Derek Dooley will be highest-paid assistant coach in Mizzou football history

Missouri’s new offensive coordinator will be the highest-paid assistant coach in program history.

Derek Dooley has agreed to a three-year contract paying him a guaranteed salary of $900,000, according to the memorandum of understanding obtained by The Star.

Dooley — who spent the past five seasons as the Dallas Cowboys’ wide receivers coach after previously being head coach at Tennessee and Louisiana Tech — will also be Missouri’s quarterbacks coach. He is succeeding the previously highest-paid assistant in program history, Josh Heupel, who left MU to become head coach at Central Florida. Heupel made $700,000 in base salary at MU.

According to USA Today’s coaches salary database, Dooley’s $900,000 salary would have placed him 21st among assistant coaches during the 2017 season. Twelve Southeastern Conference assistant coaches had larger salaries last season than Dooley’s with MU. Three of them were offensive coordinators this year: LSU’s Matt Canada, Alabama’s Brian Daboll and Florida’s Doug Nussmeier. Canada and Nussmeier were fired by their schools either after or during this past season, though.

According to the MOU, Dooley’s contract expires Feb. 28, 2021. It includes a one-year extension, effective Feb. 28, 2019, unless Missouri provides notice prior to that date.

If Mizzou terminates his contract without cause, Dooley will receive his base salary payable in monthly installments until his contract expires, but not beyond 12 months. If the school fires Dooley with cause, he will stop receiving payments the day the school terminates the contract.

If he leaves the program to take a coaching position at another SEC school or a coordinator job at any other school, Dooley will have to pay Mizzou equal monthly installments of his base salary through the end of his contract, but not in excess of six months worth. He will not owe liquidated damages if he leaves to become a head coach at a college or professional team in the United States or Canada.

Dooley would receive five, six and seven percent increases to his base salary if Missouri wins 10, 11, or 12 regular season games, respectively.

If Missouri reaches the SEC title game, Dooley would receive a six percent incentive bonus. He would receive an additional two percent incentive bonus if the Tigers win the conference.

His incentive bonus for reaching a bowl game can range from five percent of his salary if the Tigers’ play in a non-New Year’s Six game to 20 percent if Mizzou wins the national title game and he coaches in it.

Missouri’s new offensive coordinator will receive a $7,500 bonus if the team’s multi-year Academic Progress Rate is 970 or higher, which has become a standard clause in these contracts. As part of his contract, Dooley will have access to all Mizzou home sporting events, and he will receive a car.

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Derek Dooley will be highest-paid assistant coach in Mizzou football history."