How McClendon’s departure lowers Gamecocks football financial obligations
The contract buyout number South Carolina football fans will likely be most focused on in 2020 is Will Muschamp’s $13.475 million — if the program were to move on from him after the season.
Another factor to watch: the obligations owed to multiple coaches with multi-year contracts.
In early December, USC had $4.6 million tied to assistant coach contracts in 2021, but things have changed a bit. Reports came out Friday that Bryan McClendon, the team’s former offensive coordinator with a $1 million salary for the next two seasons, will leave to join Oregon’s staff. McClendon has since changed his Twitter background to a picture of Oregon’s Autzen Stadium (from a picture of Williams-Brice) and started following Ducks coaches.
He is set to owe USC $200,000 if he leaves, but it remains to be seen if the school will insist on collecting that after McClendon was demoted following a disastrous offensive season in 2019.
No move was confirmed by USC or Oregon as of early Saturday morning.
And at the moment, if a coaching staff change were to take place after this season, South Carolina will be on the hook for up to $4.075 million in assistant salaries. That number would drop — or be mitigated — by whatever the five coaches earned in new jobs they get in 2021.
South Carolina 2021 contract obligations, before mitigation
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo — $1.2 million
Defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson — $1.2 million
Offensive line coach Eric Wolford — $700,000
Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker — $525,000
Strength coach Paul Jackson — $450,000
All of this if before the team actually fills the potential new opening. If the Gamecocks aim to poach a coach already holding a job, they could have to extend a competitive offer.
But a coach who reportedly interviewed in February is Des Kitchings, a former N.C. State offensive coordinator and running backs coach who was let go after last season. With him not having an assistant job at this point, it’s not clear if he’d have the leverage for a two-year contract to add to USC’s 2021 obligations.
For this season, replacing McClendon with Kitchings would save the difference between $1 million and whatever Kitchings was paid. He earned $492,500 as a co-OC last season. Their total staff pay last year was $5.635 million.
This story was originally published April 18, 2020 at 10:45 AM.
