Ole Miss football coaches got big raises. Here's how much money Rebels assistants make
OXFORD — Ole Miss football is financially committing to its coaches like never before.
The Clarion Ledger obtained via a public records request the university contracts for new Ole Miss assistants Charlie Weis Jr., Marquel Blackwell and Nick Savage, as well as the contracts for returning assistant coaches who received raises after helping the Rebels to a 10-3 season in 2021.
Weis, who will serve as Ole Miss' co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, will make $800,000 from Jan. 5, 2022 through Jan. 31, 2023. His salary increases to $825,000 from Feb. 1, 2023 through Jan. 31, 2024.
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Blackwell, Ole Miss' new running backs coach, will make $400,000 between Jan. 18, 2022 and Jan. 31, 2023. His salary increases to $425,000 from Feb. 1, 2023 through Jan. 31, 2024.
New strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage will make $375,000 between Jan. 3, 2022 and Jan. 31, 2023. He will make $500,000 from Feb. 1, 2023 through Jan. 31, 2024.
By comparison, when Kiffin assembled his first Ole Miss staff in 2020, the Rebels paid offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby $700,000, running backs coach Kevin Smith $325,000 and strength coach Wilson Love $325,000. Lebby made $1.2 million in 2021, netting a half-million-dollar raise between his first and second seasons in Oxford.
Co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Chris Partridge received the most impressive raise. From Feb. 1, 2022 through Jan. 31, 2023, Partridge will make $1.2 million. That value increases to $1.3 million from Feb. 1, 2023 through Jan. 31, 2024. He also made $64,516 from Jan. 18 through Jan. 31 of this year, a rate that works out to roughly a $1.8 million salary.
In Partridge's original Ole Miss contract, he signed to make $625,000 annually in 2020 and 2021.
Based on USA TODAY's college football coaching salary database for assistant coaches, Partridge's new contract would've made him the 19th-highest-paid assistant in college football in 2021.
Wide receivers coach Derrick Nix also received a notable raise with a promotion to assistant head coach. Nix made $450,000 annually. Now he will make $500,000 in 2022 and $525,000 in 2023.
Offensive line coach Jake Thornton earned a raise from $250,000 in 2021 to $300,000 in 2022 and $325,000 in 2023.
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Based on the documents obtained by the Clarion Ledger, neither defensive line coach Randall Joyner nor tight ends coach John David Baker appear to have signed contract extensions. Joyner is set to make $450,000 this year and Baker will make $375,000.
The Clarion Ledger also requested contract details for Chris Kiffin, who was hired as Ole Miss' co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach on Jan. 17 but resigned 24 days later to take an NFL assistant coaching job. The corresponding document was not provided in the records request.
There is a provision in the term sheet of Lane Kiffin's most recent contract extension that states Ole Miss' pool of money for assistant coaches must remain above the SEC average (seventh in the conference or better).
Kiffin will make $7.25 million in 2022 and receive a $100,000 raise every year through the contract's expiration in 2025. Mississippi law prohibits a public employee from signing a contract longer than four years.
A clear majority of Kiffin's contract is not paid by the university. Per Kiffin's Ole Miss contract, he only earns $290,000 each year from the university.
In the time since the Clarion Ledger filed its public records request for football contracts, the program has hired Sam Carter as its cornerbacks coach. The Rebels still have two assistant coaching vacancies to fill, one created by Chris Kiffin's resignation and the other to replace special teams coordinator Coleman Hutzler, who left Ole Miss to take the same job at Alabama.
Ole Miss coaching salary breakdown
In 2022:
Head coach Lane Kiffin: $7,250,000
Co-defensive coordinator and S coach Chris Partridge: $1,200,000
Co-offensive coordinator and QBs coach Charlie Weis, Jr.: $800,000
Assistant head coach and WRs coach Derrick Nix: $500,000
Defensive line coach Randall Joyner: $450,000
Running backs coach Marquel Blackwell: $400,000
Tight ends coach and passing game coordinator John David Baker: $375,000
Strength coach Nick Savage: $375,000
Offensive line coach Jake Thornton: $300,000
In 2023:
Head coach Lane Kiffin: $7,350,000
Co-defensive coordinator and S coach Chris Partridge: $1,300,000
Co-offensive coordinator and QBs coach Charlie Weis, Jr.: $825,000
Assistant head coach and WRs coach Derrick Nix: $525,000
Defensive line coach Randall Joyner: N/A
Running backs coach Marquel Blackwell: $425,000
Tight ends coach and passing game coordinator John David Baker: N/A
Strength coach Nick Savage: $500,000
Offensive line coach Jake Thornton: $325,000
In 2024:
Head coach Lane Kiffin: $7,450,000
In 2025:
Head coach Lane Kiffin: $7,550,000
Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss football staff under Lane Kiffin: Here are their salaries
