Jon Hale

@JonHale_CJ

LEXINGTON, Ky. – UK football offensive coordinator Eddie Gran has signed a contract extension that would keep him in Lexington through the 2019 season.

Gran’s new contract will pay him $825,000 for the 2017 season, $850,000 for the 2018 season and $875,000 for the 2019 season. The extension also includes a $150,000-per-year buyout for each year remaining on the deal that Gran would owe the university if he accepts a new job during the length of the contract.

Gran's original UK contract paid him $650,000 per year and was set to expire after the 2018 season. The new deal was dated Jan. 1, 2017.

UK head coach Mark Stoops confirmed in December a new deal was coming for his Gran, who helped reinvent UK's offense early in the 2016 season, his first at Kentucky, due to a season-ending injury to quarterback Drew Barker and then helped the Wildcats to seven wins in their final 10 regular-season games.

"He and I were on a plane together, traveling (for recruiting) a bunch so we’ve been in touch quite a bit," Stoops said. "We don’t need to talk about it every day. We have a understanding that we’re going to iron something out here pretty quick.”

Gran is not the only returning UK assistant to receive a new contract.

Recently promoted defensive coordinator Matt House has also signed a new deal that will pay him $650,000 per year through the 2019 season. His contract also includes a $150,000-per-year buyout for each year remaining on the deal for accepting a new job. House spent one season as UK's special teams coordinator on a deal worth $275,000 per year before being promoted to defensive coordinator to replace D.J. Eliot, who in January left UK for Colorado.

UK’s Office of Legal Counsel also released contracts for new assistants Dean Hood (outside linebackers and special teams) and Derrick LeBlanc (defensive line). Hood’s contract is worth $350,000 per year through the 2018 season, and LeBlanc’s is worth $300,000 per year through the 2018 season. Both contracts include $100,000-per-year buyouts for each year remaining on the deal owed by the coach to the university if he accepts another job during the deal.

According to a USA TODAY database, Hood was paid $169.000 per year and LeBlanc was paid $90,000 per year at previous jobs at Charlotte and North Texas respectively.

During the Stoops era, UK has not previously included buyouts for accepting a job at another school in the contracts of football assistants.

Email Jon Hale at jahale@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JonHale_CJ.