Next Auburn Head Coach Betting Odds: Kiffin, Freeze the Favorites
To almost nobody's surprise, Bryan Harsin has been fired by the Auburn Tigers football program.
Harsin won't be exiting a poor man. He is owed a buyout of approximately $15.97 million.
His final record with the school was an abysmal 9-12, the fewest wins by an Auburn coach since Earl Brown in 1948-50, 3-22-4.
BetOnline was quick to begin offering odds on Harsin's replacement.
Hugh Freeze was a 2-1 favorite. He's the current head coach at Liberty and former coach of Ole Miss. Though a top choice, there is some concern that the SEC could prevent this hiring after leaving the Rebels program under an NCAA investigation. The school itself found potential improprieties that reportedly included phone calls to escort services.
Lane Kiffin, the current Ole Miss head coach, has the second shortest odds at 11-4. Both men are 6 point favorites over the next man on the list, Deion Sanders.
Kiffin is having an amazing season thus far at Mississippi.
And while he would likely be the most sought after candidate after Freeze, Kiffin might have little desire to leave the Ole Miss program.
SI.com's Richard Johnson writes:
Would Kiffin leave Ole Miss? He has been considered in multiple coaching cycles now, but the expectations in Auburn are not the same as Oxford. If Kiffin wins two of his last three games, Ole Miss will have its second 10-win regular season in its history (the first came last season).
And another subplot: such a move would put him in even closer proximity to Alabama coach Nick Saban. His resources at Ole Miss don’t come with the expectation that he consistently challenge Saban and Bama, but at Auburn, he would be expected to beat Saban and Bama. Harsin got as close as he could when the Tigers went to overtime in last year’s Iron Bowl.
Odds to be the next Auburn head Football Coach
Hugh Freeze 2/1
Lane Kiffin 11/4
Deion Sanders 7/1
Jeff Grimes 11/1
Mike Leach 11/1
Kevin Steele 12/1
Mark Stoops 12/1
Matt Rhule 12/1
Mike Gundy 12/1
Matt Campbell 14/1
Urban Meyer 25/1
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
