Top eight salaries for first-time head coaches revealed

The 2021 college football season has brought about tons of change in the coaching landscape, as 29 programs either let go or lost their staff to another school, resulting in new head coaches across the country.

Many of the new head coaches across the country are just now receiving their first Division-I head coaching role, too, with Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and Oregon head coach Dan Lanning serving as a few of many examples.

Since 2017, 25 coaches have been hired by a Power Five university without any previous head-coaching experience. Out of the 25 coaches, eight of them reportedly received salaries north of $3 million per year — and four came during the 2021 coaching cycle.

Here’s a look at the eight highest first-time head football coaches, with salaries courtesy of The Daily Progress.

Top eight highest paid first-time head coaches

1. Brent Venables, Oklahoma: $7 million

Venables is no stranger to Oklahoma, as the former Oklahoma defensive coordinator returned to Norman after a stint with the Clemson Tigers. First, Venables helped Bob Stoops put together a national championship-winning defense at Oklahoma, then he did the same for Dabo Swinney at Clemson; in 2021, he returned to Oklahoma after Lincoln Riley was hired away by USC.

2. Dan Lanning, Oregon: $4.6 million

Lanning helped the Georgia Bulldogs put together one of the best defenses in recent college football history as Georgia’s defensive coordinator. Lanning, 35, received his first head coaching job at Oregon at the end of 2021 — just three years after getting his first coordinator job at Georgia in 2019.

3. Ryan Day, Ohio State: $4.5 million

After Ohio State’s former national championship-winning head coach Urban Meyer entered pseudo-retirement, the Buckeyes were forced to find a new head coach to lead the program. They plucked co-offensive coordinator Ryan Day off Meyer’s staff to lead the program in 2018.

4. Tony Elliott, Virginia, $4.1 million

Elliott, a Clemson alumnus, worked his way up from one of Dabo Swinney’s first players to Swinney’s offensive coordinator. From there, Elliott helped build a powerhouse ACC offense before moving over to Virginia for his first head coaching job heading into the 2022 season.

5. Brent Pry, Virginia Tech, $4 million

Pry had no prior experience as a head coach before his hiring at Virginia Tech. In his last stint, he served as James Franklin’s defensive coordinator at Penn State, and now Pry makes the jump from the Big Ten to the ACC ahead of the 2022 season.

6. Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee, $3.8 million

Pruitt served as Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator at Alabama before receiving his first head coaching opportunity at Tennessee, a three-year tenure that went extremely poorly and saw the Volunteers replace him swiftly.

7. Manny Diaz, Miami, $3.1 million

Like Pruitt, Diaz’s first experience as a head coach at Miami was far from perfect, as the Miami Hurricanes struggled to get the ball rolling after his promotion from defensive coordinator. He was later replaced by Miami alumnus Mario Cristobal, formerly with Oregon, in 2021.

8. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma, $3.1 million

Between Riley and Venables, Oklahoma cracks the list twice after shelling out large sums to first-time head coaches. Riley made multiple appearances in the College Football Playoff, and although Oklahoma was unable to win a national title, it came close — should Venables pick up where Riley left off, Oklahoma could very well hold its spot as a college football power.