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CU raises assistant coach salary pool to over $3M

Buffnik

Real name isn't Nik
Club Member
Junta Member

Below is the salaries for Colorado's nine football assistant coaches:
Coach, position2017 salary2016 salary
D.J. Eliot, Def. Coordinator$700,000$511,900*
Brian Lindgren, Co-OC/ QBs$487,232$481,825
Darrin Chiaverini, Co-OC/WRs$375,000$265,625
Klayton Adams, Offensive line$315,000$261,025
Gary Bernardi, Tight ends$311,000$311,625
Jim Jeffcoat, Defensive line$269,012$263,732
Ross Els, Linebackers$225,000$205,025*
ShaDon Brown, Secondary$200,000$185,219*
Darian Hagan, Running backs$183,400$175,625
Total$3,065,644$2,661,601
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
* For Eliot, Els and Brown, who are in their first season at CU, the 2016 salary represents what their predecessors were paid. (Note: 2017 salaries provided to Buffzone.com by CU; 2016 salaries from USA Today database of assistant coach salaries).
 
Good news.

Any idea if the assistants enjoy any kind of performance bonuses like the head coach does?
 
We're getting there. Need that ticket/donation revenue base to keep increasing and I think CU can be Top 25ish for football coach salaries.
Salaries are interesting because you need enough to be competitive, but it seems like there's a point of diminishing returns. Top 25 seems reasonable and I don't see us ever competing with the likes of Bama, OSU, Michigan, USC etc...nor do I think we have to in order to get a really good staff. I like our staff but we could use an upgrade with Bernardi and Jeffcoat.
 
Man, what a life to get a $110k YOY raise (Chev). So well deserved and I think that shows everything we need to know about just how important he is to MM and the program. Adams too, obviously.

Also, any word one the multi-year contract situations for any of them?
 
Salaries are interesting because you need enough to be competitive, but it seems like there's a point of diminishing returns. Top 25 seems reasonable and I don't see us ever competing with the likes of Bama, OSU, Michigan, USC etc...nor do I think we have to in order to get a really good staff. I like our staff but we could use an upgrade with Bernardi and Jeffcoat.

You are right that we will never compete with some of the huge money programs. It looks like we are on our way to name coordinators getting over a million a year, we aren't going there for a while.

We can though be a place where quality assistants want to stay for a while. Boulder is a great place to live and if we are winning CU can be a good stepping stone to the major jobs.

The balance to that is that in terms of money if we are paying even we are behind. When Chev came to CU from Lubbock he lost a lot of buying power. Even commuting to outside Boulder his housing cost is way higher along with a lot of the rest of his living cost. Even most of the non-California PAC schools have much lower living cost and in SEC, B12, and B1G towns money goes much further.
 
Man, what a life to get a $110k YOY raise (Chev). So well deserved and I think that shows everything we need to know about just how important he is to MM and the program. Adams too, obviously.

Also, any word one the multi-year contract situations for any of them?
I think the new law allowing multi-year contracts for all the coaches goes into effect August 1.
 
Man, what a life to get a $110k YOY raise (Chev). So well deserved and I think that shows everything we need to know about just how important he is to MM and the program. Adams too, obviously.

Also, any word one the multi-year contract situations for any of them?

Right? I just got a 15K a year raise and I thought that was absurd. Very well deserved for these guys though. Good to see CU rising up the ranks.
 
Good News and this should help down the line. Personally, when I get a bump in pay, my productivity increases.
 
So are the salary numbers in the OP part of the multi-year contracts, basically being agreed upon in principle, but can't be official until 8/1?
I don't know.

I believe that the assistants all signed their new deals in January. I think RG will be very selective on who goes onto a new multi-year extension now instead of waiting until January to do that. It's going to be the HCs and assistants at most risk of being poached before January comes around, I think.
 
I don't know.

I believe that the assistants all signed their new deals in January. I think RG will be very selective on who goes onto a new multi-year extension now instead of waiting until January to do that. It's going to be the HCs and assistants at most risk of being poached before January comes around, I think.
Ideally, Chev and Adams get it right now, right? I wonder if they'll intentionally leave BL off that list, at his request, so he can be available for an HC opportunity? Other than that, I don't see Els or Brown being poaching candidates, and there's no chance that JJ or GB get one. Maybe give one to Hagan?
 
Ideally, Chev and Adams get it right now, right? I wonder if they'll intentionally leave BL off that list, at his request, so he can be available for an HC opportunity? Other than that, I don't see Els or Brown being poaching candidates, and there's no chance that JJ or GB get one. Maybe give one to Hagan?
Right now, Eliot is the only CU assistant on a multi-year deal.

My preference for football:
Head Coach = 5-year deal
Coordinator = 3-year deal
Assistant = 2-year deal

And I would want all of those deals for coordinators and assistants to include a buyout if they leave for a lateral position. i.e., coordinators can leave to become a HC without a buyout and assistants can leave to become a coordinator or HC without a buyout, but if they leave for more money in the same job then the departing coach/new school has to pay CU some money to break the contract.

In terms of August changes, I'd want Chev and Adams on multi-year contracts on August 1. Maybe Lindgren.
 
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In terms of August changes, I'd want Chev and Adams on multi-year contracts on August 1. Maybe Lindgren.

That got me thinking...will every single CU assistant get new multi-year contracts? I'm thinking there are some CU assistants that will still be on one year contracts which would indicate that they have to prove themselves this upcoming season or are not expected back next season.
 
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