Florida head coach Jim McElwain just got himself a nice little pay-day Following a 10-4 season and an SEC East Championship during his inaugural season in Gainesville, Fla. in 2015. On Friday, it was announced that the second-year head coach has earned a $750,000 raise, which brings his annual salary up from $3.5 million a year to $4.25 million annually.
"We recognized early in Coach Mac's tenure that he totally changed the vibe around football for The Gator Nation and in the building," athletic director Jeremy Foley said in a statement via OnlyGators.com. "Dr. Fuchs and I first talked about this in mid-October — we didn't want to make it about winning one game or advancing to the SEC Championship Game. We wanted to make a change because of the direction of the program and his leadership."
McElwain's raise now makes him the SEC East's highest-paid head coach. He edged out Tennessee's Butch Jones, who earned a $500,000 raise last December, bringing his salary to $4.1 million per year. New Georgia head coach Kirby Smart's first-year salary is good for $3.75 million a year, whereas Will Muschamp is expected to earn $3 million during his first season in Columbia, S.C.
In the SEC West, the salaries are much higher. Alabama head coach Nick Saban made $7.1 million last season. That's not including the bonuses he received for winning the National Title, which were a whopping $525,000 for on-field, team performance bonuses, and an extra $100,000 bonus for team academic performance. Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin makes $5 million annually, and Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze is right behind him, making $4.7 million annually.
Check out the full list of SEC coaching salaries below.
Nick Saban, Alabama: $7.09 million
Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M: $5 million
Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss: $4.7 million
Les Miles, LSU: $4.39 million
Gus Malzahn, Auburn: $4.35 million
Jim McElwain, Florida: $4.25 million
Butch Jones, Tennessee: $4.13 million
Bret Bielema, Arkansas: $4.06 million
Dan Mullen, Miss. State: $4 million
Kirby Smart, Georgia: $3.75 million
Mark Stoops, Kentucky: $3.5 million
Will Muschamp, South Carolina: $3.0 million
Barry Odom, Missouri: $2.35 million
