In college athletics, a common joke is that the best job might actually be getting fired as a football coach—because the payout can be enormous. There’s some truth behind the humor. Thanks to carefully negotiated contracts—often handled by powerful agents like Jimmy Sexton—coaches who are dismissed frequently walk away with millions of dollars in buyout money, even after unsuccessful tenures.
The Auburn Tigers football program knows this reality all too well. Over the past several years, the school has paid significant buyouts to its last three head coaches. It began with Gus Malzahn, who received $21.5 million when Auburn parted ways with him in 2020 after eight seasons leading the program. Despite the dismissal, Malzahn’s tenure included consistent winning records, an SEC Championship, a trip to the BCS National Championship Game, and another appearance in the conference title game. In hindsight, many Auburn fans might have preferred keeping him once they saw what followed.
The next gamble came when athletic director Allen Greene hired Bryan Harsin away from Boise State Broncos football. The move was viewed as risky from the start since Harsin had no prior coaching experience in the SEC. His time at Auburn lasted fewer than two seasons as struggles mounted, including a losing record, disappointing recruiting results, and strained relationships with high school coaches. Ultimately, Auburn paid Harsin $15.3 million to part ways, sending him back to Idaho with a sizable financial cushion.
Then came Hugh Freeze, who was introduced as Auburn’s head coach in December 2022 by athletic director John Cohen. Initially, the hire appeared promising. Freeze led the Tigers to a bowl game in his first season and secured back-to-back top-10 recruiting classes, sparking optimism about the program’s future. However, momentum faded midway through his third season, and his tenure effectively ended after a disappointing 10–3 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats football at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn ultimately paid Freeze $15.8 million in buyout money.
While those payouts are enormous, they still fall short of some of the most staggering buyouts in college football. Jimbo Fisher received around $77 million from the Texas A&M Aggies football after his dismissal, while Brian Kelly was owed roughly $54 million by the LSU Tigers football in his deal. Meanwhile, Mark Stoops’ contract with the Kentucky Wildcats football included buyout protections that could reach about $38 million. Even so, Auburn still leads the SEC in the number of head coaches it has paid substantial buyouts over the past six years.
Moving forward, Auburn fans are hoping that pattern finally comes to an end with Alex Golesh. After years of costly coaching changes, the program is eager for stability—and ideally, a head coach who stays long enough to build sustained success rather than join the growing list of expensive departures.