Harsin out at Auburn: Who’s next?
Finally, Bryan Harsin’s been fired at Auburn. After less than two seasons.
The hire was hated by Auburn fans and boosters alike when AD Allen Greene – now departed – ignored the noise, went out West, and brought his coach in from Boise State.
A good Pac-12 school maybe, but Boise f***ing state?
After last season, the knives were out. The Auburn boosters tried everything but storming Harsin’s house to get the coach out, trying to persecute Harsin for God knows what.
Harsin said at the SEC Media Days: “I know some of you are sitting here looking at me didn’t expect back for my second SEC Media Day…“It was uncomfortable, unfounded, and it presented an opportunity for people to attack me personally, my family, and our program, and it didn’t work.”
Midway through the 2022 season, it worked. Auburn is winless in the SEC, looked bad in its non-conference games, and there are no silver linings, apart from the gorgeous campus and nice people.
We know this was coming. We knew this ages ago. Harsin will be paid $15.5m in buyout money, with $7.75m due in 30 days, and 50% in four installments. This is less than two years after they got shot of Gus Malzahn for $21.7m. And yes, we still don’t understand why.
JEALOUSY
In our view, Auburn booted Harsin because of rival jealousy. If Alabama’s success under Nick Saban’s stung, Georgia’s Natty win in January – coupled with LSU’s a few years earlier – probably hurt worse. Gus Malzahn scored some victories against all three teams, while Harsin only had one – against a hapless LSU team. And regardless with how game Auburn was against Alabama in the Iron Bowl last Thanksgiving, the rage was never going to stop.
New AD John Cohen will need someone to bash the boosters’ heads together like Saban did at Alabama. Before then, the warring factions had ripped Tuscaloosa apart at the Tide looked absolutely helpless. But after he did so, the rest is history. Auburn is not like that. There seems to be 401 major boosters, all of which want a say. Auburn is a Baptist Church with 401 Elders with a massive opinion, and the preacher is constantly in flux.
And the boosters need to have a look at themselves in what they caused after booting Malzahn, despite his 68-34 record and multiple wins against Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M and LSU.
Here’s what they caused:
- Uproar within the program, accompanied by massive unpopular media scrutiny. In other words, Harsin was Dead Man Walking as soon as he walked onto the campus in 2021. Their actions will also cause a mass exodus of players to the transfer portal at the end of the season. Don’t be surprised if this includes Robbie Ashford.
- The transfer of their best quarterback in Bo Nix, who’s throwing at a 72.3% clip for 2,221 yards, 20 TDs and 5 INTs. He’s also rushed for 441 yards on 60 carries, and netting himself 11 touchdowns. All of these far exceed what was happening at Auburn.
- Empty seats: No-one’s filling the stadium to watch this crap.
- Payouts: They’ve shelled over $30m in two seasons on coaches.
- A laughing Gus Malzahn: UCF is 6-2, is in the Top 25, and just massacred Cincinnati.
- Most of all: Auburn being set back another 2 years: The new coach will have his work cut out to make the Tigers relevant in 2023. He will have to come in, and go into the transfer market at lightning speed, and try and persuade recruits that he’s not going to be out in 2 years. It’s a hard sell.
SO WHAT’S THE FUTURE?
The talk is about the usual people.
- Hugh Freeze (He can win in the SEC, and makes some excellent phonecalls, and Liberty has markedly improved – so much so that they are in the Top 25 this season – with a 7-1 record. However, what about the violations and sex calls?).
- Lane Kiffin (He’s an offensive wunderman, and his teams are fun to watch. But would he go to a dumpster fire after already rescuing a SEC West rival?)
- Deoin Sanders (He has transformed Jackson State and Jackson State’s image nationally in under 2 years. He’s a brilliant recruiter and has made the Athletic Department his own. He’s the ideal person to bash the booster’s heads together in order to make the team Prime Auburn. But would the boosters want someone with the ‘brash exterior’ (read into that what you will, but in the South they like to code their language) to tell them what to do?
CBS has mentioned Oregon OC – and former Auburn OC under Malzahn Kenny Dillingham, Coastal Carolina HC Jamie Chadwell (he could actually add some energy to the team), Matt Rhule (who did wonders at Baylor before skipping to the Carolina Panthers, where he was fired earlier this season, or Kevin Steele, the DC at Miami (snore!).
For us, we’d love to see Sanders get the job. Firstly, he would energize the program. He’s a fantatic recruiter Secondly, he’s the type of person who would unite the boosters. Thirdly, he’ll be the first black head coach in Auburn history. But it’s likely to be Freeze, despite the problems that have come with him like recruiting violations and the odd masturbatory phonecall.