Auburn could fire football coach Bryan Harsin on Sunday if he loses to Missouri today: report

Auburn's game against Missouri could be a do-or-die situation for Bryan Harsin

Bryan Harsin may be coaching for his job on Saturday when Auburn takes on Missouri.

A loss against Mizzou could move Auburn to finally pull the plug and fire its head football coach before the weekend is out, according to a new report.

“If they get beat today by Missouri, I’m told there’s a really good chance that they could pull the plug on him as early as tomorrow [Sunday],” college football reporter Bruce Feldman said on Big Noon Kickoff on Fox. 

“It has felt like a real inevitability that he will get let go at some point this year, but that feels like now it’s got ramped up.”

Related: Bryan Harsin timeline at Auburn: How we got here

But even if Auburn did sack Harsin, it could cost the school.

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.

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