FSU Football: Raises for Assistants Well Deserved

On Friday, it was reported that Florida State’s assistant coaches were all set to receive pay raises. Not only were the raises a worthwhile gesture, they were well deserved.

While head coach Jimbo Fisher is the straw that stirs the drink for FSU’s powerhouse program, his group of assistants have played a vital role in returning FSU to national prominence.

The biggest raise as announced on Friday went to defensive coordinator Charles Kelly. After turning down his alma mater Auburn to stay at FSU, Kelly will see a $250,000 pay increase from $583,000 to $833,000 this season as part of a 3-year extension through 2021. Kelly will get a $25,000 increase in each of the following two years as well.

After coaching a corps of linebackers that included Telvin Smith and Christian Jones during FSU’s national championship season of 2013, Kelly was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2014. That year, the Seminoles struggled despite having a defense riddled with NFL talent.

Last season, FSU was the last team in the country to give up more than 24 points in any game before finishing fifth nationally in scoring defense and 15th in the country in total defense. Kelly has now surpassed offensive line coach Rick Trickett as the second-highest paid coach on the staff.

Trickett however, was among eight FSU assistants to receive a $9,000 raise and a 1-year extension. Trickett has been with the program since 2007 and has produced three Consensus All-Americans in Rodney Hudson, Bryan Stork and Tre’ Jackson. Trickett and quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders, who has been with the program since 2013, will each make $592,000.

The $9,000 increase brings both wide receivers coach Lawrence Dawsey and defensive tackle coach Odell Haggins’ salaries up to $472,000. Both Dawsey and Haggins are former standout players at FSU.

Dawsey has been with the program since 2007 and helped Rashad Greene become the school’s all-time leading receiver and Kelvin Benjamin get selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Haggins has been with the program as a coach since 1994 and as a coach of the defensive line since 1996. Over that time frame, the Seminoles have had six Consensus All-Americans play on the defensive line — more than any other position group.

Tight ends coach Tim Brewster will now earn $442,000 annually. Brewster was the position coach to the school’s only John Mackey Award winner in Nick O’Leary in 2014. As recruiting coordinator, Brewster has helped the program put together three straight top 5 national classes.

Defensive ends coach Brad Lawing’s pay increase brings him from $415,000 per year to $424,000 annually. In his first season with FSU in 2015, the Seminoles nearly doubled their sack total to 32 from 17 the previous year.

Running backs coach Jay Graham has been with the program since 2013. FSU has had a 1,000-yard rusher in every season since then. The Seminoles had not had one since 1996 prior to his arrival. Graham’s $9,000 raise will bring him to $412,000 per year.

Linebackers coach Bill Miller will receive a raise, but is the lowest paid FSU assistant, now making $347,000 per year. Under Miller’s tutelage in 2014, Reggie Northrup became the first FSU linebacker in eight years to record 100 total tackles in a season.

While Kelly got the biggest raise on Friday, all nine of FSU’s assistants received something. Though Fisher deservingly gets credit for resurrecting the Seminole program, many coaches have been key in bringing in and developing talent. It’s nice to see them rewarded for it financially.