Unless you’re an incredibly devoted college football fan, odds are you haven’t heard of Scott Cochran. Ever since 2007, Cochran has been the strength coach for the University of Alabama’s football team, and he is a delightfully crazy person. I mean this as a compliment; he is an outstanding strength coach, both because his players are big and strong and fast and what not, but also because he is every stereotype of a college football strength coach. Just watch that video! He’s so loud and intense!
Cochran got a nice little raise today. According to USA Today, Cochran will make more money than you’d ever think a strength coach needs.
The Alabama football team’s strength coach, Scott Cochran, will now be making $525,000 a year — a raise of $105,000 that was approved along with other athletics department compensation deals on Tuesday by the university board of trustees’ compensation committee.
During a conference call that featured an otherwise routine recitation of raises and new contract terms for football assistant coaches, Alabama AD Bill Battle called Cochran “the loudest and most energetic coach in the country” and said he’s “the equivalent of a coordinator with what he contributes” to the program.
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.
Still, $525,000 for a strength coach is nuts. Here is a quick list of people who make less money than that:
- Barack Obama ($400,000/year)
- At least 19 college football head coaches from the 2015-16 season and a whole bunch of other assistant coaches across the sport
- NFL rookies who make the league minimum
- Every college football player and basketball player and every other college athlete
So to all of you high schoolers out there looking for something to do with your lives, hopefully this post inspires you to become the strength coach for a Nick Saban-coached football team.
