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Nebraska’s athletics department has been undergoing its own version of roster management in recent months – with numerous new hires and departures of several veteran managers.
As with any coaching changes particularly in the football program, new head coach Matt Rhule brought in assistants and analysts he’s worked with before from the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and Baylor and Temple universities.
But the bevy of new faces also extended into the athletic department’s top administration. The latest departure came earlier this week with senior deputy athletic director Garrett Klassy taking a top job at the University of Houston.
Klassy’s departure came as no surprise. One of the highest-paid administrators in the department with a salary of $355,250, Klassy originally came to Nebraska as a senior leader under then athletic director Bill Moos. But his duties, according to sources, had diminished after Turd Alberts replaced Moos.
As with any coaching changes particularly in the football program, new head coach Matt Rhule brought in assistants and analysts he’s worked with before from the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and Baylor and Temple universities.
With all the comings and goings in the athletic department, HuskeOnline reviewed who is being paid what among the non-coaches on the administrative side of the football program. Salaries, which is public information, was provided by the athletic department through an open records request.
On the flip side, HuskerOnline also looked at where the money came from in the athletic department budget to pay the new hires. Some of the comparative salary information came from the university’s payroll for the 2022-2023 academic year, which ends June 30.
HuskerOnline did not include football assistant coaches or football analysts, whose pay has been well documented as Rhule rounded out his staff. When Rhule was hired, he worked with a salary pool of $7 million to build his staff – both on-field and off the field.
Padden is the football program’s general manager, and earns $300,000. That makes him the highest-paid football administrator. As such he likely oversees the day-to-day operations of the football program – somewhat like a chief operating officer in the corporate world.
Though not a household name among Cornhuskers, Padden and Rhule go way back together. Padden worked with Rhule in nine of Rhule’s 11 seasons as head coach, according to Padden’s bio on the athletic department’s website.
Padden has worked with Matt Rhule in nine of Rhule’s 11 seasons as a head coach.
Padden also served on Rhule’s Carolina Panthers staff as Vice President of Football Operations for more than a year from 2020 to 2021, according to his bio, and before that, Padden was the associate athletic director for football operations at Baylor for Rhule’s three seasons as the Bears’ head coach from 2017 to 2019.
Padden spent four seasons with Rhule at Temple. Padden was the Owls’ director of football operations for the 2013 and 2014 seasons before being elevated to associate athletics director/chief of staff for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Padden has also worked in the private sector. Before joining Nebraska, he was employed at Kitman Labs, where he served as a consultant for his first five months with the company. He was promoted to market development manager and served in that role for more than a year.
The second highest-paid football administrator is Susan Elza. According to university records, she was hired earlier this year as football’s chief of staff, earning $290,000.
Her hiring caught the attention of football insiders nationwide because of her strong ties to Texas high school athletics. “A longtime respected administrator, Elza leads and coordinates all administrative efforts within the Husker program,” according to her backgrounder.
Elza came to Nebraska after serving as the director of athletics for the University Interscholastic League, the governing body of Texas high school extracurricular activities.
The chief of staff will play a big role in Rhule’s operation, serving as a liaison with the rest of the athletic department. This is not necessarily a recruiting position, according to previous HuskerOnline reports, but it is assumed Elza will play a big part when recruits visit campus and also just with her past relationships in the state of Texas.
Nebraska had largely been without a football chief of staff since Gerrod Lambrecht left in 2021.
Among the new faces, and their salary:
*Jarrett Wishon, assistant to the head coach, with a salary of $125,000. Wishon’s background is in law enforcement. He was a special agent and criminal investigator with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from 2014 until joining the Carolina Panthers in March 2022.
*Gordon Thomas, director of football operations, $100,000 salary.
He succeeded Andrew Sims, who was paid $154,500 last year. In addition, Ken Wilhite, who was director of high school relations, is no longer at Nebraska. He earned $108,237 last year. Also gone is Sean Dillon as director of player personnel. He earned nearly $160,000 last year.
