Sam Pittman was Georgia’s second-highest-paid assistant coach last year, as he earned $900,000. And that salary is what new Georgia offensive line coach Matt Luke will make in his first season at Georgia, according to information obtained through an open records request filed under the Freedom of Information Act.
Luke was hired on Tuesday to replace Pittman, who left to become the head coach at Arkansas. At Arkansas, Pittman will be making $3,000,000 over at Arkansas and signed a five-year deal. The length of Luke’s contract was not disclosed.
Among current Georgia assistant coaches, only James Coley makes more than Luke, as he made $950,000 serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach this past season.
Prior to taking the Georgia job, Luke made $3.1 million as the head coach of Ole Miss. During his time at the school, Luke went 15-21 while serving as the head coach.
“We are extremely excited and fortunate to have Matt join our staff,” Smart said via a statement released by the school. “He’s a proven football coach who has a wealth of experience on the offensive side of the ball, especially in the offensive line. He has a great reputation among those who have played for him and it’s obvious watching his teams over many years that players love him and play hard for him.”
Related: What Georgia is getting in new offensive line coach Matt Luke
It is not yet known who will be coaching the offensive line for Georgia’s game in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor on Jan. 1. When Mel Tucker left to take the Colorado job last offseason, he did not stay through the bowl game for Georgia.
The Bulldogs have already seen some attrition due to the coaching switch, as the Bulldogs saw 4-star commit Joshua Braun back off his pledge to Georgia. On Friday, Braun announced that he would be attending Florida.
Luke has over a dozen years of offensive line coaching experience, as he served in the role at Ole Miss, Duke and Tennessee. Georgia’s offensive line this year was led by left tackle Andrew Thomas, who was named an All-American for his play this season.
More Georgia football stories from around DawgNation
- Georgia football podcast: Justin Fields addresses UGA’s offensive woes
- Rodrigo Blankenship wins Lou Groza Award, named nation’s top kicker
- Report: UGA’s Kirby Smart tried to hire Mike Bobo
- Marcus Rosemy: Georgia’s top WR recruit sees great ‘opportunity’ in Athens
- Two Bulldogs make SEC All-Freshman Team
- Georgia outside linebacker Robert Beal enters the transfer portal
- UGA star knew early in season what type of offense Bulldogs had
- 5 questions about Georgia OL coach Matt Luke with Ole Miss beat writer Neal McCready
