USA Today has come up with another illuminating chart on coaching salaries, this time highlighting the pay of assistants.
The salary chart shows who some of the top-compensated assistants are in the Big East (Syracuse and Pittsburgh weren't included because those schools aren't subject to the same open-records laws).
Here's a look at the Big East assistants with the top salaries:
Jeff Casteel, defensive coordinator, West Virginia: $372, 268
Vance Bedford, defensive coordinator, Louisville: $300,000
Mike Sanford, offensive coordinator, Louisville: $275,000
Jeff Mullen, offensive coordinator, West Virginia: $266,583
Dave Johnson, offensive line, West Virginia: $243,333
Kyle Flood, assistant head coach/co-offensive coordinator, Rutgers: $240,000
Ed Pinkham, co-defensive coordinator/secondary, Rutgers: $222,000
Kirk Ciarrocca, co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks, Rutgers: $220,000
Bob Fraser, co-defensive coordinator/linebackers, Rutgers: $220,000
Steve Dunlap, assistant head coach/safeties, West Virginia: $216, 920
Some thoughts:
It's no surprise that West Virginia has the highest-paid assistants, as Bill Stewart sacrificed some of his salary to make sure his staff was well-compensated. You can also see the commitment that Louisville made with its new staff under Charlie Strong. The Cardinals also have four non-coordinators on staff making at least $200,000, while South Florida and Cincinnati are paying their coordinators on both sides of the ball a little more than $200,000 each.
It's ironic, or at least interesting, that at least four of these top 10 are either in serious hot water or have already been let go. Mullen and Johnson won't return for West Virginia, and Greg Schiano is expected to shake up his offensive staff.
I am floored by how low Connecticut's assistants salaries are -- relatively speaking, of course -- compared to the rest of the league. The top-paid UConn assistant is offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead at $170,000. That's less than almost everyone on staff at UConn's Big East counterparts on this list. And yet the Huskies are going to the BCS. If you wonder why Randy Edsall's name is often in the mix for other jobs, take a look at the pay of his assistants, which has been a constant sore spot.