Texas lost three assistants to bigger and better jobs elsewhere, and has now signed their replacements to multi-year contracts, according to documents obtained by Inside Texas.
Defensive pass game coordinator and safeties coach Duane Akina, the third of the three hires, will be the highest-paid among the group. Akina inked a 2-year deal paying him $825,000 in 2025 and $850,000 in '26. Texas's defensive backs coach from 2001-13, Akina returned to Austin to replace Terry Joseph, who took a job on Kellen Moore's new New Orleans Saints staff. Joseph was set to make $850,000 in 2025.
Working with Akina in the secondary will be new cornerbacks coach Mark Orphey, hired away from Rutgers after Blake Gideon took the defensive coordinator job at Georgia Tech. He'll earn $600,000 in 2025 and $650,000 the following year. That's a $100,000 raise from his Rutgers salary in 2024, according to the USA Today coaching salary database, and identical to the salary Gideon made at Texas.
Finally, new running backs coach Chad Scott signed a 2-year deal paying him $700,000 in 2025 and $600,000 in '26. He replaces Tashard Choice, now with the Detroit Lions. Choice earned $700,000 but was in line for a raise "in excess of" $800,000 after turning down overtures from the Dallas Cowboys in February. Scott earned $700,000 at West Virginia, where he was also the offensive coordinator for his final two years on Neal Brown's staff.
With those moves, Texas has set its salaries for its on-field coaches and senior off-field personnel heading into the 2025 campaign.
All told, Texas will pay Steve Sarkisian and his staff 7 percent more than it did in 2024, a number roughly equal to what the Longhorns will distribute among its entire roster of student-athletes once the House settlements are approved next month as expected.
* - Salary earned by previous staff member
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