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Denbrock, Bobby P, and the other Riley: Grading the Ten Highest Paid Offensive Coordinator Contracts

We dig deeper into some of the nation’s best play-callers

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By: Mike Huesmann

Part II of this series moves to the offensive side of the ball where one thing stood out to me: How much less the guys at the top are making compared to their defensive counterparts. On offense we see only Mike Denbrock surpassing $2 million a year; on defense we saw seven coaches making at least that. Only two OCs would be among the ten highest paid DCs. This could be for multiple reasons. The defensive coaches do appear to be older in average age and many of them took over units at blue blood schools that were historically bad. These factors are going to drive up the value, but are also not representative of the long-term market. With that, here are the grades for the ten highest paid offensive coordinators in college football.

Mike Denbrock, Notre Dame, $2.1 million annually

Grade: Fair

Tough to argue that the long-time Brian Kelly lieutenant shouldn’t be the highest paid OC in America. He coached a prolific offense at LSU and led Jayden Daniels to a Heisman Trophy. When a guy like that gets hired away by another blue blood, he’s going to be well compensated. Stats-wise, he led the nation’s top offense last year averaging 536 total yards per game.

Andy Ludwig, Utah, $1.85 million annually

Grade: Underpaid

There is context here that can’t be measured. Last offseason Notre Dame made a push to hire Ludwig away from Utah. One year later the same school hired a guy (see the above) and paid him nearly $300,000 a year more? Simple economics would tell us Utah is getting a pretty good deal at that rate.

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Garrett Riley, Clemson, $1.75 million annually

Grade: Overpaid

I may be harsh here. Lord knows I have a love/hate with Clemson. I do respect many things they do, but I don’t see the value here from the school’s point of view. Riley was a solid OC at SMU and TCU, but the numbers tell us he was not elite. His offenses were ranked in the top 15 twice across three seasons at those schools, although never finishing higher than ninth. Clemson struggled after Trevor Lawrence left and they couldn’t get D.J. Uiagalelei right, which now looks to be more on them than him. Even with that coming before Riley, he was brought in to mentor Cade Klubnik last year and get the Tigers back to elite. That simply didn’t happen. The Tigers ranked 57th in total offense last year.

TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley

Charlie Weis Jr., Ole Miss, $1.65 million annually

Grade: Overpaid

“Did he earn it” and “what does he do” are two significant variables here. The earn it part comes from his previous job, serving as OC at South Florida. In his two seasons there, the Bulls were near the bottom of the AAC. On the surface that doesn’t seem like a glowing resume. The “what does he do” is born out of who his head coach is.  Lane Kiffin is rightly seen as one of the brightest coaches in the game and we assume he’s at the controls of the offense for the Rebels. To Weis’ credit, maybe, they did post the 14th-ranked offense in America last year against a brutal schedule. Am I being too harsh?

Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State, $1.6 million annually

Grade: Fair

Kansas was among the worst P5 teams in the country before Lance Leipold showed up and made Kotelnicki his OC. The resurgence they have had is remarkable and a blue blood swooping in for the coordinators is to be expected in these cases. Kotelnicki was making an even $1 million a year with the Jayhawks, so the move this offseason did come with a significant raise.

Kirby Moore, Missouri, $1.5 million annually

Grade: Fair

In his first year at Mizzou, Moore was part of one of the better Tigers teams ever. They had an All-American RB in Cody Schrader and one of the best WRs in the country in Luther Burden. The Tigers were extremely balanced, both running and passing effectively. Another good season and we will likely see Moore mentioned as an OC candidate for a blue blood and possibly G5 head coaching jobs.

Bobby Petrino, Arkansas, $1.5 million annually

Grade: TBD (Ask me after Thanksgiving)

None of us can answer this now. Petrino was brought in to do one thing: save Sam Pittman’s job. If things go south and Pittman gets fired, this will be a significant overpay. If they light the world on fire with new additions Taylen Green and Ja’Quinden Jackson, Petrino will be worth his weight in gold. We won’t know the answer until then. I do know if my job depended on an offensive coordinator, there are few I would trust more than him.

Missouri State Head Football Coach Bobby Petrino during MSU media day on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022.

Mike Bobo, Georgia, $1.4 million annually

Grade: Fair

The success of Georgia as a team and the resources they have make it a no-brainer that their coordinators are compensated accordingly. Bobo has a solid background being head coach at Colorado State before going to Auburn as OC. 2023 was his first year as OC and Carson Beck flourished, solidifying Bobo’s job and salary.

Kirk Ciarrocca, Rutgers, $1.4 million annually

Grade: Overpaid

This is a tough one for me. Ciarrocca was a solid OC at Minnesota in two stints with the Gophers before Greg Schiano hired him away. He also spent one year at Penn State, where many have failed under James Franklin. Ciarrocca has the respect of most in the profession and Rutgers has improved in recent years. The facts don’t support this salary, though. The Rutgers passing offense ranked 127th in the nation last year and total offense was 117th. These are fireable numbers, not Top 10 highest paid.

Marcus Satterfield, Nebraska, $1.4 million annually

Grade: Fair, but……

Like Matt Rhule, we can’t truly grade Marcus Satterfield yet. We knew year one would be bad in Lincoln – and it was. Year two is where we have seen Rhule make huge strides, so this could change for better or worse. Satterfield will have top recruit Dylan Raiola as his QB and we will be able to grade more accurately after this season. 

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