After a week of rampant speculation about Bryan Harsin's future at Auburn and an internal inquiry into his handling of the football program, Harsin remains the head coach of the Tigers.

On Friday, the school announced that Harsin will return for his second season at the helm.

"My most recent conversations with Coach Harsin have me as convinced as ever in his commitment to our student-athletes' on- and off-field success and his vision for our program," outgoing president Jay Gogue said in a statement. "We are equally committed to providing him the necessary means to achieve that goal."

Harsin's tenure started off promisingly on the field, with the team winning six of his first eight games last season, before the wheels came off. Auburn lost five straight games to finish a disappointing 6-7, recruiting slipped below expectations and a slew of players and coaches exited the program.

Harsin said he left for vacation last week with no indication that his job was in jeopardy. He quickly found out that was not the case, as the university was looking into the reasons why players and coaches were departing.

Harsin maintained this week that he had no plans to leave and that he wanted to continue as Auburn's football coach. Now, he got his wish.

ESPN's Chris Low, Mark Schlabach, Pete Thamel and Alex Scarborough address how we got here and what happens next.

How did we get here?

Had Auburn held on in the final two minutes to upset Alabama in the Iron Bowl in November, Harsin would have been hailed as a conquering hero. Instead, Auburn lost to its archrival, parted ways with offensive coordinator Mike Bobo two days later and got beat by Houston in the Birmingham Bowl to finish the season 6-7.

Then came the flood of transfers — 18 players leaving in all — and defensive coordinator Derek Mason's decision to step down. Mason eventually took a $400,000 pay cut to go to Oklahoma State.

Two days before the Feb. 2 signing date, Harsin's pick to replace Bobo, Austin Davis, abruptly resigned for personal reasons.