College football insider Bruce Feldman suggested on FOX Big Noon Saturday that Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin could be fired with a Week 4 loss.
It’s been one of the worst-kept secrets in college football that Auburn would like to move on from head coach Bryan Harsin. By all accounts, there was an attempted coup in January 2022 to get him out essentially without cause that was unsuccessful. But that hasn’t made his seat any less heated throughout this season so far.
And now, he could be facing a situation that Herman Boone was familiar with in Remember the Titans: Lose a game and he’s fired.
College football insider Bruce Feldman reported on Saturday morning while appearing on FOX Big Noon Saturday that, with an Auburn loss to Missouri in Week 4, the Tigers could look to fire Harsin as soon as Sunday.
“If they get beat today by Missouri, I’m told there’s a really good chance they could pull the plug on Harsin as early as tomorrow.”@BruceFeldmanCFB breaks down the latest updates on Bryan Harsin’s future as Auburn’s Head Coach ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/sEEaBqKcxk
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 24, 2022
Auburn rumors: Bryan Harsin could be fired with Week 4 loss to Missouri
When Harsin was hired by the Tigers, many thought it was an odd fit for the former Boise State head coach and that has undoubtedly come to fruition to this point.
Not only did the team go 6-7 in his first season at the helm of the program but Harsin then failed his first test of the 2022 season miserably with a blowout loss to Penn State. Thus, it stands to reason why a loss to a downtrodden Missouri team — even with Auburn down its top two quarterbacks on the depth chart — would lead to his dismissal given that he came into the year on the hot seat.
Bryan Harsin buyout: What is Auburn coach’s buyout number?
The details of Harsin’s buyout are a bit muddled right now. But the gist of it appears to be that Auburn would owe the head coach 70% of his remaining contract if he was fired without cause, which would translate to $15 million.
However, if he was fired for performance reasons, which a loss to Missouri would play into, it remains to be seen how Auburn could negotiate that buyout down.
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