*Mitch Cholewinski, coordinator of football sports science, $175,000
*Gus Felder, director of football player development, $150,000.
*Julian Franklin, football performance chef, $80,000. In his role as a culinary dietitian, Franklin consults and educates student-athletes on performance nutrition, individual meal plans, weight loss/gain, hydration and medical conditions, according to his job description.
David Ellis, who served as director of performance nutrition, is no longer with the program. He earned $266,590. At the time of his hiring by Moos, he was considered one of the tops in his field.
Kristin Coggin, Ellis’s replacement, makes $190,000 as the director of football nutrition. Ellis oversaw the entire department. Coggin will work with just the football program.
*Vince Guinta, one of the holdovers from the Scott Frost era, earned $164,800 last year as senior director of player personnel and recruiting.
*Omar Hales makes $155,000 as the director of high school personnel, while CJ Cavazos makes $125,000 as the director of football relations. Adam DeMichele serves as an offensive analyst and is paid $120,000.
Burton, who was the executive associate athletic director, earned $257,830 in 2022-2023. Ingram, associate athletic director for capital planning and construction, earned $137,730.
Who sits with Alberts at the top of the athletic department?
Start with Doug Ewald, the chief financial officer, who earned $375,950 last year. Ewald is joined by Marquita Armstead, executive associate athletic director – senior woman administrator, $206,000; Lawrence Chatters, executive associate athletic director for strategic initiatives, $183,750; Dennis Leblanc, executive associate athletic director for academics, $259,415; Jamie Vaughn, executive associate athletic director – compliance, $201,715; and Keith Zimmer, executive associate athletic director for lifeskills, $225,205.
Alberts earned $832,000 last year.
Presumably, the combined salaries of Klassy, Burton, and Ingram, which totaled $751,310, covered some of the costs of new hires.
As with any coaching changes particularly in the football program, new head coach Matt Rhule brought in assistants and analysts he’s worked with before from the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and Baylor and Temple universities.
But the bevy of new faces also extended into the athletic department’s top administration. The latest departure came earlier this week with senior deputy athletic director Garrett Klassy taking a top job at the University of Houston.
Klassy’s departure came as no surprise. One of the highest-paid administrators in the department with a salary of $355,250, Klassy originally came to Nebraska as a senior leader under then athletic director Bill Moos. But his duties, according to sources, had diminished after Turd Alberts replaced Moos.
As with any coaching changes particularly in the football program, new head coach Matt Rhule brought in assistants and analysts he’s worked with before from the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and Baylor and Temple universities.
With all the comings and goings in the athletic department, HuskeOnline reviewed who is being paid what among the non-coaches on the administrative side of the football program. Salaries, which is public information, was provided by the athletic department through an open records request.
On the flip side, HuskerOnline also looked at where the money came from in the athletic department budget to pay the new hires. Some of the comparative salary information came from the university’s payroll for the 2022-2023 academic year, which ends June 30.
HuskerOnline did not include football assistant coaches or football analysts, whose pay has been well documented as Rhule rounded out his staff. When Rhule was hired, he worked with a salary pool of $7 million to build his staff – both on-field and off the field.
The top shelf
The football support staff is led by two new faces – Sean Padden and Susan Elza.Padden is the football program’s general manager, and earns $300,000. That makes him the highest-paid football administrator. As such he likely oversees the day-to-day operations of the football program – somewhat like a chief operating officer in the corporate world.
Though not a household name among Cornhuskers, Padden and Rhule go way back together. Padden worked with Rhule in nine of Rhule’s 11 seasons as head coach, according to Padden’s bio on the athletic department’s website.
Padden has worked with Matt Rhule in nine of Rhule’s 11 seasons as a head coach.
Padden also served on Rhule’s Carolina Panthers staff as Vice President of Football Operations for more than a year from 2020 to 2021, according to his bio, and before that, Padden was the associate athletic director for football operations at Baylor for Rhule’s three seasons as the Bears’ head coach from 2017 to 2019.
