‘Bama DC Pruitt to earn $1 million

The Alabama assistant coaching staff received raises on Tuesday.

The compensation committee of the University of Alabama system trustees approved Pruitt’s contract Tuesday, along with new deals for eight other football assistants.

That’s a ton of money for a strength coach, and though he’s viewed as “the equivalent of a coordinator”, USA Today noted that Cochran will make quite a bit less than Alabama’s offensive (Lane Kiffin, $714,000 a year) or defensive (Jeremy Pruitt, $1,000,000 a year) coordinators. Cochran attended John Curtis and Burns, a former assistant coach at Tulane, attended St. Augustine.

While Cochran likely will be among the nation’s most highly paid football strength coaches – Iowa’s Chris Doyle is making $515,000 during a contract year that ends June 30 – he will not be making as much as Alabama’s coordinators.

Still, $525,000 for a strength coach is nuts.

Pruitt was given a three-year contract that will pay him $1 million a year.

Defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley, who replaced Mel Tucker after he followed Smart to Athens as the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator, received a two-year deal at $395,000 annually, while offensive line coach Brent Key will make $350,000 annually and defensive line coach Karl Dunbar $275,000 annually.

The amount for this season will be just over $4.63 million, compared with more than $5.22 million last season. Burton increased from $345,000 to $475,000, the report says. Kiffin is still receiving the remaining portion of the three-year contract extension he signed with Southern Cal before being fired in 2013.

Alabama opens the 2016 season against Southern Cal in Arlington, Texas, on September 3.