College football insider provides timetable for resolution of Bryan Harsin situation

There might not be a crazier time for the Auburn Tigers than there is right now. While the basketball team has risen to No. 1 in the AP poll under Bruce Pearl, it’s the football team receiving all the heat — specifically, head coach Bryan Harsin.

Speculations of Harsin getting fired have swirled over the last 24 hours off the back of the program’s first losing season since 2012. Auburn president

Jay Gogue said they would make an “appropriate decision at the right time” regarding the head coach’s status.

However, it seems as if a decision will not be coming heading into the weekend. ESPN college football writer Mark Schlabach was on The Paul Finebaum Show on Friday and provided a timetable Auburn could be working with.

“I do not think anything is going to go down today,” Schlabach said. “Somebody at the university told me they’re focused on the incoming president, Chris Roberts, the head of the engineering school there. But I think by the middle of next week, we’d hope to have some sort of resolution of whether they’re going to go forward with Bryan Harsin or not.”

The Auburn Board of Trustees met on Friday, discussing a wide range of topics. Roberts was introduced as the university’s new president alongside approving a new basketball facility. Harsin’s job status was discussed but no final decision was provided.

Usually, coaches are fired at strategic times for recruiting purposes. Both national signing periods have passed and Auburn’s 2022 recruiting class is set in stone. However, with how good of an in-state cycle it is for Alabama, Auburn could be looking for a new coach to inject excitement in the Plains.

Details of potential buyout situation for Bryan Harsin emerge

ESPN’s Pete Thamel also laid out exactly how much the Tigers would be paying Harsin if they do decide to let him go. It’s fair to say the head coach could be in for a nice payday.

“As Auburn officials decide Bryan Harsin’s future, worth noting that he’s owed $18.3 million of his remaining salary,” Thamel said via Twitter. “Of that money, half of that ($9.15 million) would be due in 30 days. The other half in quarterly payments over the next year, starting on July 15.”

When Auburn decided to let go of Malzhan, the former head coach was owed $21.5 million according to Thamel. If Harsin is let go as well, that would be around $40 million paid out to coaches to not coach the Tigers. Considering assistants as well, the number continues to grow.