Former Auburn Tigers head coach Bryan Harsin (L) and interim head coach Carnell “Cadillac” Williams (R) look on from the sideline as Auburn Tigers take on San Jose State Spartans at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. (Photo: Jane Crandall/USAToday Network)
It was three days before Christmas, 2020, a Tuesday afternoon.
Not sure what I was doing that day, probably still trying to think of gifts to buy for the grandchildren. I don’t remember, but I do remember getting the phone call at our place on Lake Martin.
Caller I.D. said it was from Area Code 208, Boise, Idaho, but I didn’t know the number.
“Hello.”
I immediately recognized the familiar voice of longtime friend, Johnny Mallory from WTIK 95.3 The Ticket in Boise. We’ve done radio together several times and attended sports media events, but hadn’t talked in a while. He got right to the point.
“Is it true?” he asked. “Is Bryan Harsin really going to Auburn?”
A few minutes earlier I had started getting calls and messages informing me that Auburn was indeed hiring Harsin to replace Gus Malzahn, who had parted ways with Auburn after the regular season-ending win over Mississippi State three weeks before.
“Apparently, it’s true, Johnny,” I confirmed. “It’s breaking news on the radio here in Alabama.”
Mallory had called me from the press box high above the blue turf of Albertsons Stadium in Boise where Nevada and Tulane were playing in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The Wolf Pack was leading the Green Wave right then and won the game, 38-27, but not many local media folks there were focused on the game. Bigger news was sweeping through the press box.
“It just broke here that he’s leaving for Auburn,” Johnny said. “It caught everybody off guard. I had to call you to find out if it was true.”
Over the next few weeks, we talked several times about Harsin, his staff and the football programs at Boise and Auburn. Several other contacts from out there also talked with me.
I learned that Harsin wasn’t universally popular with some Broncos fans, nor with some media covering his program. He wasn’t the most outgoing coach and was often hard to work for. Still, most Broncos fans didn’t want him to leave his hometown. Like it is at some other schools, winning will outweigh other negative aspects, and Harsin had done more than his share of winning.
Lindy’s had for several years produced the only publication exclusively covering the Mountain West. It was primarily my project, so I covered MW media days and postseason games multiple times, meeting and interviewing media reps, players and coaches, including Harsin.
At least on paper, he seemed to check off the needed boxes.
He was only 44 years old, likely with a lot of coaching years ahead. In seven years as head coach at his alma mater, his record was 69-19 with three Mountain West championships. Boise State’s winning percentage in those seasons (78.4%) trailed only Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma among all college teams.
But the games weren’t going to be played on paper and they weren’t going to be played on blue turf. The opposing defenses and offenses were going to be from Georgia, Alabama and LSU, not from UNLV, Wyoming and Hawaii.
We raised the question of whether Harsin and his staff coming from Idaho would be up to the task. Would his personality, his way of doing things be compatible with what was expected by SEC fan bases and media covering the league? Would his coaching style, his sideline decision making and his demeanor be accepted by Auburn people?
Was this going to work? And the question in my mind, more so than in the minds of my friends out West, was this … Would Auburn – its power people, its everyday fans, its social media critics and persistent know-it-all ‘posters’ – give it a fair chance to work?
The jury’s verdict is in on the basic question.
No, it hadn’t worked so far and it looked like it wasn’t going to.
After just 21 games, Auburn parted ways with Harsin this week, just five days before its game with Mississippi State. Also dismissed were offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau, tight ends coach Brad Bedell, chief of staff Brad Larrando and director of recruiting Darren Uscher. All four came with Harsin from Boise.
Harsin is the sixth head coach already fired during the 2022 football season (Arizona State, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Wisconsin). Eight were fired during the regular season in 2021.
Most everybody can agree that things didn’t work as hoped. Under Harsin’s direction, Auburn’s record was 9-12. The Tigers have lost 10 of their past 13 games, including eight of the last nine SEC games. Things weren’t getting better; if anything, they were getting worse.
Electricity and excitement were missing – from the tailgaters outside the stadium to the fans inside, from the sidelines with coaches to the field with players. The offense couldn’t make big plays when needed. And in the past two games (Ole Miss and Arkansas combined for 738 yards rushing), it looked like Tiger defenders might have trouble tackling me … an elderly guy with a hurt foot.
National perception, whether or not justified, had Auburn’s football program, along with its athletic department, on a downhill slide. So, a new athletic director (John Cohen from Mississippi State) was hired and Harsin and company were cut loose.
That still leaves questions that don’t have simple answers and on which folks won’t see eye-to-eye.
What really happened to cost Auburn football these two lost seasons? And what should happen going forward to avoid it happening again?
On the field, there were many problems. Start with turnovers. This season, Auburn has captured six turnovers but has surrendered 16. No team is going to win much with minus-10 in turnovers. The very winnable LSU game was a perfect example. Auburn pretty much controlled the game, dominated statistics, but had four critical turnovers. – LSU 21, Auburn 17.
How about penalties? How many times have plays been called back or stopped with illegal motion, offsides, five yards lost that killed drives? Don’t know the quantity, but it’s a high number.
And, play-calling. How many of those fake punts have worked? How about fade-route passes from inside the 5-yard line? How about under-utilizing running backs? Not getting adequate performance from veteran offensive linemen?
Lack of discipline. Carelessness with the ball. Poor tackling. Poor play execution. Lack of improvement during the season. Those all fall under poor coaching.
There have been things out of Harsin’s control. Start with injuries, big time injuries and a lot of them.
