Who is the highest-paid SEC assistant coach? Ole Miss DC Pete Golding leads group

USA Today

a day ago

Following his contract extension in the offseason, Ole Miss football defensive coordinator Pete Golding is among the highest paid assistant coaches in college football this season.
In just three seasons at Ole Miss, Pete Golding has built the Rebels' defense into one of the best units in the country.
For that, the third-year Rebels coordinator is now the highest-paid assistant coach in the SEC and one of the top in college football.
Noted by the Clarion-Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network, Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss rewarded Golding with a three-year contract extension this past offseason that pushed him up the ladder among the highest-paid assistants in the SEC with a salary of $2.55 million for this upcoming season.
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Hired ahead of the 2023 season by Kiffin, Golding's new contract − which he signed on Feb. 25 of this year − will give him a $300,000 pay increase from his previous contract for the 2025-26 season. He was scheduled to make $2.25 million this year.
Using last year's USA Today's highest-paid assistant coaches database as a reference, Golding was previously the fourth-highest-paid assistant coach in the country among public universities and colleges. His new contract now makes him the second-highest-paid assistant, only behind new Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who is making an annual base salary of $3.1 million.
Ole Miss finished just behind Knowles' then-Ohio State Buckeyes defense last season as the No. 2 scoring defense in the country at 14.38 points per game.
Golding's unit is set to open the 2025 season against Georgia State on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 7:45 p.m. ET at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Here's more on Golding's recent contract extension and salary increase at Ole Miss:
Pete Golding Ole Miss contract extension, salary details
Noted by the Clarion-Ledger, Golding signed a three-year contract extension with Ole Miss that will keep him in Oxford through the 2027-28 season. His salary for the current 2025-26 is listed at $2.55 million, with him having the opportunity of making an additional $200,000 in potential incentive pay: $50,000 for Ole Miss winning the SEC championship game and $150,000 for Ole Miss winning the entire College Football Playoff.
Golding's annual salary will increase each of the next two seasons, as he is set to make $2.6 million from Feb. 1, 2026 to Jan. 31, 2027 and then $2.7 million from Feb. 1, 2027 to Jan. 31, 2028.
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