Huesman content with current contract at UTC

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Russ Huesman received a two-year contract extension following the 2009 season.

Athletic director Rick Hart said no changes are planned for Huesman's contract this offseason after the Mocs posted their second straight 6-5 season.

"We look at it every year, and even throughout the course of the year," Hart said of Huesman's contract. "We want to be proactive about making sure he knows he's valued and he's being treated fairly and being compensated for the job he's doing."

Hart hired Huesman in December 2008 and gave him a six-year deal with a base salary of $150,000. Huesman then received the two-year extension after the Mocs posted a winning record for the first time since 2005.

Huesman will enter the 2011 season with six years remaining on his contract, not that he seems to care one way or another.

"I really never thought about it," he said. "That's what they said it was and I wanted to be here, so that's kind of what we did."

Huesman said he's far more concerned with getting the Mocs to the top of the Southern Conference and keeping them there than he is the years remaining on his deal.

"Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know, but I don't think any coach goes in saying it's going to take me five years to fix something," he said. "Maybe there are people that say that - for me, I never thought five years. ... I don't think I could have handled four years of misery, to be honest with you."

In addition to his salary, Huesman also receives $15,000 a year for his television/radio shows. He has also earned several bonuses, including $10,000 each of the past two seasons for having an average home attendance at Finley Stadium in excess of 10,000.

Despite being on the job two years, Huesman is already among the veteran coaches in the nine-team SoCon. Georgia Southern changed coaches after last season and Furman and Elon will have new skippers on the sideline next fall.

Extra points

Defensive end Chris Donald, who led the Mocs with 13 1/2 tackles for loss this season, will miss spring practice after he has surgery on both wrists in January. Donald is expected to be the only player to sit out, Huesman said. Spring practice is scheduled to begin Feb. 23 and end April 2. ... Mocs wideout Joel Bradford was named to Phil Steele's All-American third team Wednesday.

Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or (423) 757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeatCTFP.

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