Ohio State football assistant salary pool surpasses $15 million

Ohio State is due to spend just over $15 million on the salaries for its primary assistant football coaches this year, according to copies of their contracts obtained by The Dispatch through a public records request.

The Buckeyes’ coordinators and position coaches who encompass the group of 12 assistants are owed a combined $15.3 million in base pay in 2026.

The salary pool is a significant jump over last year when the school dedicated $11.78 million toward coordinators and position coaches.

The increase is owed in no small part to the expansion of Ryan Day’s staff, which is no longer limited by NCAA rules restricting the number of assistants involved in coaching during games and practices.

Day hired both Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator and Cortez Hankton as wide receivers coach to replace Brian Hartline, who handled both roles on staff last season before taking the head-coaching job at South Florida.

He also brought in Robby Discher as a special teams coordinator, a position on staff that he had forgone for two straight seasons, delegating the kickoff and punt units among the position coaches.

The hefty salary bump for defensive coordinator Matt Patricia contributed to the larger pool as well. Patricia will receive $3.75 million as part of his annual base salary this year after he made $2.5 million in basic compensation last season.

Ohio State extended the contract for Patricia, who was a finalist for the Broyles Award as the top assistant in the nation after elevating the Buckeyes’ top-ranked defense despite heavy roster attrition following their national championship.

The school’s spending on assistant coaching salaries has soared in recent years. It was not until 2024 that Ohio State even set aside $2 million toward the annual salary for one assistant, an amount it reserved at the time for both offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

The Buckeyes’ national championship-winning season was also the first time their assistant coach salary pool surpassed eight figures, reaching nearly $11.43 million for 10 assistants.

Gene Smith, then in his final months as athletic director, said he “went berserk” with increasing salaries in pursuit of the title.

Seven Ohio State assistants will ultimately earn seven-figure base salaries in 2026, a group that also includes co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Tim Walton at $1.8 million and defensive line coach Larry Johnson at $1.6 million.  

Arthur Smith is the highest-paid assistant on the offensive side of the ball at $1.5 million, a pay package that is due to increase to $2 million for 2027 under the two-year deal he signed in January.

Kennan Bailey, the co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, as well as offensive line coach Tyler Bowen and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri, are all to make $1 million.  

The Buckeyes had only four assistants with base salaries surpassing $1 million in 2025 and six in 2024

Linebackers coach James Laurinaitis also saw a pay raise that brought his base salary up to $900,000 after he made $500,000 in base pay a year ago. Hankton, who left LSU to replace Hartline in his role as wide receivers coach, is due that same salary this year.

Billy Fessler will make $750,000 after he received a raise from $475,000 in his first year as the Buckeyes’ quarterbacks coach, which included helping Julian Sayin to finish fourth in the Heisman Trophy race.

Running backs coach Carlos Locklyn is set to make $700,000, and Discher is due $400,000.  

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football assistant salary pool sees significant increase