Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football staff will be among highest paid in the country in 2023
The cost of fielding a Southeastern Conference coaching staff is rising again for Kentucky football.
Earlier this month, UK signed defensive backs coach Chris Collins to a two-year contract extension that sets the salary pool for Mark Stoops’ 10 full-time assistant coaches at $7.765 million for the 2023 season. That salary pool is up $1.225 million from 2022.
Collins’ new deal will pay him $375,000 in 2023, a $25,000 increase from his 2022 salary. His previous contract was set to expire in June.
Existing contracts for assistants Brad White, Vince Marrow, Mike Stoops, Frank Buffano, Zach Yenser and Scott Woodward included annual raises that will go into effect on July 1. Earlier this offseason, UK signed defensive line coach Anwar Stewart to a new contract that included a $25,000 raise from 2022.
New assistants Liam Coen ($1.7 million) and Jay Boulware ($550,000) will be paid a combined $875,000 more than the coaches they replaced (Rich Scangarello and John Settle).
Not included in the $7.765 million assistant staff pool is the ongoing financial obligation UK owes Scangarello, who was fired in November after one season as offensive coordinator. Per the terms of his contract, Scangarello is owed his monthly salary through the end of the deal in June 2025. That contract would pay Scangarello $1 million in 2023-24 and $1.1 million in 2024-25. UK’s monthly payment to Scangarello can be decreased based on the salary he receives at any job he accepts during the term of the contract.
In December 2021, Mark Stoops signed a contract extension that included a clause guaranteeing UK spend at least $6.5 million on assistant coach salaries each year. Now just more than a year later, the school has already blown past that number.
A $7.765 million assistant coach salary pool would have ranked seventh among all public universities last year, according to a USA Today database.
With other traditional powerhouse programs hiring new assistant coaches this winter and awarding raises to coaches they retained, it is likely UK will rank lower than seventh when the new salaries kick into effect in July, but the investment still reflects the dramatic increase in football spending during the Stoops era. Kentucky spent just more than $3 million on assistant coach salaries in Stoops’ first season in Lexington in 2013.
Just two years ago Kentucky had no assistant coaches paid $1 million per year. In 2023, the Wildcats’ staff will feature three assistants paid a seven-figure salary: Coen, White and Marrow. Ohio State, Texas and Michigan State were the only programs with at least three $1 million assistants last year, according to USA Today.
KENTUCKY FOOTBALL ASSISTANT COACH 2023 SALARIES
▪ Liam Coen: $1.7 million.
▪ Brad White: $1.5 million.
▪ Vince Marrow: $1.2 million.
▪ Mike Stoops: $675,000.
▪ Zach Yenser: $650,000.
▪ Jay Boulware: $550,000.
▪ Frank Buffano: $415,000.
▪ Chris Collins: $375,000.
▪ Anwar Stewart: $350,000.
▪ Scott Woodward: $350,000.
See it: Plans for Nutter Field House renovation, new field Kroger turf and track facility
What we learned about Devin Leary, Liam Coen’s offense at Kentucky football open practice
Why Kentucky coaches are excited about position that lost former five-star to transfer
Kentucky’s coaches have challenged Tayvion Robinson: ‘I expect him to make big strides’
