Kirby Smart’s huge payday from Alabama a sign of the future

Kirby Smart’s huge payday from Alabama a sign of the future

In 1965, Pat Dye got his dream job, working as an assistant coach at Alabama under Paul Bryant. He was paid $6,000 a year. By 1974, when he left to become head coach at East Carolina, Dye was making a whopping $21,000 a year.

Recently, Kirby Smart received a $390,000 raise to stay at Alabama as defensive coordinator, rejecting a bid from Georgia, his alma mater. His new deal will pay him $750,000 annually.

Is he worth it? Have coaching salaries, particularly for assistants, gotten completely out of whack? Or if you are as good as Smart (did you catch Alabama’s defense this past year?) does it really matter?

AL.com
3/2/10