The goal of this exercise is to isolate the value of position-specific coaching at the highest level of college football.
And, boy, did we ever find it for linebacker coaching.
Only two of the 10 coaches from last year's list return in the same post they had a year ago, and that leaves us with a whopping five-way tie for fifth place at $500,000 per year.
See for yourself below. As always, most salary information comes from the USA Today salary database.
1. Sal Sunseri, Alabama -- $650,000
2. Coleman Hutzler, Texas -- $600,000
3. Bob Gregory, Washington -- $550,000
3. Glenn Schumann, Georgia -- $550,000
5. Tracy Claeys, Virginia Tech -- $500,000
5. Antonio Pierce, Arizona State -- $500,000
5. Tommy Thigpen, North Carolina -- $500,000
5. Seth Wallace, Iowa -- $500,000
5. Al Washington, Ohio State -- $500,000
10. Travis Williams, Auburn -- $450,000
PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS: Quarterbacks | Receivers | Offensive Line | Defensive Line | Defensive Backs
Additional notes:
-- Washington's Pete Kwiatkowski led this list a year ago at $900,000 and earned a raise to $950,000, but he's been bumped to a promotion. When Jimmy Lake replaced Chris Petersen as U-Dub's head coach, Kwiatkowski replaced Lake as defensive coordinator. His colleague, Bob Gregory, also coaches the Huskies' special teams.
-- Tennessee spent $1.5 million on non-coordinating linebackers coaching in 2019. Jeremy Pruitt cut costs dramatically in 2020. With Kevin Sherrer off to the New York Giants and Chris Rumph to the Houston Texans, Pruitt moved Brian Niedermeyer and his $355,000 from tight ends to inside linebackers and hired Shelton Felton to handle outside 'backers. Felton will earn a modest $225,000 salary, doubling the $110,000 he made at Akron.
-- We don't yet know what Jamar Cain will earn at Oklahoma, who will coach the Sooners' defensive ends and outside 'backers. He made $290,000 at Arizona State.
-- Ditto for Texas A&M's Tyler Santucci. His 2019 salary at Wake Forest was private. His Aggie predecessor's, Bradley Dale Peveto, was not; he made $508,000 last year.
-- Double ditto for Jovan Dewitt at North Carolina. He earned $475,000 at Nebraska.
-- Pierce wears more hats than perhaps any coach in college football, at least at the Power 5 level. Arizona State's linebackers coach is also the Sun Devils' associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator.