Here's how much schools have paid football head coaches in buyout money (so far)
This season’s coaching carousel has been insane, and the money has been astronomical. The buyouts that these universities have to pay are nothing short of spectacular in size.
Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated has all of the buyout information for all the coaches fired before their contracts have expired this season.
2021 coaching buyouts:
Orgeron: $17M
Mullen: $12M
Patterson: $12M
Helton: $10M
Lake: $9.9M
Fuente: $8.7M
Wells: $7.4M
Carey: $4M*
Diaz: $4M*
Addazio: $3M
Holtz: $3M
Bell: $940K
Lundsford: $800K
Lindsey: $700K
Arth: $640K
Edsall: $400K
(*estimate)Total: $94.4M
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 6, 2021
It’s no surprise that the top 2 coaches getting massive buyouts are from the SEC. Former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron is getting $17 million in his buyout. Former Florida head coach Dan Mullen is getting $12 million in his buyout.
The former LSU coach is 2 years removed from winning the national title, and the former Florida coach is 1 year removed from an SEC Title appearance.
College football programs are in win-now mode like never seen before. If you are not winning as a head coach, you may be on the chopping block sooner rather than later.
For better or for worse, with NIL, coaching moves, and potential playoff expansion, college football is looking more and more like the NFL.