Ohio State shelled out a lot of money to try and fix the woes on defense the last couple of seasons. According to information obtained from a public records request by Eleven Warriors, OSU will pay former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles $1.9 million annually in a three-year contract.
For comparison’s sake, that’s the most money Ohio State has ever paid an assistant coach yearly without incentives. The terms would have been the fourth most lucrative of any assistant in college football last season, eclipsed only by Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables ($2,500,000.00), Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott ($2,125,000.00), and Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko ($2,100.000.00). Both Venables and Elliott have both accepted head coaching positions elsewhere just recently, so take that for what it’s literally worth.
But it’s not just base salary. The contract also has incentives for team performance as most contracts do. He could make up to an additional $726,750.00 if OSU wins the Big Ten championship and plays in the College Football Playoff Championship game.
Here’s how the incentives all break down according to the documents obtained by Eleven Warriors:
- Big Ten East Title: 8.5% of base salary ($161,500)
- Big Ten Championship Title: 4.25% of base salary ($80,750)
- College Football Playoff Bowl Game Appearance: 17% of base salary ($323,000)
- Non-College Football Playoff Bowl Game Appearance and 9 Wins: 4.25% of base salary ($80,750)
- College Football Playoff Semifinal Appearance: 21.25% of base salary ($403,750)
- College Football Playoff Final Appearance: 25.5% of base salary ($484,500)
That’s a lot of money, and no matter how you look at it, Ohio State head coach and athletic director Gene Smith are serious about bringing in coaches at the highest expense with deep pockets to get things where they believe they should be. The days of being penny-pinchers with assistant coaches’ salaries in Columbus are gone.
To win championships, you have to pay great coaches. After the first loss to Michigan in eight tries, and missing the College Football Playoff for the first time in three years, the Buckeye brass looks like it’s serious about getting back on top.
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