Boise State coordinator joins top-paid assistant coaches in Mountain West; staff pay jumps
Defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding’s second year at Boise State comes with a substantial raise, which makes him one of the highest-paid assistant coaches in the Mountain West.
In 2020, Schmedding is scheduled to make $349,999 — almost $100,000 more than he made last year. He is the Broncos’ highest-paid assistant and, by 2019 standards, his base salary tops all assistant football coaches in the Mountain West.
Last year, the conference’s highest-paid assistant was Wyoming offensive coordinator Brent Vigen, who collected a base salary of $300,000 and a $50,000 retention bonus, according to a database maintained by USA Today. He recently signed a new contract, which runs through February 2022 with an identical salary and bonus.
Vigen’s annual compensation ($350,000) ranked No. 310 among Football Bowl Subdivision assistant football coaches. San Diego State running backs coach Jeff Horton ($347,064) carried the Mountain West’s second-highest salary, followed by former Fresno State defensive coordinator Bert Watts ($340,000), who was hired in January as the linebackers coach at Memphis.
USA Today’s database has not been updated with details of 2020 contracts, but the Idaho Statesman recently obtained contracts for assistant coaches on the Boise State football team through an open records request.
Schmedding joined the Broncos in January 2019 as the co-special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. It didn’t take him long to climb the ladder after former defensive coordinator Andy Avalos left for Oregon a few days before spring practice began. By March, Schmedding was making $250,000 as the defensive coordinator.
Under his direction, Boise State led the Mountain West with 40 sacks last season and ranked No. 3 in the conference in total defense (346.3 ypg) and No. 4 in scoring defense (21.9 ppg). Nationally, the Broncos ranked No. 33 in total defense and No. 31 in points allowed.
Schmedding’s salary is $1 less than Avalos was scheduled to make in 2019, before he left for Oregon. The likely reason for the difference: State Board of Education policy requires any coach contract worth $350,000 or more per year to get board approval. The cutoff when Avalos signed was $200,000.
Salaries for Boise State assistant coaches still lag well behind not just Power 5 teams but many of the top programs in the Group of Five.
At Oregon, Avalos will make $815,000 in 2020 and $865,000 in 2021, according to Oregon Live.
As Washington’s defensive coordinator, former Boise State assistant Jimmy Lake was the highest-paid assistant coach in the Pac-12 last year at $1.4 million. In December, he was named former Boise State head coach Chris Petersen’s replacement at Washington.
The highest-paid assistant coach from the Group of Five was Houston co-offensive coordinator Brandon Jones, who made $500,000, which ranked No. 152 nationally, according to USA Today. He was followed at No. 183 by Cincinnati offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, who made $460,000.
During their current deals, which run through Feb. 28, 2021, Boise State’s 10 assistant coaches will make a combined $2.325 million in base salary. That’s up from $2.19 million in 2019 and $2.275 million in 2018. Last year’s pool includes the salaries of departed offensive coordinator Zak Hill and running backs coach Lee Marks.
In 2019, Boise State’s salary pool for assistant coaches was the largest in the Mountain West. Next was Fresno State at $2 million, according to USA Today.
Schmedding wasn’t the only Boise State assistant to see a sizable raise this year. New offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau’s salary went from $250,000 to $305,000 after he replaced Hill, who announced before the Las Vegas Bowl in December that he was leaving to accept the same position at Arizona State.
Defensive line coach Spencer Danielson’s salary increased from $215,000 to $275,000. He also is the co-defensive coordinator.
After taking a pay cut last season, the Broncos’ longest-tenured assistant — tight ends coach Kent Riddle — went from $250,000 to $265,000 while taking on the role of offensive chief of staff.
After spending the past two years as the Broncos’ player development coordinator, former Boise State defensive back Winston Venable was promoted in February to running backs coach and co-special teams coordinator, replacing Marks, who left in January to accept the same position at Fresno State. Venable will make $125,000.
Another former Bronco, Matt Miller, was hired in January to replace Kiesau as wide receivers coach. He’ll make $180,000.
Beyond their base salaries, the contracts Boise State’s assistants signed include $5,000 bonuses if the team: wins the Mountain Division (including a tie), makes the conference championship game, wins the championship, makes a bowl game and wins the bowl. That’s a possibility of $25,000 in performance bonuses.
If the team makes a New Year’s Six game, coaches are eligible for a bonus up to 7.5% of their annual salary instead of the potential $10,000 in bowl bonuses. The contracts also include bonuses ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the team’s Academic Progress Rate for the 2020-2021 academic year.
All of the Boise State assistants will be paid less than their contracted amounts in 2020, though, because of mandatory furloughs at the school in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Boise State assistants’ 2020 salaries
All assistants have one-year contracts for 2020, after several years in which key members had multiyear deals:
Jeff Schmedding, defensive coordinator/inside linebackers: $349,999 (last year: $250,000)
Eric Kiesau, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks: $305,000 ($250,000)
Brad Bedell, run game coordinator/offensive line: $275,000 ($250,000)
Spencer Danielson, co-defensive coordinator/defensive line: $275,000 ($215,000)
Kent Riddle, associate head coach/tight ends/offensive chief of staff: $265,000 ($250,000)
Gabe Franklin, safeties/nickels: $210,000 ($210,000)
Matt Miller, passing game coordinator/wide receivers: $180,000 (new)
Zac Alley, outside linebackers/co-special teams coordinator: $175,000 ($140,000)
Jalil Brown, cornerbacks: $165,000 ($140,000)
Winston Venable, running backs/co-special teams coordinator: $125,000 (new)
Jeff Pitman, strength coach: $185,000 ($158,017)
Boise State’s salary pool for assistant football coaches
Here’s how much the Boise State football program has spent on salaries for on-field assistant coaches under coach Bryan Harsin. This total covers the nine full-time, on-field coaches from 2014 to 2017. In 2018, the NCAA began allowing teams to hire a 10th assistant. The strength coach is not included.
2020: $2.325 million
2019: $2.19 million
2018: $2.275 million (first year of 10th assistant)
2017: $2.085 million
2016: $2.04 million
2015: $2.105 million
2014: $2.05 million
2019 Mountain West salary pool for assistants
Here’s how much Mountain West teams spent on assistant football coaches in 2019, according to a database maintained by USA Today. Boise State’s salary pool was calculated by the Idaho Statesman based on 2019 contracts obtained through an open records request. Hawaii and Air Force do not report contract details.
Boise State: $2.19 million
Fresno State: $2 million
Colorado State: $1.95 million
Wyoming: $1.85 million
San Diego State: $1.8 million
Utah State: $1.78 million
UNLV: $1.64 million
San Jose State: $1.59 million
New Mexico: $1.5 million
Nevada: $1.47 million
What about Harsin?
Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin’s contract was last updated in October 2018 and runs through the 2024 season. Here are his scheduled salaries, for a total of $10.25 million:
2020: $1.85 million
2021: $1.95 million
2022: $2.05 million
2023: $2.15 million
2024: $2.25 million
Note: His contract is extended by a year with a $100,000 salary increase each time the Broncos win eight games in a season. His buyout is $250,000 through Jan. 10, 2021.
