10 highest paid offensive coordinators in College Football ft. Notre Dame's Mike Denbrock
Offensive coordinator is one of the most important jobs in the fast-paced nature of college football games. Statistics have shown that to be a top program in college football, you need to be among the highest-scoring teams in the nation.
The coaches in charge of the offense are preparing for the season ahead and building a unit that could compete with the best teams. Here's a look at 10 of the top offensive coordinators in college football who earn the biggest paychecks.
Ten highest paid offensive coordinators in college football
#10 Will Stein, Oregon ($1.4M)
Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein took over the position ahead of the 2023 season and helped the Ducks offense finish second in points per game with 44.2.
Stein began coaching as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Louisville, in 2013. He hasn't been the head coach at any program but has been on the coaching staff at Louisville, Texas, and UTSA.
#9 Mike Bobo, Georgia ($1.4M)
Mike Bobo is one of four coordinators who make $1.4 million and is the leader of the Georiga Bulldogs offense.
Bobo is going into his second season as the offensive coordinator at Georgia after leading them to 40.1 points per game, ranking fifth in the country. He has had multiple assistant coaching stints at Georgia.
Bobo was the head coach at Colorado State from 2015–2019 and the interim head coach at South Carolina in 2020.
#8 Kirby Moore, Missouri (1.5M)
Former Boise State wide receiver Kirby Moore was hired as the QB coach and the coordinator of the offense last season at Missouri.
He led one of the most lethal offenses in the country. Missouri's impressive 2023 season earned Moore a contract extension ahead of the 2024 season, which bumped his pay up to $1.5 million.
Moore began his coaching career as the wide receivers coach at the College of Idaho before becoming a graduate assistant coach at Washington in 2015. He spent five seasons at Fresno State, serving as the WR coach, QB coach and offensive coordinator.
#7 Bobby Petrino, Arkansas ($1.5M)
Bobby Petrino will be returning to Arkansas as the OC this season after just one season serving the same job at Texas A&M in 2023. He was first a member of the Razorbacks staff when he was the program's head coach from 2008–2011.
Petrino has a long resume since he began coaching as a graduate assistant at Carroll (MT) in 1983. Petrino spent one season as a head coach in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons in 2007, going 3-10 before resigning.
#6 Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State ($1.6M)
Andy Kotelnicki begins his first season in charge of the Nittany Lions offensive unit in 2024 after three seasons as the OC at Kansas. He sparked a massive improvement in the Jayhawks offense after his arrival in 2021.
The Jayhawks ranked 21st in the nation with 35.6 points per game in 2022 and 17th with 34.8 points per game last season, despite losing their starting quarterback for most of the season.
#5 Charlie Weis Jr., Ole Miss ($1.6M)
Charlie Weis Jr. will be returning for his third season as the co-leader of the offense in 2024. He began coaching in 2011 as the offensive quality coach at Florida before going to Kansas to become a team manager.
Weiss spent time as a member of the staff at Alabama, followed by a move to the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons. He returned to college football in 2018 as the OC at FAU for two seasons and another two as the OC at South Florida.
He would finally take the co-offensive coordinator and QB coach jobs under Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss in 2022.
#4 Garrett Riley, Clemson ($1.7M)
Garrett Riley is gearing up for his second season as the OC and QB coach at Clemson after replacing Brandon Streeter in 2023. Riley played quarterback at Texas Tech and Stephen F. Austin before taking his first collegiate coaching job at Augustana University in Illinois.
Riley has spent time on the staff at East Carolina, Kansas, Appalachian State, SMU and TCU. He helped the Horned Frogs become the ninth-highest scoring offense during the 2022 season, which factored into him receiving the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the country.
#3 Andy Ludwig, Utah ($1.8M)
Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig is returning for his sixth season in charge of the Utes offense in 2024. He has been an assistant coach with programs, including Boise State, Fresno State, Oregon, Cal, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt throghout his career.
#2 Chip Kelly, Ohio State ($2.0M)
Chip Kelly has left UCLA after six season as the Bruins head coach to takeover for Bill O'Brien as the OC at Ohio State in 2024. Kelly has won three Pac-12 championships in his career and was the 2010 AP College Football Coach of the Year at Oregon.
#1 Mike Denbrock, Notre Dame ($2.1M)
Mike Denbrock is the highest-paid offensive coordinator in college football after leaving LSU to take the job at Notre Dame this year.
He has spent the entirety of his career as an assistant coach at the college level, outside of a short stint as the assistant head coach of the Buffalo Destroyers in the Arena Football League.
Denbrock led the highest-scoring offense as the OC at LSU last season, and his quarterback Jaden Daniels would go on to win the 2023 Heisman Trophy. This will be his third stint with the Fighting Irish after previously serving as the TE coach, WR coach, offensive coordinator and assistant head coach.
Who do you think deserves to be the highest-paid offensive coordinator in college football? Let's know in the comments section: