Georgia assistant football coaches Tony Ball, Bryan McClendon, get significant raises
Georgia assistant football coaches Tony Ball and Bryan McClendon received significant pay increases recently, but they were the only members of the Bulldogs’ football staff to get raises following the Bulldogs’ 6-7 season.
Ball
McClendon
McClendon, Georgia’s running backs coach since 2009 and its youngest assistant, saw his pay more than double from $90,000 a year to $200,000 annually, according to documents obtained by the AJC under the Freedom of Information Act. Previously McClendon was one of the lowest-paid assistants in the SEC.
Ball, Georgia’s wide receivers coach and a member of coach Mark Richt’s staff since 2006, will now make $200,000 after earning $165,480 last year.
The raises, which were enacted in February and March, respectively, were the results of “competitive counter offers” from UGA, according to Athletic Director Greg McGarity. Both coaches were offered positions at other schools, but he declined to say from whom.
“All I can say is they were legit offers,” said McGarity, who was attending SEC athletic director meetings in Birmingham on Tuesday. “I think the key is continuity. We had already lost two coaches to other schools. Continuity of staff is important to me and to Mark and we thought it was important to maintain stability, especially.”
Offensive line coach Stacy Searels received a hefty pay increase to take the same job at Texas and linebackers coach Warren Belin left to take a job with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
No other coaches — including Richt — are due to receive raises this year, McGarity said.
Ball, who came to Georgia from Virginia Tech five years ago, declined to discuss any other job offers he may have received.
“That’s something I want to keep in-house,” he said. “Those things happen all the time. Obviously, I feel blessed to be at Georgia and excited about the direction under Mr. McGarity and Coach Richt. We’re excited about the future.”
McClendon did not return a phone message seeking comment.
“Salary actions” also were executed for new assistant coaches Will Friend, who came from UAB to coach offensive line, and Kirk Olivadotti, who came from the Washington Redskins to coach linebackers. They will earn $200,000 and $250,000 a year, respectively.
McGarity indicated Ball and McClendon might have received raises anyway.
“They’re well-deserved,” McGarity said. “Both of these men are tremendous coaches who work very hard and were underpaid, in my opinion. We had some momentum going after recruiting and they had a lot to do with that. All signs are pointing up and we needed to be proactive. We will always be proactive.”
Georgia also could not afford to lose two of its three minority assistant coaches. McGarity would not address it but hiring more highly-qualified assistant coaches in a year in which the perception is that Richt’s future is uncertain could have been problematic.
McGarity would not rule out the possibility of additional salary increases in the future.
“Like I said, we’re always going to be proactive,” he said. “If things happen during the season we may feel like we need to do something. I think you have to look at each situation independently, but we’re always going to do what’s in the best interest of Georgia.”
By Chip Towers, The UGA Blog
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276 comments Add your comment
Joey
May 3rd, 2011
2:52 pm
“How can I work for a company like that”
**************************
You can’t, Flat tire.
UGA is the only company like that.
Flat Tire on I-95 In Jacksonville
May 3rd, 2011
2:55 pm
Joey
Come on man there aren’t any companies like the one described below. My resume is ready
I wished I worked for a company that gave me a 6 figure raise
where 30 of my employees have gotten arrested in the last 4 yrs
where my numbers (WINS) have been on a down trend for yrs
where my goals are not being met (13-12 in the SEC east in the last 4 yrs)
where I cannot even get my employees to even compete on a level playing field against our most important competitor (FLORIDA)
How can I work for a company like that
WHY???
May 3rd, 2011
2:56 pm
Why isn’t anyone asking what the Head Coach Richt is getting paid, the Success of the Team Ultimately falls on Him. Why is know one questioning the pay of the Head Coach? Or Better yet why is the teams unsuccessful season being blamed on HIM????
Outside Observer
May 3rd, 2011
2:56 pm
How can I work for a company like that”
**************************
You can’t, Flat tire.
UGA is the only company like that.
**************************
UGA football is the only company like that.
Smiling Jack
May 3rd, 2011
3:05 pm
Top Dawg, a lot of folks on this blog ought to be like you and me and have no words for it or about it. Let the Dawgs do their business!
Flat Tire on I-95 In Jacksonville
May 3rd, 2011
3:06 pm
WHY???
If you have ever been on these blogs in the past 3 yrs you would have
Richt is grossly overpaid as is the rest of these coaches thats what I meant in my post
The Company is the UGA Program
AlabamaKnowItAll
May 3rd, 2011
3:06 pm
Dawg Gone
May 3rd, 2011
12:01 pm
Dawg Gone Bama has finished the past 3 season with 10+ wins, a Heisman Trophy winner, and a National Championship….Oh yeah, 2 SEC championship appearances (w/ 1 loss)….And what is UGA’s record during that time? But let’s get back on topic…..How do you Reward Mediocity with a pay increase?
Smiling Jack
May 3rd, 2011
3:07 pm
Did you ever think Flat Tire that maybe you’re not good enough to work for a company like that?
bigdave
May 3rd, 2011
3:11 pm
congrats Bryan..
Mays High ‘03
Trey
May 3rd, 2011
3:12 pm
There is obviously no connection between performance and pay at UGA. If there was, every one of the jerkoff coaches would have been canned after the last season.
Flat Tire on I-95 In Jacksonville
May 3rd, 2011
3:12 pm
Smiling Jack
No I think Im not a good friend
i.e Slick Willie Martinez
head scratcher
May 3rd, 2011
3:14 pm
so you go 6-7 and you get a raise? Wow. Throw logic out the window. Yea for mediocrity.
Just Asking
May 3rd, 2011
3:15 pm
I’ve never understood how anyone – even an alumnus – could support and take pride in UGA’s football team. When you look at their history for the past forty years, how can anyone ignore Jan Kemp and the “remedial studies” scam, the Jim Harrick fiasco, the DUIs in the athletic office, the DUIs and other arrests of players, the #1 party school tag (i.e., the most drunk students), the suspensions and outright dismissals, the Fulmer Cup, and on and on?
As disgraceful and humiliating as it is, I don’t see many alums and fans demanding an end to this sordid activity. It sets UGA apart as the kind of school most people abhor, and it’s become an embarrassment to the whole state of Georgia.
Will it never end? Apparently not while Mark Richt is at UGA. Richt is perhaps the biggest hypocrite in the United States. But even with all the cheating and lawlessness that he ignores, he still can’t win the SEC.
So you’re paying him to be BCS champions, but he can’t even win his SEC division. So why do you pay him millions of dollars a year?
1eyedJack
May 3rd, 2011
3:16 pm
I guess what they say is true. If a Computer Science professor could get 90,000 to attend his class he could demand, and get, these kind of raises. Screw me for becoming a teacher. I should have went with my first instinct.
Buzz
May 3rd, 2011
3:16 pm
UGA Sucks!
Joey
May 3rd, 2011
3:23 pm
Richt takes care of his boys. Willie got a pay raise after ‘08, after his D gave up 41, 38, 49, 38 and 45 points in games.
M10
May 3rd, 2011
3:25 pm
My thing is if Uga don’t pay them somebody else will, its plain and simple.
DawginLex
May 3rd, 2011
3:31 pm
All you alabama idiots need to shutup.
So you had a good run for the last 3 years???
Where were all you woofers from 1993 until 2007 when you SUCKED???
We are on the way back up and you have hit your ceiling. You are on the way down. Another 3 loss season and you WILL put wheels on that Saban statue.
2011-THE YEAR OF THE HONEST COACH/PROGRAM
Boise State getting hit with NCAA violations
Auburn going down the crapper.
Outside Observer
May 3rd, 2011
3:32 pm
My thing is if Uga don’t pay them somebody else will, its plain and simple.
***************************
Let them. You don’t think there are hundreds of other football coaches out there who could do the same job as these two guys just as well for less money?
Flat Tire on I-95 In Jacksonville
May 3rd, 2011
3:38 pm
Joey
Your right
And fans have to pay out the you know what to see mediocrity at UGA
Joey
May 3rd, 2011
3:39 pm
“Where were all you woofers from 1993 until 2007 when you SUCKED???”
*******************************
Mostly on NCAA probation.
Big Money
May 3rd, 2011
3:42 pm
when your team goes 6-7 with a terrible offense, that means the team sucked. Raises should be given out after good seasons. Grantham’s been a bust but he’s making $750,000–probably the highest salary for an assistant in the country. Ga rewards mediocrity, so they keep getting it. Why produce if you get big raises after bad years!!!!!!
leslie
May 3rd, 2011
3:42 pm
Good to see black men prosper. They worked hard, now it’s time to REAP the BENEFITS! The newspaper always showing black men as criminals, good to see these black men being successful!
Vulture
May 3rd, 2011
3:46 pm
Why not? We’re giving Pakistan 1.3 billion annually.
Reaper
May 3rd, 2011
3:47 pm
@Axelrods, I agree where is the 10@10. This new college recruiting info or lack there of sucks. Please AJC put someone in charge of the column that knows how to report on college recruiting. Now, for the pay increase for the two coaches in charge of two of the most underperforming positions is a joke. Neither of these guys know how to coach up their players and it shows.That’s another reason there is so much doubt about the offense. The RB and WR Coaches are not developing the players and the OC is not developing anything. I we see some creativity out of the offense this year. If not it will be another boring, predictable year for the most boring offense in college football.
DawginLex
May 3rd, 2011
3:50 pm
big money,
Saying Grantham is a bust after one year shows what a big dumba$$ idiot you are.
The defense switched to a 3-4 scheme. Do you know what that means?
This is year 2 and he now has more players in proper positions and also has 2 true nose guards where last year there were none. Do you know what that means?
The Ghost of Wally Butts
May 3rd, 2011
3:52 pm
When I grow up, I want to be an Assistant Coach for CMR. A 6 and 7 season, and pay raises. Yeah boy!
Old Coach
May 3rd, 2011
3:55 pm
The two most stupid comments on this blog are1, Georgia’s offense is so predictable. 2, We have a wide receiver (player) as a runningback coach. If you had a clue about either of these topics you would never make such backward comments.
Paul N Destin
May 3rd, 2011
3:57 pm
DawglEX…and what in the hell has UGA got to show since 81? I ask you what beside mouth?
1961,1964,1965,(screwed in 66),1973,1978,1979,1992 and 2009 vs 1981 or whenever in hell Vince one IT for you. Until you actually do something other than talk you need to STFU.
DawginLex
May 3rd, 2011
4:00 pm
you bama morons come on here and talk like you have been great and wonderful for the past twenty years when in reality, since 1992 you haven’t done anything until the last 3 years.
Congrats on being rated #1 preseason again like 2010. lose 3 again and listen to the excuses
DawginLex
May 3rd, 2011
4:02 pm
why do you bammer boys feel the need to get on a UGA blog anyway?
Just go talk to your own inbred kind about what kind of tobacco you are chewing this week.
Dawg Gone
May 3rd, 2011
4:02 pm
AlabamaKnowItAll I repeat LAST year how many BAMA coaches got a raise to finish 4th in the WEST…it was a question about BAMA..not UGA…
ugaclassof2004
May 3rd, 2011
4:03 pm
*Yawn* wake me up when we decide to get serious about winning again.
collegefootball junkie
May 3rd, 2011
4:04 pm
Amen Outside Observer. College football is the best sport on the planet, but coaching salaries are out of line. I wonder how many of these guys would still be in the business if they only made say 30,00-40,000 like they did 20 0r 30 years ago.
FLA DAWG
May 3rd, 2011
4:06 pm
Asst Coaches getting $200K after a 6-7 season!?
What the he!! is going on!?
Reward diversity, reward failure, reward mediocrity…………..forget about the consequences of poor performance and losing – just reward everyone because the money is there so let’s just give it away.
My alumni donations ceased over three years ago. Any of you still donating should think twice.
leslie
May 3rd, 2011
4:08 pm
Thank God. It’s good to see a black man propser!!! Amen and Amen. They are always in the news for the worng reason. This story is refreshing.
Shannon in Athens
May 3rd, 2011
4:10 pm
The RB coach did not earn a raise.
beebee
May 3rd, 2011
4:23 pm
dawginlex: you don’t want to start a football war with Alabama! no you don’t!
The Tide is back. UGA, on the other paw, has never really been!
At least we have a so-called 3-year run that is very likely to continue. And that is just a small little bitty PIECE of Bama football lore.
UGA’s WHOLE d.a.m.n. HISTORY is centered around ONE super player! HW!
And Bama has not “sucked” from 93 till 2007.
BG
May 3rd, 2011
4:26 pm
Screw Bama and slime ball Saban!!!
Flat Tire on I-95 In Jacksonville
May 3rd, 2011
4:27 pm
lesli
Your right
I get tired of watching those same news stories blaming the white man for the reason they are commiting crimes
I wonder who will get blamed this time for this “refreshing story”.
BG
May 3rd, 2011
4:27 pm
Fla Dawg are you a TRUE fan?????
BG
May 3rd, 2011
4:30 pm
Richt is 9-1 aganist Tech! I love it!!!! GO DAWGS!!!
Joey
May 3rd, 2011
4:31 pm
hey, beebee, at least UGA was the best team in our state last season . . .
Even the Great Saban didn’t have an answer for the “Son of a Preacher Man!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiL5UJmkfco
Einsteindawg
May 3rd, 2011
4:34 pm
It’s always easy to spend other folks’ money…just ask Congress. I agree that McClendon should have been fired. While these guys may be top notch recruiters, look what they do with our heralded recruits…why don’t we just find some coaches that actually know how to coach?
Chris
May 3rd, 2011
4:35 pm
Congratulations to these two fine young men. It’s amazing how we get on these blogs and try to criticize someone else’s wallet. These guys are giving their blood, sweat and tears to the game of football and we balk when they make 200K. Georgia brings in millions of dollars in revenue and they can’t afford to give their assistant coaches a raise?
Give me a break and give these guys there raises! Congrats gentlemen and I look forward to seeing you in action this fall. Go DAWGS!!!!!!
Vote For Pedro
May 3rd, 2011
4:38 pm
FINE BUT IT SHOULD HAVE COME OUT FROM RICHT’S SALARY
Einsteindawg
May 3rd, 2011
4:45 pm
@Vote For….I agree with you, but I’m surprised that Richt didn’t ask for a raise himself. Afterall, he did win six games.
John
May 3rd, 2011
4:52 pm
A RB’s coach is worthless if the OC sucks…
Hey I heard the Virgina senior QB is considering Auburn, afterall they have a offensive coordinator that only needs 1 year to groom a QB into a national champion. Georgia’s “vaulted” offense a QB needs years of studying a playbook that any fan can sit on their couch with a chicken bone in their mouth and guess their offensive plays.
Ramma Bama
May 3rd, 2011
4:54 pm
It doesn’t matter what ga pays their coaches–Bama will be dominating the SEC for years with all the superstars that Saban has recruited. Bama beats OU for the BCS title —- mark it down! This may be the strongest bama team since Bear’s teams in the 70s.
DawginLex
May 3rd, 2011
5:02 pm
funniest thing about Bama football from 1993 to 2007 is 29 wins had to be vacated or forfeited during those years