UH offensive coordinator Kendal Briles’ new contract worth $700,000 annually.
The University of Houston opened the checkbook to keep Kendal Briles.
Briles, the Cougars’ associate head coach/offensive coordinator who has been courted for other jobs this offseason, received a new three-year deal worth $2.1 million, according to contract details obtained by the Houston Chronicle through an open-records request.
Beginning in 2019, Briles’ base salary jumps from $400,000 to $550,000. Additionally, Briles will receive $150,000 in annual non-salary compensation.
The $700,000 annual salary, which runs through the 2021 season, makes Briles the highestpaid assistant from a non-Power Five school and in the top 40 among all assistants, according to the USA Today assistant coaching salary database.
Briles, whose offense at UH ranked among the nation’s most explosive this season, was a candidate for the head coaching job at Texas State. He also was being courted as an offensive coordinator by one SEC school.
As part of the new deal, Briles would not owe a buyout if he resigns and accepts a college head-coaching job after UH’s last 2019 regular-season game or the 2019 American Athletic Conference title game if UH is a participant. If Briles leaves before those dates, the buyout would be at the discretion of the school’s vice president of intercollegiate athletics but not more than 50 percent of the remaining base salary.
Also, run game coordinator/ offensive line coach Randy Clements received a new three-year deal worth $1.2 million. While his base salary remains at $290,000 annually, Clements will receive $110,000 in non-salary compensation each year for the length of the contract.
Both deals are pending final approval by the UH system board of regents.