 through Jan. 31 2023)

$10,000 signing bonus

2022 total: $200,000

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Wide receivers coach BURL TOLER III (Feb. 1, 2022 thru Jan. 31, 2023)

$250,000 base salary

$75,000 talent fee

$10,000 signing bonus

$25,000 renewal signing bonus

2022 total: $360,000

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Defensive backs coach TRE WATSON (Feb. 1, 2022 thru Jan. 31, 2023)

$200,000 base salary

$25,000 hiring bonus

2022 total: $225,000

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Cover photo of Memorial Stadium courtesy of Cal Athletics

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo