UCF has claimed to be a national champion in recent years and now the school will pay one of their assistants to that standard.
As reported by the Orlando Sentinel, Knights defensive coordinator Randy Shannon is now the highest paid Group of Five assistant in the country. This comes as his salary went from $300,000 to $1 million for 2020.
Oh, and he received a $300k bonus on Feb. 6 to boot.
That puts Shannon in a select echelon in the coaching world. Last season, just 24 assistants hit the seven-figure mark. That number has thinned somewhat, though could wind up growing over the coming weeks. Jeff Scott (USF), Jimmy Lake (Washington) and Dave Aranda (Baylor) were among those who were in the million dollar club but took head coaching jobs. Bud Foster retired while others like John Chavis were part of fired staffs.
Perhaps the real eye-opener is just how far ahead of his peers Shannon is. Per the Sentinel, the DC’s new salary is “125 spots ahead of all other American Athletic Conference assistant coaches in 2019.” The figure is also double that of previous Group of Five record holder Brandon Jones of Houston as well.
Much of the salary increase for Shannon at UCF comes as buyout money from his stint at Florida in a similar role ran out in January.
Still, the Knights keep saying they’re one of the big boys and it seems they’re paying at least one of their coaches appropriately to that standard.
