After more than a week of speculation about his employment status, Bryan Harsin remains as Auburn’s football coach, according to a statement from the University.
“I am pleased to report that the evaluation of concerns raised regarding our football program is complete. I am equally pleased to confirm that Bryan Harsin remains our head football coach,” Auburn President Jay Gouge said via a Friday afternoon press release. As an institution of higher education, Auburn will always take the action necessary to ensure the well-being of its students, faculty, and staff.
“Recently, individuals raised concerns to my administration about the football program. The nature of these concerns compelled a fact-finding review. To do nothing would have been an abdication of the university’s responsibilities.”
Multiple reports Friday said Auburn was expected to announce they are retaining Harsin after significant public speculation over his job security. Harsin’s statement about the situation came in shortly after the email from Gouge circulated to reporters.
‘This has been one of the hardest weeks of my career and it had nothing to do with my coaching ability. The personal attacks on me and my family went too far and were without justification,” Harsin said to reporters via email on Friday. “Their resolve through this experience has been incredible but also completely expected. We saw and felt the worst of the worst in some people. Fortunately, we also saw the best of the best in others and we will always be grateful for the support of so many through a very difficult time – our players, staff, the Auburn family, and many others.
Auburn had investigated Harsin and how he ran his program after concerns arose over staff turnover and 18 players entering the transfer portal since the end of the regular season. Harsin, who went 6-7 in his first season at Auburn, was out of the country on vacation when news of the investigation first became public last week. If Auburn fired Harsin without cause, it would have owed him more than $18 million after he signed a six-year deal worth an average of $5.25 million in Dec. 2020.
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Last Friday, Auburn president Jay Gogue said, “There have been a lot of rumors and speculation about our football program,” Gogue said toward the end of the board meeting on AUM’s campus. “I just want you to know we’re involved in trying to separate fact from fiction. We’ll keep you posted and make the appropriate decision at the right time.”
As speculation swirled around whether Harsin would remain Auburn’s coach, a mix of current and former Auburn players weighed in on the situation. Former defensive lineman Lee Hunter, who transferred to Central Florida, had the strongest opinion in saying Harsin treated his players “like dogs.” Other critics said while Harsin was a good coach, he struggled at cultivating relationships with his players. Conversely, John Samuel Shenker and Chandler Wooten were among players who publicly defended Harsin and his treatment of players.
“I know the past week has been an incredibly trying time for Coach Harsin, his family and many others. Personal and intentional attacks have been publicly levied, almost all of them anonymous, without regard for their resulting, real-world ramifications,” Gouge said. “Auburn never has — and I hope never will — legitimize reckless rumors or innuendo with public comment. While Coach Harsin understands some level of public criticism comes with the job, what he and his family have endured this past week was beyond the pale. We regret the concern and anxiety this situation caused the Harsin family and the others involved.”
Harsin, who was on vacation as this all unfolded, defended himself in an interview last Thursday night with ESPN, saying that any attack on his character was “bullshit.” He remained steadfast that Auburn was where he wanted to be and that he planned to be the Tigers’ coach for the long haul.
“This is where I want to be,” Harsin told ESPN. “This is what I want to do. That’s why I came here. I didn’t come here to fail. We’ve got to build something, and right now I feel like when you hear some of these things, there’s a lot of things building against me. Certainly, I’m the right man for the job. There’s no doubt about it. No one is going to have a better plan than I do, but we’ve got to change some things.
“This place is not going to be a championship program until we change some things. You’ve got to let the head coach be the head coach and support him.”
As Harsin moves forward as Auburn’s head coach, he still needs to find a new offensive coordinator. Harsin fired veteran SEC coordinator Mike Bobo after one season, replacing him with Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Austin Davis. Davis abruptly resigned just 43 days after he was hired from the Seattle Seahawks, citing personal reasons for his decision to step away from coaching. Davis’s departure left Harsin looking for his third offensive coordinator in 13 months, which added to a volatile staff situation during his tenure.
In just one season on the Plains, Harsin had had six assistant coaching changes. The first was when Tracy Rocker left for an NFL job just two weeks after Harsin hired him as defensive line coach on his inaugural staff. Rocker was replaced by Nick Eason, who left last month to return to his alma mater, Clemson, in a similar role. Wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams was fired just four games into the season — a move that Harsin acknowledged was unusual and not ideal, but one he felt was necessary at that time. He promoted Eric Kiesau, who previously served as Harsin’s offensive coordinator at Boise State, from offensive analyst to wide receivers coach.
Auburn also saw defensive coordinator Derek Mason step down from his position on Jan. 21 only to take the same role at Oklahoma State less than a week later. That prompted a shuffling of the defensive staff, with Jeff Schmedding promoted to defensive coordinator and Harsin bringing on Jimmy Brumbaugh as defensive line coach and Christian Robinson as linebackers coach.
Despite all the negative attention around the program, Harsin is expected to get a chance to prove his detractors wrong and coach Auburn for a second season.
“I know who I am as a husband, father, and football coach and cooperated fully throughout this process. I believe that every challenge in life is an opportunity to grow and learn,” Harsin said. This is no different. Every day we’re not moving forward together is a step in the wrong direction. In order for us to take the Auburn program where we all want it to go we must, at all levels, commit to each other and this great university that we all love. I’m confident we can get there under the leadership of Dr. Gogue, incoming President Roberts, Allen Greene, and our Board of Trustees.”
Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.
Information gathered by Tom Green assisted in reporting of this story.