Gophers football assistant coaching salary pool ranks towards bottom of Big Ten

USA Today on Wednesday published its annual analysis of college football assistant coaching salaries, and the Gophers in 2024 ranked 15th among the 15 Big Ten teams who are required to report with a total of $4.599 million for 10 assistants.

Ohio State led the nation and the Big Ten in 2024 with an assistant coaching pool of $11.425 million, followed by Georgia, Clemson and Alabama. Others in the Big Ten included Michigan ($9.384M), Oregon ($8.225M) and Iowa ($7.9M). Penn State, Northwestern and USC of the Big Ten are not required to reveal salaries.

One of the Gophers assistants, defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, will receive a substantial pay bump.

Hetherman on Saturday agreed to a new contract that will keep him with the team through the 2026 season. On Wednesday, documents provided by the athletic department show that Hetherman could earn up to $1.19 million per season if he stays with Minnesota through the life of the contract.

Hetherman, the former Rutgers linebacker coach, just finished his first regular season with the Gophers and helped the team rank fifth in the Big Ten in total defense (290.9 yards allowed per game) and sixth in scoring defense (17.5 points allowed per game) while leading the conference with 16 interceptions.

His 2024 base and supplemental pay was $850,000, and he’ll receive a $140,000 raise to $1 million for 2025 and ‘26. In addition, he’ll make an additional $200,000 in a retention bonus each year should he stay with the team, moving his compensation to $1.19 million annually.

Hetherman’s contract is pending Board of Regents approval, possibly it its meeting on Thursday and Friday.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck credited Hetherman and the administration for making the deal.

“Corey Hetherman is a great man, and he loves the University of Minnesota,” Fleck said. “He loves the players he gets to coach. He loves his staff. That was very evident in the process.”

Three standouts for the Gophers defense — end Anthony Smith, tackle Deven Eastern and safety Kerry Brown — each announced via Dinkytown Athletes posts on the X platform that they’re returning to Minnesota for the 2025 season.