There were some surprises on the list, seeing Nebraska’s Scott Frost and Indiana’s Tom Allen so high up the list. Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano, in his second tenure with the program, is the fifth-highest buyout in the Big Ten. During his first tenure at Rutgers, Schiano was closely linked to the then open job at Michigan in 2007 (then filled by Rich Rodriguez).
Early list for USC: James Franklin, Matt Campbell, Bill O’Brien, Luke Fickell, P.J. Fleck, Mario Cristobal, Greg Schiano and Tony Elliott. Former coaches who could be sought include Chris Petersen and Bob Stoops.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 13, 2021
Paul Chryst, in his seventh season at Wisconsin and with a 58-22 record (including a 5-1 bowl record) is ranked sixth in the Big Ten but is out-performing several head coaches ranked above him in the buyout pecking order.
The interest in the buyout clauses is certainly warranted, given that that Big Ten coaches such as James Franklin (Penn State) and Greg Schiano (Rutgers) have been linked in recent weeks to other national jobs such as USC.
| Big Ten Rank | Coach | Buyout |
| 1 | Tom Allen (Indiana) | $30,000,000 |
| 2 | Ryan Day (Ohio State) | $28,416,668 |
| 3 | Scott Frost (Nebraska) | $20,416,667 |
| 4 | Mel Tucker (Michigan State) | $19,284,375 |
| 5 | Greg Schiano (Rutgers) | $19,218,750 |
| 6 | Paul Chryst (Wisconsin) | $19,103,724 |
| 7 | Jeff Brohm (Purdue) | $18.966,667 |
| 8 | Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) | $16,503,333 |
| 9 | P.J. Fleck (Minnesota) | $15,851,875 |
| 10 | Brett Bielema (Illinois) | $15,138,425 |
| 11 | Mike Locksley (Maryland) | $6,138,426 |
| 12 | Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) | $4,444,444 |
| 13 | James Franklin (Penn State) | Not Listed |
| 14 | Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern) | Not Listed |