Ohio State Football Assistants Get Hefty Raises for 2020
Some would say term the price of success incalculable, but for assistant football coaches at Ohio State it's both that and also expensive.
OSU has increased its assistant coaching pay more than $1.1 million across the board from last season and will have four of its 10 assistants making more than $1.1 million in base salary this coming season in advance of bonuses.
Last year, Ohio State wound up paying five assistant coaches more than $1 million once bonuses were calculated following a 13-1 season that resulted in a third straight outright Big Ten championship and loss in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Head coach Ryan Day recently received a three-year contract extension and renegotiated terms of the years left on his remaining deal that will result in earning a minimum of $5.4 million in 2020, $6.5 million for 2021 and $7.6 million for 2022.
That salary does not included bonuses -- Day made $400,000 in football-related bonuses this past season -- for 2021 and beyond.
Offensive coordinator-tights end coach Kevin Wilson received the largest monetary raise on staff, going from $950,000 to $1.2 million.
His salary will rank second overall among assistants to new defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, who begins a two-year contract at $1.4 million annually.
Defensive assistants Greg Mattison and Larry Johnson will each make $1.133 million in 2020.
| Coach/position | Years remaining | 2019 salary | 2020 salary | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tony Alford, RBs | 1 | $600,000 | $618,000 | $18,000 |
Matt Barnes, DBs | 2 | $350,000 | $450,000 | $100,000 |
Kerry Coombs, DC | 2 | NA | $1,400,000 | NA |
Corey Dennis, QBs | 2 | NA | $300,000 | NA |
Brian Hartline, WRs | 2 | $360,000 | $550,000 | $190,000 |
Larry Johnson, DL | 2 | $900,000 | $1,133,000 | $233,000 |
Greg Mattison, Asst. DC | 1 | $1,100,000 | $1,133,000 | $33,000 |
Greg Studrawa, OL | 2 | $600,000 | $700,000 | $100,000 |
Al Washington, LBs | 1 | $500,000 | $515,000 | $15,000 |
Kevin Wilson, OC | 2 | $950,000 | $1,200,000 | $250,000 |
Wide receivers coach Brian Hartline, named the nation's best recruiter by one scouting service, received the largest percentage salary increase among the 10 assistant coaches.
Hartline's base pay will climb 53% from $360,000 in 2019 to $550,000 for 2020.
He is one of four assistants to receive raises or more than 25% from last season. The others are Wilson, Johnson and secondary coach Matt Barnes.
Mattison, linebackers coach Al Washington and running backs coach Tony Alford received 3% raises that were previously negotiated into the original two-year contracts they signed before last season.
First-year quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis will be Day's lowest-paid assistant at $300,000 for the first year of a two-year contract. Dennis, the son-in-law of Urban Meyer, has been on the staff in the lesser capacity of quality-control assistant to Day and others for five years.
According to USA Today, 24 assistant coaches topped $1 million in base salary for the 2019 season.
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