"If AU fires him at any point this football season, it will owe the coach $15.3 million on his contract's buyout clause, and the school would have to pay 50 percent of that number within 60 days of firing him.
Bryan Harsin at Auburn: The saga
Life in the SEC has been tumultuous from the start for Harsin.
His tenure at Auburn began despite the protest of some football boosters who wanted the school to sign former defensive coordinator Kevin Steele as head coach over Harsin.
Auburn then went 6-7, winning just three SEC games, and ending on a five-game losing skid, including to unranked South Carolina, to Alabama, and No. 20 Houston in the Birmingham Bowl.
Then came an offseason of upheaval on the coaching staff (that actually began in-season), a wave of transfers (including quarterback Bo Nix), and public statements from former players complaining about Harsin's coaching methods.
That resulted in Auburn launching an investigation into those claims, but ultimately deciding to retain the coach.
Auburn ranks in the mid-50s nationally on the recruiting front, last in the SEC, and the program has generally struggled to gain any positive momentum under his watch."
