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Mark Stoops made two splashy hires this winter on the offensive side of the football. After saying goodbye to Eddie Gran and Darrin Hinshaw, Stoops took the NFL route in finding a new offensive coordinator and a new running backs coach.
Stoops was aggressive in seeking out a new offensive system and brought in a rising star in the NFL ranks and a guy who most believe has a brilliant offensive mind in Liam Coen, an assistant for the LA Rams. For the running backs, he brought in Cincinnati Bengals assistant Jemal Singleton. And now that they are both in Lexington, we have details about their contracts with the University of Kentucky.
According to Derek Terry of Cats Pause, both new coaches have signed on for two years. Coen is set to bring in $750,000 in 2021 and $775,000 in 2022. If things go well, there are, of course, bonuses involved and certainly opportunities to extend his contract.
Singleton will earn a cool $500,000 in both 2021 and 2022. Bonuses for both coaches include bigger paychecks if the team wins six or more games in a season (one month salary), Kentucky reaching the SEC Championship (1.5 months’ salary), or if UK earns a spot in the College Football Playoff (two months’ salary).
Everyone involved hopes this ends up being a longer-term situation than two years, but obviously these contracts were attractive enough to get two NFL coaches to move to Lexington, KY. The two new faces have hit the ground running with recruiting, and everyone in the program seems excited about what they bring to the table.