Clemson gives staff job security

School gives three key assistants new deals good through 2010

By PAUL STRELOW - pstrelow@thestate.com

CLEMSON — What Clemson declined to offer its football coordinators in money, it apparently tried to compensate for with security.

Offensive coordinator Rob Spence, defensive coordinator Vic Koenning and receivers coach Dabo Swinney have been awarded multi-year contract extensions through the 2010 season, according to data provided by school officials Friday.

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden had approached athletics director Terry Don Phillips about multi-year deals for several assistants at the start of his contract negotiations in December.

Until the past few years, assistants usually worked on one-year contracts.

Unwilling to pay the $300,000-plus salaries numerous coordinators have received, Phillips agreed to multi-year deals to display Clemson’s desire to keep its coaches.

“You don’t have all the money in the world that you can do everything you want to do,” Phillips said in a recent interview. “There has to be a balance.”

Spence, who has shunned offers approaching $400,000 from Tennessee and Alabama, received a three-year extension that boosted his annual pay to $250,000 this year with a built-in $10,000 raise each of the final two years.

His previous two-year deal, worth $207,000 annually, was to expire after this season.

Koenning, whose three-year deal was to expire after this season, netted a two-year extension worth $260,000 this season and adding $15,000 each of the final two years.

Swinney, the heir apparent had Spence left, was given the assistant head coach title and a lucrative raise last spring as enticement to decline a similar job at Alabama. He signed a two-year deal through 2008 that Clemson has extended to 2010.

Clemson’s nine assistants will be paid an aggregate $1.557 million next season, an increase of 8.9 percent.

The Tigers will be ranked fifth in the conference for total assistants compensation.

According to salaries provided by schools under public records laws, Florida State ($2.205 million), Virginia Tech ($1.810), North Carolina ($1.721) and N.C. State ($1.580) will pay larger sums next season.

Offensive line coach Brad Scott re-upped on a two-year deal, while recruiting coordinator Billy Napier, defensive line coach Chris Rumph, running backs coach Andre Powell and linebackers coaches Ron West and David Blackwell all remained on one-year pacts.

Among those, Napier and Rumph, the two lowest-paid on staff, collected the largest raises: $25,000 and $19,000, respectively.

For the second consecutive year, Blackwell did not net a raise.

Spence’s buyout, should he leave for a job not deemed a professional promotion, was increased from $35,000 to $50,000; Koenning’s increased from $50,000 to $55,000. Swinney has a $35,000 buyout.

Beyond those three, the buyouts for the remaining assistants — except Blackwell — increased from $5,000 to $8,000.