SEC coaches not shy about assistants' rising salaries

SEC head football coaches, on a media teleconference Thursday, defended the sharp escalation in salaries being paid to their assistants, particularly defensive coordinators.

Four SEC defensive coordinators will make $700,000 or more this year -- Georgia's Todd Grantham ($750,000), Alabama's Kirby Smart ($750,000), LSU's John Chavis ($700,000) and South Carolina's Ellis Johnson ($700,000).

Smart and Chavis got raises of $390,000 and $250,000, respectively, after being pursued by Georgia, and Johnson got a $350,000 raise after being pursued by Tennessee.

"It's the market for coaches," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Thursday. "Kirby Smart had an opportunity to go someplace else [read: Georgia] at the same salary we gave him. It was our choice to match that salary rather than lose a heck of a coach."

Said LSU coach Les Miles: "In the off-season, we were fortunate to have John Chavis stay with us, based on the commitment our chancellor and the [athletics director] made. ... I think wise schools realize that people may be the most important component."

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier went so far as to suggest that offensive and defensive coordinators should have their salaries tied to the head coach's.

"I think it's wonderful," Spurrier said of the rise in assistants' salaries, "and I think we ought to have a rule that the coordinator has to make at least one-fourth or one-third what the head coach makes."

Seven of the 12 SEC head coaches make more than $2 million, and two of them make more than $4 million.

Sturdivant's comeback

Georgia offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant, who missed almost all of the past two seasons because of knee surgeries, is on track to be ready for preseason practice this summer, coach Mark Richt said Thursday.

"We do expect him to be ready by preseason," Richt said. "He's rehabbing; he's been making very good progress. This [surgical] repair just feels different to him and feels better to him. Whether that's psychological or not, I don't know, but we're excited he feels that way."

Richt said coaches will be cautious with Sturdivant's workload early in preseason, "but he's really projected to be a full go."

If healthy, Sturdivant would be a big boost to the offensive line. He started every game at left tackle as a freshman in 2007 before missing the entire 2008 season because of reconstructive surgery on his left knee. He returned for the 2009 opener at Oklahoma State but suffered a torn ligament in the same knee in that game and missed the rest of the season.

Etc.

Tennessee coach Derek Dooley said the biggest adjustment from his former job at Louisiana Tech has been the non-coaching demands of the high-profile position. "I think it helps," he said, "that I was an assistant at a similar school [LSU] and that I grew up watching my father [Georgia's Vince Dooley] manage those issues for so many years."

Spurrier, who turned 65 on April 20, said he "never thought" he would coach past age 60. "Then all of a sudden it gets here," he said, "and you feel as good as you did 10 or 20 years ago, so why give up? And we have the ultimate challenge here at South Carolina."

Richt still isn't ruling star receiver A.J. Green out -- or in -- as a punt returner. Green said during spring practice that he would like to be used some in that role this season. "I wouldn't be against him doing anything for us that would help us win," Richt said Thursday. A bigger consideration than injury risk will be whether Green is the best player for the job, Richt said.

About the Author