Enos gets raise, contract extension

Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos speaks to the media during a press conference Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, at the Embassy Suites hotel in Memphis, Tenn.
Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos speaks to the media during a press conference Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, at the Embassy Suites hotel in Memphis, Tenn.

— Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos signed a restructured contract this month that will increase his salary to $700,000 for the 2016 season.

Enos will also receive automatic $50,000 raises the next three seasons.

The new deal, completed Friday with the signature of UA president Donald R. Bobbitt, extends Enos' contract through June 30, 2019.

Enos, 47, had been scheduled to make $550,000 this year, but after the Razorbacks ranked No. 29 nationally in total offense with 465.5 yards per game, he drew interest from at least one other program.

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said Georgia Coach Kirby Smart contacted him to ask for permission to interview Enos. However, when informed that Enos' contract included a "non-compete" clause with other SEC schools, Smart backed off and hired former Arkansas offensive coordinator Jim Chaney away from Pittsburgh.

The Razorbacks enjoyed an offensive resurgence in Enos' first season as offensive coordinator with senior Brandon Allen at quarterback. Arkansas ranked No. 27 in the FBS with 35.9 points per game and displayed the kind of balance Bielema craves.

The Razorbacks were also No. 5 in passing efficiency, No. 32 in passing offense with 268.2 yards per game and No. 34 in rushing with 197.3 yards per game.

Enos' new contract continues his non-compete clause with other SEC schools and calls for a buyout of $350,000 thru Feb. 15, 2018.

The buyout decreases to $250,000 through Feb. 15, 2018, and to $100,000 through the end of the term.

Enos' contract was one of several tweaks for Arkansas football assistants.

Defensive coordinator Robb Smith's salary increased by $50,000 to $800,000 for 2016, per the contract he signed early last year.

Smith was notified in a letter dated Dec. 4, 2015, that his contract was being extended by one year, through June 30, 2019.

Smith is operating under a non-compete clause with other SEC institutions and has buyout language in his contract calls for him to pay Arkansas $250,000 if he leaves before Feb. 15, 2018.

He would owe $100,000 if he leaves between that date and June 30, 2018.

Receivers coach Michael Smith wrote on his Twitter account Friday, "It's always nice to be recognized and presented new opportunities, but I couldn't be more excited for my family and I to stay at the University of Arkansas." The post is believed to reference LSU's interest in him.

In other news involving the football program, strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert has signed an agreement that increased his pay to $340,000 on Jan. 1 and extended the length of his contract through the end of June 2019.

Herbert's deal will give him a pay raise of $10,000 per year, topping out at $360,000 in 2018.

The Pittsburgh native, a member of Bielema's original staff at Arkansas, is bound by a non-compete clause with other SEC institutions and has buyout terms.

He would owe Arkansas $100,000 if he leaves prior to the end of 2016, $75,000 through 2017 and $50,000 beginning Jan. 1, 2018 through the end of his contract.

A public records request made by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette also turned up documentation that Athletics Director Jeff Long had notified former assistant head coach and offensive line coach Sam Pitman that the Razorbacks intended to extend his agreement by one year. In a later dated Dec. 4, 2015, Long had informed Pittman that terms of an amendment to his contract would be provided to him within 14 days.

Pittman left the Razorbacks on Dec. 12 to coach the offensive line at Georgia for Smart, reuniting him with his friend Chaney.

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