Taking Tom Herman from Houston would likely cost more than $3 million a year

The University of Houston Board of Regents approved a raise for head coach Tom Herman, which would bump up his salary to $3 million a year, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Joseph Duarte. Herman made $1.45 million this year, his first as a head coach. A new deal has not been agreed to as of yet, and could possibly even go higher than $3 million a year.

This is an obvious preemptive strike by the Houston administration to try to lock down Herman. He’s a perfect 10-0 so far as a head coach, has the Cougars ranked 19th in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, and has quickly become one of the hottest names in the college coaching community. By more than doubling his salary to $3 million a year, that would put Herman firmly in the Power Five pay scale. If Herman takes the deal, he would become the highest-paid non-Power Five coach by a wide margin, well ahead of Cincinnati’s Tommy Tuberville ($2.2 million in 2015).

Louisville’s Bobby Petrino, Arizona State’s Todd Graham, and Kansas State’s Bill Snyder all make $3 million a year. Several jobs that people thought Herman might be interested in this year, Virginia Tech and Miami, both paid less than $3 million this year to their head coaches, and the teams that can offer him enough money to leave Houston this year are dwindling. Missouri paid Gary Pinkel $3.7 million this year, and South Carolina paid Steve Spurrier $4 million, but even that might not be enough to pry him away, especially after getting a raise this soon. The USC job is also open and could be a lucrative gig, but their salary numbers are not available to the public.

It’s unclear whether there will also be a bump in the salary pool for assistant coaches, but this is a significant statement by Houston that they’re serious about keeping Herman around.