Michigan has fired offensive coordinator Jason Beck, amid the unit's prolonged struggles this season, the team announced Sunday.

Beck, one of several assistants who joined Wolverines first-year coach Kyle Whittingham from Utah, had come under significant scrutiny as Michigan has not scored 20 points in six of nine games and eclipsed 28 points just once. The Wolverines were held scoreless for more than 58 minutes Saturday night before falling 15-6 to in-state rival Michigan State at Michigan Stadium. Michigan lost for the first time in 30 years when not allowing a touchdown.

Per the terms of his contract, Beck is set to be owed up to $10.1 million. That's nearly $7 million in salary and nearly $3.1 million in retention bonuses. The contract is subject to offset and mitigation. It is believed to be the biggest buyout ever for a college assistant.

Offensive line coach Jim Harding will serve as the team's interim offensive coordinator for the rest of the season before Whittingham begins a national search for Beck's replacement.

"The results have not matched our desired outcome, and I felt that a change in leadership was required for our offense," Whittingham said in a statement. "We need to put our offensive players and the entire team in the best possible position to be successful. We appreciate the hard work and effort that Jason has dedicated to the program. Jason is a great man and coach, and unfortunately, it did not work out the way that we wanted it to at Michigan. We wish Jason and his family nothing but the best in the future."

The Wolverines are averaging just 19.6 points and 5 yards per play.

Asked about a potential coordinator change after the Michigan State loss, Whittingham said, "Not right now, not while I'm sitting here at this podium, no. But at some point, you've got to have results. ... It's a bottom-line business, and I'll evaluate everything after the season." Whittingham said last month that he would make an in-season coordinator change, if necessary, but still believed in Beck, who oversaw the nation's No. 4 scoring offense and No. 2 rushing offense at Utah.

Before Utah, Beck had been an offensive coordinator at New Mexico and Syracuse. He's a former BYU quarterback who coached quarterbacks for his alma mater from 2013 to 2015.

Whittingham has been critical of Beck's offense, saying after losses to Minnesota and Michigan State that he could not identify any positive elements. Michigan made a quarterback change from Bryce Underwood to Tommy Carr in October, and thought it had turned a corner in a 28-21 win at Rutgers on Oct. 31.

But Carr had just 138 passing yards and two interceptions in the Michigan State loss. Last month, tight end Zack Marshall apologized for making "inappropriate comments" after a leaked group text showed messages attributed to him that criticized Beck and the offensive scheme.

Michigan next plays this week at No. 23 Oregon before finishing the regular season against No. 8 UCLA and No. 12 Ohio State.

ESPN's Pete Thamel contributed to this report.