Every week it seems there’s a case being made for Auburn to part ways with Bryan Harsin.
The opinions of the talking heads are the most direct examples. Paul Finebaum has said his piece times over and one former Alabama quarterback has alleged Harsin’s tenure already has an expiration date.
But perhaps the best examples are the coaching changes that have already occurred. Harsin’s seat was considered by many to be the hottest in college football ahead of this season. Nebraska’s firing of Scott Frost three weeks ago amplified that, and in the two weeks since, Arizona State and Georgia Tech have decided to make midseason moves.
A narrow win against Missouri allowed Harsin’s Auburn stint a little more life, but after Saturday's home loss to LSU, the road ahead gets infinitely tougher. The Tigers’ soon face three top-25 programs, including defending national champion Georgia in a run of contests where they’ll be hard-pressed for wins.
People are also reading…
Should Auburn decide to part with Harsin, in the coming weeks or otherwise, what would it look like?
Technically, there are four ways a separation of Auburn and Harsin could shake out. Auburn could choose to fire him for cause if it had considerable reason, meaning it wouldn’t have to pay him a buyout, though it could result in legal ramifications. Auburn and Harsin could also reach a settlement that sees the coach go for an agreed-upon number.
Of all the options, what seems most likely is that Auburn fires Harsin without cause, meaning it’d have to pay him his full buyout on what was a six-year, $31.5 million contract he signed in December 2020. According to the terms of his contract, Harsin’s buyout is 70% of his remaining contract at the time of termination. That gives a range of marginally different numbers depending on when Auburn would hypothetically pull the plug.
If Harsin’s last game at Auburn was Saturday's loss to LSU, he’d be owed approximately $15.9 million. If he’s gone at the bye week, the number goes down to approximately $15.6. And if Auburn waited until the end of the regular season, the number would be approximately $15.3.
A firing without cause at any point during Auburn’s season would result in the largest buyout of any coach fired so far this year. Frost’s $15 million buyout is a close second. Georgia Tech paid Geoff Collins $11.4 million and Arizona State paid Herm Edwards $8.3.
Fifty percent of Harsin’s buyout would be owed within 30 days, with the remaining doled out in four annual, equal payments. His contract also stipulates that taking another job would not offset the payments owed to him by Auburn, similar to former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn’s contract.
Malzahn’s buyout guaranteed him 75% of his remaining contract. Despite taking the head coach post at UCF last year, Malzahn is still being paid the $21.45 million buyout generated from his termination at Auburn. It was also set up to pay him half of his buyout within 30 days and the rest in four equal installments.
The only other scenario in which there’s a parting of ways would be Harsin leaving for another job. He’s been mentioned as a potential candidate for Arizona State’s vacancy, but a move to Tempe or anywhere else would result in Harsin having to pay Auburn a buyout within 60 days of his contract’s termination. As of now, that number would be $5 million. It goes down to $3 million after Dec. 23.
It’s likely that number wouldn’t come directly from Harsin’s pockets, though. For example, Lincoln Riley’s buyout to leave Oklahoma for another job was $4.5 million. USC paid all of it, as well as buyouts for multiple position coaches that added an additional $630,000, according to The Oklahoman.