USA Today annually publishes a database of college football salaries, and included in that are buyout figures if a coach is fired. Here are five large buyouts of coaches who have been or could be fired this season:
1. Clay Helton, USC, $15 million: This is an estimated buyout reported by Yahoo Sports, since USC, a private school, doesn't have to reveal terms. Helton's Trojans fell to 5-5 after losing to Cal for the first time in 15 years.
2. Bobby Petrino, Louisville, $14 million: Vince Tyra fired Petrino on Sunday after the Cardinals fell to 2-8 with a 54-23 loss at Syracuse on Friday. Speculation centers on Purdue coach Jeff Brohm, a former Cardinals QB and Louisville native, taking over.
3. Chris Ash, Rutgers, $12.6 million: The Scarlet Knights improved from 2-10 to 4-8 in Ash's second season, but they're back to 1-9 and 0-7 in the Big Ten with Penn State and Michigan State remaining on the schedule.
4. Larry Fedora, North Carolina, $12.2 million: Following up a 3-9 season with a 1-8 start doesn't bode well for Fedora, who had the Tar Heels 11-3 as recently as 2015.
5. Mike MacIntyre, Colorado, $10.3 million: Reports this week said MacIntyre was out, but athletic director Rick George said a decision hasn't been made. Since going 10-4 in 2016, the Buffaloes are 10-12 and are riding a five-game skid.
Randy Johnson
