This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham didn't spare any expense in hiring Dave Christensen to be his offensive coordinator as Christensen, the former Wyoming coach who becomes Whittingham's seventh offensive coordinator, will earn an annual salary of $500,000, according to the details of his contract obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune. The salary makes Christensen, who was signed to a two-year deal, Utah's highest paid assistant along with defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake, who also earns $500,000 a year. Sitake has been on Whittingham's staff since 2005 and has served as the defensive coordinator since 2009. He was promoted to assistant head coach in 2012. Dennis Erickson, who was hired as Utah's co-offensive coordinator last year, has a salary of $275,000 while former co-offensive coordinator Brian Johnson made $225,000. Johnson recently left the Utes to become the quarterbacks coach at Mississippi State alongside his mentor, Dan Mullen. Christensen will also get the use of a car, as does Erickson. Erickson does have an unusual additional bonus of $25,000 if the Utes go to a bowl game. That bonus would be in addition to the month's worth of salary all assistants receive for going to a bowl game. - Lya Wodraska