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.
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"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
