It costs a lot of money to hire a great college football coach. It costs nearly as much to fire a bad one.
The economy of college football demands enormous payments to the coaches who inevitably wind up the highest-paid public employees in their respective states. But those contracts also come with a parachute should they fail. Massive buyouts mean a struggling playcaller can’t be canned without taking a big portion of their promised cash with them. While those severance payments are typically funded by deep-pocketed boosters, it still creates a cognitive dissonance when you see someone collecting eight figures *not* to do their job.
And yes, an eight-figure buyout is the standard for the NCAA’s top football programs.
Fortunately, we’ve got data that tells us just who is in the most trouble if they need to fire an underwhelming head coach without cause. Forty-six coaches will earn more than $10 million if they’re dismissed after or during the 2023 season. That means Justin Wilcox’s $20.7 million buyout at California didn’t even crack the top 25.
This list comes from USA TODAY Sports‘ college football head coach salaries database. It does not include data from private schools, as they are exempt from reporting that information. So which coaches would be the most financially painful to fire?
25
Kalen DeBoer, Washington
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $23,200,120
24
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $23,725,000
23
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $24,976,563
22
Hugh Freeze, Auburn
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $25,187,500
21
Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $27,236,892
20
Lance Leipold, Kansas
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $27,346,667
19
Chris Klieman, Kansas State
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $29,625,000
18
Brent Venables, Oklahoma
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $30,583,333
17
Jeff Brohm, Louisville
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $31,416,667
16
Billy Napier, Florida
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $32,384,716
15
Bret Bielema, Illinois
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $35,750,000
14
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $37,000,000
13
Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $39,680,000
12
Mike Norvell, Florida State
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $42,209,583
11
Dan Lanning, Oregon
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $44,333,333
10
Nick Saban, Alabama
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $44,800,000
9
Ryan Day, Ohio State
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $46,222,292
8
Josh Heupel, Tennessee
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $46,500,000
7
Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $51,187,500
6
Matt Rhule, Nebraska
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $62,062,500
5
Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $64,000,000
4
James Franklin, Penn State
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $64,666,667
3
Brian Kelly, Louisiana State
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $70,018,333
2
Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $77,562,500
1
Kirby Smart, Georgia
Buyout as of 12/1/2023: $92,625,000
