Ohio State's Season Paid Off in Memories, Coaching Bonuses
Ohio State coach Ryan Day has lauded the Buckeyes for buying into his coaching philosophy and vision in Year One, and the university's investment in Day and his coaching staff was similarly robust.
Including bonuses paid Day and his 10 assistant coaches for a 13-1 season, OSU will have paid more than $14.5 million in salary compensation to its football coaching staff since the beginning of 2019 until the end of their contract years on Friday.
That number does not include part-time coaches, support personnel or medical and training staff in and around the football program.
Day will receive the biggest portion of that, a total of $5,243,334 for his first season as Urban Meyer's successor, according to a copy of Day's contract obtained from Ohio State.
That number traces to payments of:
- $850,000 in base salary,
- $2,589,167 for coaches shows and media obligations,
- $1,354,167 from Nike,
- $50,000 for Big Ten title game appearance.
- $100,000 for winning the Big Ten championship,
- $250,000 for College Football Playoff semifinal appearance.
Five of Day's assistant coaches wound up making more than $1 million, given bonuses for the Buckeyes' conference championship and CFP appearances.
Day could be due a significant raise when the OSU Board of Trustees next meets in late February.
So could assistant coaches Tony Alford, Larry Johnson and Greg Studrawa, whose contracts expire on Friday.
Assistants Matt Barnes, Brian Hartline, Greg Mattison, Kevin Wilson and Al Washington are signed through January of 2021.
Passing game coordinator Mike Yurcich, who left to become offensive coordinator at Texas, and co-defensive coordinator Jeff Halfley, who left to become the head coach at Boston College, were signed through Friday.
OSU said it could not provide contract terms for new defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs or quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis at this time.
Each assistant on Day's staff during the 2019 season received a 21.25% bonus in addition to their respective base salaries for the team's accomplishments:
| Coach | Base salary | Bonus | Total compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
Greg Mattison | $1,100,000 | $233,750 | $1,333,750 |
Mike Yurcich | $950,000 | $201,875 | $1,151,875 |
Jeff Hafley | $950,000 | $201,875 | $1,151,875 |
Kevin Wilson | $950,000 | $201,875 | $1,151,875 |
Larry Johnson | $900,000 | $191,250 | $1,091,250 |
Tony Alford | $800,000 | $170,000 | $970,000 |
Greg Studrawa | $800,000 | $170,000 | $970,000 |
Al Washington | $500,000 | $106,250 | $606,250 |
Matt Barnes | $350,000 | $74,375 | $424,375 |
Brian Hartline | $345,000 | $73,312 | $418,312 |
Each assistant's salary bonus would have increased to 25.5% of their base salary had OSU defeated Clemson and reached the College Football Playoff title game.
In that instance, Alford and Studrawa would have joined Mattison, Hafley, Yurcich, Wilson and Johnson in surpassing $1 million in compensation for a period from Feb. 1, 2019 to Jan. 31, 2020.
That's a far cry from 2009, when Tennessee's Monte Kiffin became college football's first $1 million coordinator.
OSU athletic director Gene Smith said then that OSU would not be drawn into an arm's race to prevent assistant coaches from leaving for higher-paying jobs in the Southeastern Conference.
Three years later, Ohio State hired Urban Meyer, paid him a Top 5 salary and began steadily increasing its assistants salaries to the point where in 2018 it paid two assistants $1 million or more for the first time.
That same year, Smith termed the 10-year, $75-million contract Texas A&M gave Jimbo Fisher, "ridiculous," and an example of, "reactionary management."
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