Jimbo Fisher, head football coach at Texas A&M University, earned $7.5 million in 2018, making Fisher the highest-paid public employee in Texas that year, according to a ranking by the website GOBankingRates.
On the ranking of the highest-paid public employees in each state, Fisher’s salary came in fifth, according to the analysis. By comparison, the governor earns $153,750.
Data from USA Today’s 2018 NCAA salary reports, as well as OpenTheBooks.com, were used by the website to create the ranking of top public employee salaries. Some of the employees in the ranking have left their positions since last year, however, according to GOBankingRates.
Twenty-nine of the people on the list – or 58 percent – held the position of the head football coach at a major university, the study said. Most of them were earning annual pay of $1 million or more, according to the analysis.
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Highest-Paid Public Employees by State in 2018
| State | Public Employee Name | Job Title | Employer | Total 2018 Pay | Rank |
| Kentucky | John Calipari | Head basketball coach | University of Kentucky | $9,276,643 | 1 |
| Alabama | Nick Saban | Head football coach | University of Alabama | $8,307,000 | 2 |
| Ohio | Urban Meyer | Head football coach | Ohio State University | $7,600,000 | 3 |
| Michigan | Jim Harbaugh | Head football coach | University of Michigan | $7,504,000 | 4 |
| Texas | Jimbo Fisher | Head football coach | Texas A&M University | $7,500,000 | 5 |
| Georgia | Kirby Smart | Head football coach | University of Georgia | $6,603,600 | 6 |
| South Carolina | Dabo Swinney | Head football coach | Clemson University | $6,543,350 | 7 |
| Florida | Dan Mullen | Head football coach | University of Florida | $6,070,000 | 8 |
| Illinois | Lovie Smith | Head football coach | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | $5,000,000 | 9 |
| Nebraska | Scott Frost | Head football coach | University of Nebraska | $5,000,000 | 10 |
| Oklahoma | Mike Gundy | Head football coach | Oklahoma State University | $5,000,000 | 11 |
| Pennsylvania | James Franklin | Head football coach | Pennsylvania State University | $4,800,000 | 12 |
| Iowa | Kirk Ferentz | Head football coach | University of Iowa | $4,700,000 | 13 |
| Washington | Chris Petersen | Head football coach | University of Washington | $4,377,500 | 14 |
| Virginia | Tony Bennett | Head basketball coach | University of Virginia | $4,150,000 | 15 |
| Kansas | Bill Self | Head basketball coach | University of Kansas | $4,066,857 | 16 |
| West Virginia | Bob Huggins | Head basketball coach | West Virginia University | $3,865,000 | 17 |
| Tennessee | Jeremy Pruitt | Head football coach | University of Tennessee | $3,846,000 | 18 |
| Indiana | Jeff Brohm | Head football coach | Purdue University | $3,800,000 | 19 |
| Utah | Kyle Whittingham | Head football coach | University of Utah | $3,787,917 | 20 |
| Wisconsin | Paul Chryst | Head football coach | University of Wisconsin-Madison | $3,750,000 | 21 |
| Minnesota | P.J. Fleck | Head football coach | University of Minnesota | $3,550,000 | 22 |
| Arkansas | Chad Morris | Head football coach | University of Arkansas | $3,500,000 | 23 |
| Louisiana | Ed Orgeron | Head football coach | Louisiana State University | $3,500,000 | 24 |
| California | Chip Kelly | Head football coach | University of California, Los Angeles | $3,300,000 | 25 |
| North Carolina | Roy Williams | Head basketball coach | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | $3,298,778 | 26 |
| Mississippi | Matt Luke | Head football coach | University of Mississippi | $3,000,000 | 27 |
| Colorado | Mike MacIntyre | Head football coach | University of Colorado Boulder | $2,878,500 | 28 |
| Maryland | Mark Turgeon | Head basketball coach | University of Maryland, College Park | $2,847,232 | 29 |
| Oregon | Dana Altman | Head basketball coach | University of Oregon | $2,822,000 | 30 |
| Missouri | Cuonzo Martin | Head basketball coach | University of Missouri | $2,800,000 | 31 |
| Arizona | Sean Miller | Head basketball coach | University of Arizona | $2,700,000 | 32 |
| New Jersey | Chris Ash | Head football coach | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | $2,200,000 | 33 |
| Idaho | Bryan Harsin | Head football coach | Boise State University | $1,650,010 | 34 |
| Wyoming | Craig Bohl | Head football coach | University of Wyoming | $1,412,000 | 35 |
| Connecticut | Randy Edsall | Head football coach | University of Connecticut | $1,100,000 | 36 |
| Massachusetts | Michael Collins | Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and senior vice president for health sciences | University of Massachusetts | $1,069,752 | 37 |
| New York | Thomas J. Quatroche Jr. | President and CEO | Erie County Medical Center Corp. | $876,442 | 38 |
| New Mexico | Bob Davie | Head football coach | University of New Mexico | $823,740 | 39 |
| Hawaii | Jay Boughanem | Staff surgeon | Hawaii Health Systems Corp. | $600,000 | 40 |
| Nevada | Tony Sanchez | Head football coach | University of Nevada, Las Vegas | $600,000 | 41 |
| Vermont | Frederick C. Morin III | Dean of the College of Medicine | University of Vermont | $582,254 | 42 |
| New Hampshire | James W. Dean Jr. | President | University of New Hampshire | $445,000 | 43 |
| South Dakota | T.J. Otzelberger | Head basketball coach | South Dakota State University | $400,000 | 44 |
| Alaska | James Roland Johnsen | President | University of Alaska Statewide System | $384,600 | 45 |
| Rhode Island | David M. Dooley | President | University of Rhode Island | $380,000 | 46 |
| Maine | Joan Ferrini-Mundy | President | University of Maine | $350,000 | 47 |
| Montana | Laurence Hubbard | President and CEO | Montana State Fund | $342,308 | 48 |
| Delaware | Mark T. Brainard | President | Delaware Technical Community College | $245,955 | 49 |
| North Dakota | Larry P. Nybladh | Superintendent of schools | Grand Forks County | $231,210 | 50 |
Source: GOBankingRates.com
This is a revised article first published by The Center Square.
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