New Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will be among the highest-paid in the country, according to contract details released by the university on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Muschamp, 54, was in a semi-retirement phase working as a defensive analyst for Georgia the past two seasons, so Texas had to make it worth his while to jump back in full-time. And that they did.<\/p>\n
The 3-year deal is worth $8.4 million in total, running from Dec. 19 of last year through Feb. 28, 2029. His salary starts at $2.7 million with $100,000 annual raises.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Year 1: $2.7 million
Year 2: $2.8 million
Year 3: $2.9 million<\/p>\n
Jim Knowles was the highest-paid coordinator in college football last season, earning $3.1 million at Penn State, but he will “just” make $2 million at Tennessee in 2026. Ohio State’s Ryan Patricia signed a 3-year deal around $3 million a year, and LSU’s Blake Baker signed a 3-year deal starting at $3 million and topping out at $3.2 million. Muschamp’s predecessor, Pete Kwiatkowski, was set to earn $2 million had he returned in 2026. His 3-year deal was fully guaranteed but includes offset language.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes change is needed,\u201d Steve Sarkisian said back in December. \u201cSitting in my chair, sometimes you\u2019ve got to make the tough call.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarkisian hired Muschamp to be the “head coach of the defense” and will install a more aggressive style of play.\u00a0\u201cI think to get to where we want to go and beat some of those top-four-or-five teams in the country right now, there\u2019s a style that you have to play, and you have to do it against the very best,\u201d Sarkisian said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most relevant to Muschamp, he became the highest-paid coordinator in college football and the first Texas assistant ever to receive a multi-year contract when he signed a perpetual 1-year deal in 2009 to become the Longhorns’ head coach-in-waiting. That promotion bumped his salary to $900,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That arrangement lasted two years, until Muschamp became the head coach at Florida, signing a 5-year deal that averaged $2.75 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Texas job will be Muschamp’s first full-time, sole defensive coordinator role since a 1-year stint at Auburn in 2015. Prior to that, his most-recent defensive coordinator gig was his 3-year run at Texas, 2008-10.\u00a0<\/p>\n