Auburn coach Bryan Harsin’s future with the football program remains in limbo, but the university could be faced with an ultimatum soon enough.
Sources tell Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger and Richard Johnson that Harsin’s representatives have resisted attempts by Auburn officials at settling for a price lower than the coach’s full buyout, about $18 million. This has forced Auburn into a corner: fire the coach for cause, hoping evidence for such is strong enough; pay the full buyout; or retain him.
“That’s where the fight is,” an Auburn source tells SI. “From the moment [Harsin] got hired, it seems like people on the outside looking in, those people wanted to go in a different direction.