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The contract for Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong is in place after approval by the Texas Board of Regents on Monday morning and is now available online.
As expected, the contract is for five years and $5 million per season, with an increase of $100 thousand each year. If Strong is fired without cause during the duration of his contract, Texas will owe him the entire remainder of his salary.
The deal makes Strong one of at least three coaches in the country making $5 million or more per season, joining Alabama's Nick Saban and Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin. Private schools do not have to make contract terms public.
And though it received little or no mention at the time of the hire, Strong's buyout at Louisville was $4.375 million, apparently the first time that the Longhorns have paid a buyout for a coach, making the cost to Texas in 2014 the "largest one-year amount paid to a public-school athletics coach since USA TODAY Sports began tracking pay of football and men's basketball coaches in 2006."
Strong will not have a buyout in his own contract at Texas.
Here's the info on the bonus structure for Strong's contract:
Strong bonuses: $100k B12 title, $100k national title game, $250k national title win, $100k NCOY, 3% Top 5, 2% Top 10.
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) January 13, 2014
On the final two figures, the percentages mean the increase in his salary for those finishes nationally in the final polls. There are also bonuses for academic success.
Strong will also be expected to perform other duties as besides coaching:
Strong term sheet says duties include 'UT media, Longhorn Network, camps, donor relations, etc.' Pretty clear that's important. @statesman
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) January 13, 2014
As much as athletic director Steve Patterson may try to shield Strong from some of those duties that distract from the coaching aspect of the job, those are still duties that Strong will have to perform
In early December of 2009, Strong was an outstanding defensive coordinator passed over for multiple head coaching jobs. A few short years later and he's one of the highest-paid football coaches in the country. Not a bad leap for a guy who certainly paid his dues.
