Virginia Tech has (mostly) finalized the salaries for the 2020 football coaching staff, according to reports by Andy Bitter of The Athletic and Mike Niziolek of The Roanoke Times. There are two exceptions. The listed salaries for offensive line coach Vance Vice and offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen are their 2019 salaries. Their contracts will expire this summer and will be renegotiated at that time.
Here are the salaries for each coach, according to this Tweet by Bitter...
DC/S Justin Hamilton: $600,000
LB Tracy Claeys: $500,000
OC/QB Brad Cornelsen: $450,000 +$40k retention bonus
ST/TE James Shibest: $420,000 + $55k
DL Bill Teerlinck: $400,000
WR Jafar Williams: $280,000
OL Vance Vice: $260,000 + $40k retention bonus
RB Adam Lechtenberg: $200,000
DL Darryl Tapp: $175,000
CB Ryan Smith: $175,000
Three coaches – Cornelsen, TE/Special Teams coordinator James Shibest and Vice – have retention bonuses. As noted above, Cornelsen and Vice will be given new contracts this summer, so their salaries could be a bit higher once we get to the month of July.
New coaches Darryl Tapp and Ryan Smith are paid $175,000 based on their inexperience. Tapp has never been a full-time assistant, and Smith has never coached at the FBS level. However, the two more experienced defensive coaches are well compensated. Bill Teerlinck will make $400,000 after leaving the Buffalo Bills, while former Minnesota head coach and defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys will make $500,000.
From Niziolek’s article in the Roanoke Times: “According to USA Today’s coaching salary database, Tech’s total salary poll for assistants last year was $3.67 million and ranked No. 37 nationally.”
If Cornelsen and Vice are re-signed at the same salary level and retention bonuses are included and remain the same, the Tech staff will make $3.595 million in 2020, which is a slight decrease with Bud Foster and his $975,000 salary coming off the books. However, that $3.595 million figure will likely increase after the deals of Cornelsen and Vice are renegotiated.