What are UNM football assistants set to make this season?

Albuquerque, N.M. — Coming off the program’s most successful and best-attended campaign in recent memory, New Mexico’s football staff will operate with a modestly larger salary pool in 2024 while rewarding a handful of assistants for their role in the resurgence.

Head coach Jason Eck, whose new five-year contract included a $400,000 raise in December, watched three of his on-field assistants receive pay increases when the athletic department posted updated contracts this week. The moves nudged UNM’s total staff salary pool to $2.07 million, up from $2.04 million last season. Every assistant remains on a one-year deal with identical performance-based incentives.

Defensive line coach Hebron Fangupo secured the largest bump, jumping from $150,000 to $165,000 after a debut season that produced the Mountain West’s top run defense (112.8 yards per game) and a conference-best 36 sacks.

Offensive coordinator Luke Schleusner, whose unit averaged 27.1 points per game, saw his salary rise $10,000 to $385,000, making him the highest-paid assistant on staff. Safeties coach Clay Bignell also netted a $10,000 increase, bringing his pay to $130,000 after guiding a position group that weathered multiple injuries.

Defensive coordinator Spence Nowinsky ($375,000), offensive line coach Cody Booth ($165,000), cornerbacks coach Stanley Franks Jr. ($150,000) and linebackers coach Nate Palmer ($85,000) all return at their 2023 compensation levels.

Two newcomers will earn more than the coaches they replaced. Associate head coach and tight ends coach Zach Lujan and wide receivers coach Carson Walch will each make $160,000, a combined $95,000 increase over predecessors Jared Elliott ($115,000) and Colin Lockett ($110,000).

Conversely, new special teams coordinator Erik Link will earn $175,000, down from Daniel Da Prato’s $250,000, and running backs coach Darrius G. Smith will make $120,000, a drop from John Johnson’s $145,000. All four previous assistants departed for Power Four programs.

Eck said the salary structure is intentional. “We have a pretty high spread between our highest-paid guys on the staff and our lowest-paid guys on the staff,” he told the Journal earlier this month. “And I want that systematically, because if you can keep your coordinators in place, you know, it keeps the overall system.”

UNM will hold its annual pro day on Monday, with 17 Lobos and two New Mexico Highlands standouts — safety Trevor Romaldo and offensive lineman Joe Taase — scheduled to work out for NFL scouts.