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FAYETTEVILLE — Hiring a former SEC head coach as its defensive coordinator didn’t come cheap for Arkansas.

Barry Odom, who was tabbed to run Sam Pittman’s defense just two weeks after being fired at Missouri, will receive a $1.2 million salary from the Razorbacks, according to a copy of his offer letter obtained by HawgBeat via a public records request.

It is believed to be just the second time an assistant coach in any sport at Arkansas has been paid more than $1 million per year, as former defensive coordinator John Chavis’ salary was $1.5 million for the 2019 season. Chavis was set to make $1.6 million in 2020.

That $1.2 million figure would also put Odom in the top 15 nationally in terms of assistant football coach salaries for this past year, according to USA Today’s database. He would have been tied with South Carolina defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson for 14th in the FBS - behind eight other SEC assistants, including Chavis.

The length of Odom’s contract and other details of his deal won’t be revealed until he signs his official employment agreement.

Odom, who will be tasked with improving what was statistically the worst defense in UA history, is the third assistant coach known to be on Pittman’s first staff at Arkansas.

Offensive line coach Brad Davis also joins the Razorbacks after working at Missouri and will make $550,000. Wide receivers coach Justin Stepp has been retained from the previous staff. He made $400,000 for this past season, but his salary for 2020 is unknown.

Assuming Stepp’s salary doesn’t change, Arkansas has allocated $2.15 million of what athletics director Hunter Yurachek said would be about a $5 million salary pool. Pittman must fill seven more assistant positions, including offensive coordinator.