Padden spent four seasons with Rhule at Temple. Padden was the Owls’ director of football operations for the 2013 and 2014 seasons before being elevated to associate athletics director/chief of staff for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Padden has also worked in the private sector. Before joining Nebraska, he was employed at Kitman Labs, where he served as a consultant for his first five months with the company. He was promoted to market development manager and served in that role for more than a year.
The second highest-paid football administrator is Susan Elza. According to university records, she was hired earlier this year as football’s chief of staff, earning $290,000.
Her hiring caught the attention of football insiders nationwide because of her strong ties to Texas high school athletics. “A longtime respected administrator, Elza leads and coordinates all administrative efforts within the Husker program,” according to her backgrounder.
Elza came to Nebraska after serving as the director of athletics for the University Interscholastic League, the governing body of Texas high school extracurricular activities.
The chief of staff will play a big role in Rhule’s operation, serving as a liaison with the rest of the athletic department. This is not necessarily a recruiting position, according to previous HuskerOnline reports, but it is assumed Elza will play a big part when recruits visit campus and also just with her past relationships in the state of Texas.
Nebraska had largely been without a football chief of staff since Gerrod Lambrecht left in 2021.
Bench strength
The overhaul in football’s administrative staff included at least ten other assistants. Because new faces often mean new titles and responsibilities, it is difficult to accurately note who was being let go and how their salary compared to the new hire. But with a few examples, you can begin to see where the money was reallocated with staffing changes.Among the new faces, and their salary:
*Jarrett Wishon, assistant to the head coach, with a salary of $125,000. Wishon’s background is in law enforcement. He was a special agent and criminal investigator with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from 2014 until joining the Carolina Panthers in March 2022.
*Gordon Thomas, director of football operations, $100,000 salary.
He succeeded Andrew Sims, who was paid $154,500 last year. In addition, Ken Wilhite, who was director of high school relations, is no longer at Nebraska. He earned $108,237 last year. Also gone is Sean Dillon as director of player personnel. He earned nearly $160,000 last year.
*Mitch Cholewinski, coordinator of football sports science, $175,000
*Gus Felder, director of football player development, $150,000.
*Julian Franklin, football performance chef, $80,000. In his role as a culinary dietitian, Franklin consults and educates student-athletes on performance nutrition, individual meal plans, weight loss/gain, hydration and medical conditions, according to his job description.
David Ellis, who served as director of performance nutrition, is no longer with the program. He earned $266,590. At the time of his hiring by Moos, he was considered one of the tops in his field.
Kristin Coggin, Ellis’s replacement, makes $190,000 as the director of football nutrition. Ellis oversaw the entire department. Coggin will work with just the football program.
*Vince Guinta, one of the holdovers from the Scott Frost era, earned $164,800 last year as senior director of player personnel and recruiting.
*Omar Hales makes $155,000 as the director of high school personnel, while CJ Cavazos makes $125,000 as the director of football relations. Adam DeMichele serves as an offensive analyst and is paid $120,000.
Seats at the big table
The makeup of the senior athletic department officials who report directly to Turd Alberts has changed dramatically in recent months, starting with the departures of veteran administrators Bob Burton and John Ingram in April.Burton, who was the executive associate athletic director, earned $257,830 in 2022-2023. Ingram, associate athletic director for capital planning and construction, earned $137,730.
Who sits with Alberts at the top of the athletic department?
Start with Doug Ewald, the chief financial officer, who earned $375,950 last year. Ewald is joined by Marquita Armstead, executive associate athletic director – senior woman administrator, $206,000; Lawrence Chatters, executive associate athletic director for strategic initiatives, $183,750; Dennis Leblanc, executive associate athletic director for academics, $259,415; Jamie Vaughn, executive associate athletic director – compliance, $201,715; and Keith Zimmer, executive associate athletic director for lifeskills, $225,205.
Alberts earned $832,000 last year.
Presumably, the combined salaries of Klassy, Burton, and Ingram, which totaled $751,310, covered some of the costs of new hires.