Last year, he lost veteran linebacker Owen Pappoe for the season. This year he lost all-star caliber defensive lineman Eku Leota. Last year, he lost veteran quarterback Bo Nix and all-star placekicker Anders Carlson for the season in the same game. This season, he lost all-star center Nick Brahms before the campaign started, then lost his back-up for the season in the second game. He lost starting quarterback T.J. Finley, then back-up Zach Calzada for the season. So, the third choice at center has been snapping to the third choice at quarterback (although Robby Ashford is probably the most talented of the three QBs). Not surprisingly, there have been a lot of mishandled snaps. Last year, Tank Bigsby had to miss games. And there have been others.
Harsin would likely still be the Auburn coach if either of two things happened differently in the 2021 game with Alabama. The Tigers led almost the entire game, keeping the high-powered Tide offense out of the end zone for 59 minutes, leading 10-3. If Tank Bigsby on a run in Alabama territory had turned into the middle of the field rather than going out of bounds, the clock would have continued to run, likely ending Alabama’s chances. That should have happened, but it didn’t.
Then, on first down after Auburn’s punt was downed inside the 5-yard line, an obvious hold in the end zone by an Alabama lineman was ignored, preventing another sack of quarterback Bryce Young, who had already been sacked seven times. By definition, a hold in the end zone is a safety, so the score should have been 12-3, and after the free kick, Auburn would have downed the ball to end the game. That should have happened, but it didn’t.
A win over Alabama would likely have bought Harsin a honeymoon period that might have saved his job. But it didn’t happen.
When did things start to fall apart for Harsin? Was there a tipping point?
Was it as early as the 2021 Penn State game when Auburn threw back-to-back fade passes inside the Nitany Lions’ 5-yard line? Was it the second half of the 2021 Mississippi State game when Auburn blew a 28-3 lead and was outscored 40-6 in a humiliating loss? Was it the fake punt in the South Carolina game or the one in the Ole Miss game, neither of which worked? Was it never being competitive against Georgia and several others?
For some people, it didn’t take a tipping point. They had favorites to replace Malzahn, but when that didn’t happen, that was enough.
Early in 2022, rumors were spread against Harsin and his family. Accusations were fabricated. His character and ethics were questioned. And, worst of all, supposed Auburn fans posted things on social media that fanned the negative flames, making it virtually impossible to recruit successfully or represent the university in a positive way. As has often been the case, Auburn people were Auburn’s worst enemies.
During that embarrassing episode, I talked again with Boise contacts, hometown folks that know the Harsin family and others mentioned as being involved. To a person, my contacts – even some that don’t like Harsin’s personality or his coaching style – defended Harsin and ridiculed the rumors.
To his credit, Harsin didn’t lash out; he denied accusations and handled things with more class than the accusers and rumor-spreaders. Not sure that I could have shown that much restraint.
Harsin said the right things in a statement after his firing.
“I poured my heart and soul into this program and team. We stood together in the face of considerable challenges and outside noise. Through my entire time at Auburn we did things the right way, which is not always the easy way. … (I am) incredibly grateful for those at Auburn who stood by me and my family.”
“Like any coach with the benefit of hindsight, there are things that could have been done differently. I don’t pretend to be perfect, but I am certain I will be better moving forward because of this experience.”
“Thank you for allowing us to be a part of the Auburn family.”
Regardless of the factors, it was time for a change. Maybe this never had a realistic chance from the outset. Maybe Harsin was DOA in December, 2020. The way that the situation was publicly handled did a disservice to Harsin and to the university.
Auburn football was called a “coaching revolving door” by fans and media around the country, untrue of course, especially compared to other SEC programs. Since 1981 when Pat Dye came to Auburn, the Tigers have had six head coaches (Dye, Bowden, Tuberville, Chizik, Malzahn, Harsin). In those same 40 years, Tennessee has had nine head coaches; Ole Miss and Alabama have each had 10.
Those same folks referred to the Auburn athletic program as being on the decline with many problems. But, the truth – Last season, Auburn men’s basketball was ranked No. 1 in the country for several weeks and is the last SEC team to play in the Final Four. Baseball has played in two of the past three College World Series. The men’s golf team is No. 1 in the latest GolfStat national ranking and the women are in the Top 15. Gymnastics is ranked No. 4 by NCAA Gymnastics and already has one of the nation’s top recruiting classes again. Equestrian has won three national titles since 2016 and is ranked again now. You get the picture. The Auburn athletic program has seldom, if ever, been stronger overall … except for football.
But, perception is often reality to the masses. The handling of the Harsin situation, made worse by unknowledgeable social media posters, helped create those perceptions. Who knows how long it will take for that to be overcome?
So who should be Auburn’s next football coach? What should happen next?
From my perspective, the next head coach needs to understand the Southeastern Conference, the uniqueness of Auburn and its fan base, and set expectations. He needs to be a good marketer and understand that importance. Having Power 5 coaching experience would be a major asset. And, he has to be an effective recruiter, starting now. Auburn can’t wait a few years before regaining its place among the traditional SEC powers.
Former Auburn All-American linebacker and current SEC Network commentator Takeo Spikes said this in a Tweet a couple of days ago … “It’s important for the next head coach to be able to tap into the transfer portal like Lane Kiffin has done the past two years and get quality players that can contribute NOW.”
From my perspective, Spikes has it right.
Here are some thoughts, which apply not only for Auburn, but for any program wanting to change direction after going backward.
As important as it is to get the right man, it’s even more important to give it a chance to work. Greet him with applause, not criticism. Don’t use the social media platform for disrespect, personal attacks or spreading rumors. If you claim to be a fan, act like one. Give your coach a level playing field for recruiting. Help that cause, don’t hurt it.
It appears that a good many well-known names nationally have been mentioned as having interest in the Auburn opening.
So, somebody may be calling you in the next few weeks.
You might be asked, “Is it true?”
Be ready to confirm the answer. Then don’t be a critic before it even starts. Give it a chance to work.
