The school said it paid $4.5 million of the $8.1 million to nine former coaches during the fiscal year ending June 30 and owed the rest. Buyouts are one of the university’s costliest football expenses even as it struggles to reverse the football program’s fortunes.
The biggest beneficiary, former head coach DJ Durkin, had signed a five-year, $12.5 million contract in December 2015 calling for him to receive 65% of any remaining money if he was dismissed. Durkin was fired in October 2018, four months after offensive lineman Jordan McNair died after suffering heatstroke. According to a spreadsheet from the school, Durkin received $3.