FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas' annual salary pool for its 10 on-field football assistant coaches is set to increase by about 4.4% to $6.15 million for the 2024 season.
The jump in total staff pay is due to the hiring of Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator in November. Petrino's salary will begin at $1.5 million annually in March. His contract called for $350,000 for his first three months in the position.
Former offensive coordinator Dan Enos was working on a contract that paid $1.1 million when he was fired in October. Enos had two seasons remaining on his contract and at the time of his firing was owed $2.8 million in buyout funds, subject to mitigation.
First-year offensive line coach Eric Mateos is in line to earn $700,000 per year. That is the same salary paid to his predecessor, Cody Kennedy, who left for the same position at Mississippi State after this season.
New receivers coach Ronnie Fouch will be paid $200,000 in his first year. That salary is $140,000 less than his predecessor, Kenny Guiton, who left Arkansas last month to accept a similar position at Wisconsin.
The $6.15 million is the second-largest pool for Arkansas assistant coaches. The 2022 staff had annual salaries totaling $6.44 million, including $1.85 million for then-defensive coordinator Barry Odom, a single-year record for a Razorbacks assistant coach.
Arkansas' pay for football assistants fell to $5.89 million in 2023 after both coordinators were hired elsewhere -- Odom as head coach at UNLV and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles to the same position at TCU.
When Coach Sam Pittman's $5.25 million annual salary is added, Arkansas' total staff pay will equal $11.4 million for the 2024 season, just below the $11.44 million for 2022.
Pittman's salary does not include scheduled retention payments, which could total up to $1.2 million for the 2024 season.