For the second year of his tenure, Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins kept the salaries of his 10 assistant coaches largely the same, except for raises for running backs coach Tashard Choice and defensive line coach Larry Knight that moved their pay into the same range as other assistants.
The coaches' contracts were obtained by the AJC through an open-records request.
The salaries of safeties coach Nathan Burton ($325,000), defensive ends/outside linebackers coach Marco Coleman ($230,000), wide receivers coach Kerry Dixon ($235,000), offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude ($400,000), cornerbacks coach Jeff Popovich ($230,000), defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker ($450,000) and tight ends coach Chris Wiesehan ($300,000) remained the same from their pay for the 2019 season.
Choice and Knight, who were the two lowest-paid assistant coaches on the staff, got bumps of 5% and 10%, respectively. Choice’s salary increased from $225,000 to $236,000, while Knight’s pay moved from $210,000 to $230,000.
Along with offensive line coach Brent Key’s $600,000 salary – with a two-year deal, he is the only assistant not on a one-year contract – the 10 assistants will earn $3,236,000.
Comparing that total with FBS assistant coach salary figures for 2019 compiled by USA Today, the 2020 salary pool would rank seventh in the ACC among the seven conference schools that were compelled to share salary information through open-records requests. It also would rank 46th among the 51 power-conference schools that released contracts.
With an annual salary of $600,000, Key’s pay is near the top among assistant coaches in the ACC who are not an offensive or defensive coordinator. (Key’s full title is assistant head coach/run-game coordinator/offensive-line coach.)
In 2019, among reported salaries, Key’s salary was highest among ACC assistants who were not either an offensive or defensive coordinator or shared the title. Clemson offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell is making $640,000 this year, according to The Greenville News, putting him ahead of Key.
