New deal for Kansas OC Andy Kotelnicki may be longest on record for an assistant

I'm not sure we've ever seen a deal quite like this one. 

Kansas is handing offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki a 5-year contract to remain in Lawrence, according to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated on Friday. 

If there's a longer contract for an assistant coach out there... we'd like to see it.

Kotelnicki has been with head coach Lance Leipold since 2013, when the pair was at Wisconsin-Whitewater. The latter followed the former to Buffalo and then to Kansas, where the Jayhawk offense powered a gridiron revival this fall. Kansas has jumped from 104th to fifth in yards per play (7.00), from 111th to 27th in scoring (34.2 points per game), and from 91st to fifth in passing efficiency (163.23). As a result, later this month Kansas will face Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl, the program's first postseason appearance since 2008.

That success spawned admirers for Kotelnicki, who has reportedly opted to remain in Lawrence. Through 2027. 

Kotelnicki received a 3-year, $500,000 per year contract upon arrival in January 2021, which was set to expire next season. While terms were not disclosed, it's safe to assume the 5-year deal will come with a raise, that still may not have touched offers that poured in from elsewhere. Kotelnicki coached this season with a salary that tied for the 218th highest in college football, according to USA Today. He would've been the lowest-paid member of Jimbo Fisher's Texas A&M staff, for example.

Offering a stupendously-long contract is the strategy Oklahoma State used to pitch Jim Knowles on remaining in Stillwater last offseason. Mike Gundy offered Knowles a 5-year, $1.3 million deal to remain in black and orange, but Knowles ultimately accepted a 3-year, $1.9 million per year offer from Ohio State. 

KU's pledge to Kotelnicki is an extension of its commitment to Lance Leipold. Last month, Kansas signed Leipold to an extension through 2029 that starts at $5 million with a $750,000 signing bonus and comes with $100,000 annual raises. 

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.