Michigan has yet to pass No. 1-ranked Alabama in the polls, but its coach has passed Alabama's Nick Saban to become college football's highest-paid coach.
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Jim Harbaugh will earn slightly more than $9 million for 2016, according to USA Today's annual release of its coaching-salary database. That's a major jump from last year, when Harbaugh's 2015 pay of $7,004,000 trailed Saban by less than $100,000.
In the wake of Ohio State's loss to Penn State, Harbaugh's Wolverines have moved up to No. 2 in the latest Associated Press Poll with a 7-0 record. In his second season at UM, Harbaugh hasn't had the opportunity to fill the school's trophy case like Saban has at Alabama, but he has turned the program around from its struggles under former coach Brady Hoke. He also has raised the program's profile nationally with a high-energy, sometimes quirky personality, and brand-building efforts such as satellite camps.
Saban ranks second on the list with a salary of $6,939,395, followed by Ohio State's Urban Meyer ($6,003,000), Oklahoma's Bob Stoops ($5,550,000) and Florida State's Jimbo Fisher ($5,250,000).
Charlie Strong, whose job security at Texas was reported to be tenuous earlier this month, ranks sixth with a salary of $5,200,000. Twenty coaches are set to earn at least $4 million this year, according to the report, and 58 are to earn $2 million or more.
Some private schools, such as USC, Miami and BYU, did not provide salary information.
Here's a look at the top 25, per the report.
| Rk | Coach | School | Total pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Harbaugh | Michigan | $9,004,000 |
| 2 | Nick Saban | Alabama | $6,939,395 |
| 3 | Urban Meyer | Ohio State | $6,094,800 |
| 4 | Bob Stoops | Oklahoma | $5,550,000 |
| 5 | Jimbo Fisher | Florida State | $5,250,000 |
| 6 | Charlie Strong | Texas | $5,200,130 |
| 7 | Kevin Sumlin | Texas A&M | $5,000,000 |
| 8 | Gus Malzahn | Auburn | $4,729,500 |
| 9 | Hugh Freeze | Ole Miss | $4,703,500 |
| 10 (tie) | Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | $4,500,000 |
| 10 (tie) | James Franklin | Penn State | $4,500,000 |
| 12 | Dabo Swinney | Clemson | $4,422,700 |
| 13 | Les Miles | LSU | $4,385,567 |
| 14 | Mark Dantonio | Michigan State | $4,300,000 |
| 15 | Jim McElwain | Florida | $4,268,325 |
| 16 | Dan Mullen | Mississippi State | $4,200,000 |
| 17 | Bret Bielema | Arkansas | $4,145,000 |
| 18 | Butch Jones | Tennessee | $4,110,000 |
| 19 | David Shaw | Stanford | $4,067,219 |
| 20 | Gary Patterson | TCU | $4,014,723 |
| 21 | Bobby Petrino | Louisville | $3,910,434 |
| 22 | Mike Gundy | Oklahoma State | $3,775,000 |
| 23 | Kirby Smart | Georgia | $3,753,600 |
| 24 | Kyle Wittingham | Utah | $3,650,000 |
| 25 | Chris Petersen | Washington | $3,605,847 |
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.
