The college football season is at the halfway point, and plenty of programs are significantly under or over performing preseason expectations. For those under performing teams, this is when fans and analysts start thinking about what it might look like if a new coach took over in the offseason.
In some cases moving on from a coach is relatively painless – if their contract is already up or if they don’t have a large buyout attached to their remaining years – but in other cases it can be very difficult for a program to move on, if not highly unrealistic to do so.
For the ACC, there are three coaches who are clearly getting paid more money than they have earned based on the play on the field, while there are also three coaches who have a great argument for a raise this offseason.
Below is a look at those six coaches, starting with the overpaid trio.
(Four ACC programs do not have coach salary info made public: Duke, Boston College, Syracuse, and Stanford)
Most Overpaid
Mike Norvell – Florida State Seminoles ($10M)
Norvell has a massive $63.7M buyout figure, making it a huge challenge for the ‘Noles to give him the axe this season. But it has to be at least a discussion after a horrendous 1-5 start to the year, bad for any team but a nightmare for a program that was ranked No. 10 in the preseason poll.
Dave Doeren – NC State Wolfpack ($5.9M)
Doeren has a more modest buyout just under $16M, and is less likely to get the boot thanks to a strong track record for the Wolfpack. But this year’s 3-4 start, which includes back to back losses to Wake Forest and Syracuse, is not making the fans in Raleigh happy whatsoever.
Mack Brown – North Carolina Tar Heels ($5M)
Brown’s tenure in Chapel Hill seems quite likely to end after the season, as the 73-year-old is clearly past his prime. It was a great prime, leading North Carolina to relevance in the 1990’s and then taking Texas to a national championship, but it’s time to hang em up after a horrible 0-3 start in ACC play. The ‘Heels gave up 70 points to James Madison and 41 last weekend against Georgia Tech, and need a fresh start.
Most Underpaid
Rhett Lashlee – SMU Mustangs ($2.3M)
Lashlee is the lowest paid coach in the ACC – among the ones with public salaries – and yet he has the Mustangs 5-1 on the year and 2-0 in league play after a road win over Louisville last week. SMU needs to do whatever they can to keep Lashlee in Dallas, which will likely include a fairly significant pay raise.
Brent Key – Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets ($2.9M)
Key took the Yellow Jackets to a bowl game in his second season in 2023, and looks on his way to doing so again this season after a 5-2 start to the campaign. The Yellow Jackets are a tough, physical team – not a surprise being coached by a former offensive lineman – and are once again in line to play in a bowl game this winter.
Tony Elliott – Virginia Cavaliers ($4.25M)
Elliott is not as much of a bargain as Lashlee or Key, especially coming off a 3-9 season in 2023, but the Cavs are currently 4-2 and 2-1 in league play with a quality win over Boston College. With North Carolina and Virginia Tech still on the calendar, Virginia has a strong chance at playing in a bowl game for the first time in Elliott’s tenure – not bad for one of just three (known) ACC coaches making less than $4.5M per year.