SEC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 2013
Auburn offensive line coach J.B. Grimes, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, receivers coach Dameyune Craig and head coach Gus Malzahn talk on the sidelines during the 2013 SEC Football Championship game between Auburn and Missouri at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, December 7, 2013. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)
AUBURN, Alabama -- As Auburn's search for a new defensive coordinator continues, the school's administration is showing the the country it is not afraid to spend money to bring coaches to campus.
Salaries for Auburn's nine football assistants were released last winter, but USA TODAY provided context Tuesday when it released its annual database of salaries for staffs across the country.
The most noticeable trend for Auburn? The Tigers' salary pool of $4.4 million for their nine assistant coaches ranks fourth nationally behind LSU, Alabama and Clemson, respectively. It's possible the salary pool could deepen on the Plains, too, if the Tigers land their No. 1 target to replace Ellis Johnson as defensive coordinator.
Former Florida coach Will Muschamp is being targeted by Auburn and others to be defensive coordinator, and his salary could hover in the $1.5 million if he chooses to coach next season.
Muschamp could become the highest-paid assistant coach in the country based on numbers in the USA TODAY database. Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster will be paid $1.37 million thanks to an $800,000 annuity owed him for his tenure on Jan. 1. Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart earns $1.36 million.
Johnson was paid $850,000 a year at Auburn, the 14th-highest salary in the country. Auburn will owe him $2.2 million in buyout money if he chooses to not work between now and the end of his contract in June 2017.
Auburn's salary pool jumped nearly $1.2 million following its run to a runner-up finish in the BCS Championship in 2013. Auburn ranked fifth nationally with a salary pool of $3.495 million for its coaches last season.
Johnson is one of two coordinators ranked in the top 20 of the database to be fired this month. He joins Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mark Snyder ($708,000). The fate of coordinators at Michigan, Nebraska and Florida could increase that number if recently-hired head coaches at those schools choose to not retain those highly-paid staffs.
Check out USA TODAY's salary database for more.
Total assistants pay
1. LSU $5,499,269
2. Alabama $5,213,400
3. Clemson, $4,448,225
4. Auburn, $4,370,000
5. Oklahoma, $4,077,900
6. Texas, $3,841,640
7. Ohio State, $3,592,025
8. Virginia Tech, $3,583,250
9. Michigan, $3,504,323
10. Texas A&M, $3,484,050
SEC total assistants pay
1. LSU $5,499,269
2. Alabama $5,213,400
3. Auburn, $4,370,000
4. Texas A&M, $3,484,050
5. South Carolina, $3,333,800
6. Georgia, $3,327,800
7. Tennessee, $3,265,000
8. Florida, $3,225,900
9. Arkansas, $3,218,800
10. Missouri, $3,169,000
11. Kentucky, $2,715,700
12. Mississippi State, $2,682,500
13. Ole Miss, $2,596,000
Vanderbilt, N/A