By Brett Daniels
Coaching contracts in college football have exploded in terms of total compensation and the number of years signed. Many of these contracts turn out to be bad investments as recently discussed in the “5 Worst Contracts in College Football” article. For all the excessive amounts of money that are being thrown about, there are many coaches who are giving their schools what they asked for both on and off the field. Here are the 5 Best Coaching Contracts in College Football according to the value that they provide their schools.
1. Kirby Smart
(Georgia)
With the retirement of Nick Saban at the end of the 2023 football season, Smart is recognized as the best coach in all of college football. Since he was hired in 2016 the Bulldogs have compiled a 94-16 (.855) record including three straight 12-0 regular seasons from 2021-2023 (a record of 42-2 over that span). Georgia has won two SEC Championships (2017, 2022), two back-to-back National Championships (2021, 2022) and played for a third (2017).
In 2024 the Dawgs are poised to compete for a fourth straight undefeated regular season and 3rd National Championship in four years. Smart is also a relentless recruiter landing the Bulldogs classes ranked 9th (2016), 3rd (2017), 1st (2018-2020), 3rd (2021), 2nd (2022), 1st (2023). All of that makes his 10-year/130 million dollar contract that runs through the 2031 season a bargain.
2. Dabo Swinney
Clemson
Before Swinney was elevated to Head Coach at Clemson, the Tigers were known as the team that “almost”. Almost beat the highly-ranked team, almost won the conference championship, etc. With Swinney at the helm, the Tigers have gone 170-43 (.798) with seven ACC Championships (six of them in a row) and two National Championships.
More Sports News
Swinney has come under fire the last two seasons due to his refusal to use the Transfer Portal to bolster the Tigers roster. However, when nine wins is considered a “down” year you know you have a good thing going. Swinney has a 10-year/115-million-dollar contract that runs through the 2029 season.
3. Ryan Day
(Ohio State)
Can a coach who might be on the hot seat if he loses to Michigan for a third year in a row also be considered a “best value” coach? Day has had a lot of success as the Head Coach at Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 56-8 (.875) under Day never losing more than two games in any season. Unfortunately, two of those losses have been to Michigan in the last two years.
Ohio State has one Big Ten championship (2020) and two College Football Playoff appearances (2020, 2022) under Day with a win against Clemson (2020), and losses against Alabama in the Championship Game (2020) and against Georgia (2022) in the semifinals. Day signed a massive 7-year/166.5-million-dollar deal that runs through the 2028 season.
4. Mike Gundy
Oklahoma State
Gundy appearing on this list might surprise some people, especially after he was asked to take a $1 million dollar-a-year pay cut after the 2020 season due to an off-the-field issue. The Cowboys have a record of 166-79 (.678) during Gundy’s tenure and haven’t had a losing season since 2005 (4-7). Gundy led the Pokes to the 2011 Big 12 Championship and arguably should have played LSU for the BCS National Championship instead of the rematch with Alabama (the Tide won the rematch 21-0).
The Cowboys have also been to 19 straight bowl games. Gundy has a contract that rolls over each year in perpetuity to always be a 5-year deal. While his base salary at $500,000 is very low, there are plenty of incentives and other compensations that bring the per-year total to around the $7.75 million mark for 2024. Since Gundy received his new deal in 2021 the current 5-year compensation comes out to $38.5 million.
5. Kyle Whittingham
Utah
Whittingham is consistently one of the most underrated coaches in college football. Since taking over from Urban Meyer, Whittingham has compiled a 162-79 (.672) and brought the Utes from the Mountain West into the Pac-12 until that conference collapsed after the 2023 season. The Utes will play the 2024 season in the Big 12. Whittingham has an 11-6 bowl record that includes a Fiesta Bowl, a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama along with a #2 final ranking (2008), two Pac-12 Championships (2022-2023), and two Rose Bowl appearances.
Whittingham is the all-time wins leader at Utah and is the 3rd longest-tenured coach in College Football behind Gundy (Oklahoma State) and Kirk Ferentz (Iowa). Utah signed Whittingham to a new contract in 2022 that is 6 years/41 million dollars and runs through the 2028 season. Utah Defensive Coordinator Morgan Scally was recently named “coach in waiting” when Whittingham decides to call it a career.
https://twitter.com/PeteThamel/status/1807795071611183185
Honorable Mentions: Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)-$7 million per year through 2029, Mike Stoops (Kentucky)-$8.6 million per year through 2031, Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri)-$6 million per year through 2027.
