Bryan Harsin defiantly took the stage at the College Football Hall of Fame and spoke the words that will forever be associated with his tenure on the Plains.
It was uncomfortable. It was unfounded… And it didn’t work.
At the time, Harsin was referring to the February investigation into his handling of Auburn’s football program, but over time it turned out those same words aptly summed up his tenure as head coach of the Tigers, which ended abruptly on Monday after a 41-27 loss to Arkansas , which dropped the Tigers below .500 for the first time since 2012. Auburn fired Harsin less than two years after his six-year, $31.5 million contract in a 3-5 start to the season, University President Dr. Chris Roberts announced this on Monday.
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“Auburn University has decided to change the governance of the Auburn University football program,” the university said in a statement. “President Roberts made the decision after a thorough review and evaluation of all aspects of the football program. Auburn will immediately begin searching for a coach who will return the Auburn program to a place where it consistently competes at the highest level and represents the winning tradition of Auburn football.”
An interim coach was not immediately named in the university announcement. Auburn owes Harsin 70 percent of his remaining salary — about $15 million — on his contract, which runs through December 31, 2026. Half of this acquisition is due within 30 days of its termination.
Harsin’s tenure on the Plains lasted just over 22 months, and he ends with a 9-12 record at Auburn that included a 4-11 mark against Power 5 opponents. He is the first Auburn coach to end his tenure with a losing record since Earl Brown’s three-year stint between 1948 and 1950 ended with a 3-22-4 record.
Harsin’s stint at Auburn wasn’t so bleak, but things quickly got out of hand for the 45-year-old following his somewhat surprising departure on December 22, 2020. The former Boise State coach was lured away from his alma mater by then-athlete director Allen Greene during a coach search that has been playing out as a high-stakes tug-of-war between influential Auburn boosters and Greene and then-President Dr. Jay Gogue was playing. Greene took control of the search in a power play, eventually ending up with Harsin, who went 69-19 in seven seasons as Boise State head coach but had no connections to the region, let alone experience coaching in the SEC.
A thoroughly underdog, Harsin has struggled to adjust to the rigors and demands of coaching in the SEC, particularly in Auburn, where going head-to-head with rivals Alabama and Georgia on the recruiting lane is paramount to the job. Harsin struggled to recruit at a consistently high level at Auburn, which only widened the gap between the Tigers and their league upper-league rivals.
He finished the 2021 cycle with the nation’s No. 19 class, although most of the class signed in the early signing phase prior to his hiring. His first full class ranked 21st nationally but ninth in the SEC, while the Tigers’ 2023 class was ranked 55th in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings and 13th in the SEC at the time of his discharge.
The results on the field became more complicated. After a 6-2 start to Year 1, Auburn turned to wrap up the 2021 season and ended the year on a five-game losing streak. That slip included double-digit leads against Mississippi State, South Carolina and Alabama, and eventually lost the Iron Bowl in a four-overtime classic at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The year was capped with a loss to Houston at the Birmingham Bowl, which cemented the program’s first losing season since 2012 and its first five-game losing streak to end a season since 1950.
What followed was a tumultuous offseason for Harsin and the Tigers. Nineteen players entered the transfer portal between the end of the regular season and the start of spring training, while Harsin’s staff saw their own share of the turnover. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was fired after the Iron Bowl, while defensive coordinator Derek Mason took a pay cut to fill the same position at Oklahoma State. Defensive line coach Nick Eason joined his alma mater Clemson and edge coach/special teams coordinator Bert Watts joined the Denver Broncos. This, of course, comes after Harsin fired wide receiver coach Cornelius Williams and promoted former Boise State assistant Eric Kiesau from analyst to on-field coach after just four games into the season.
Harsin’s search for an offensive coordinator had its own hurdles before he finally hired Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Austin Davis for the role. Davis’ time on the staff was fleeting, and he resigned for personal reasons just six weeks after being hired. Harsin eventually promoted Kiesau to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and Jeff Schmedding from inside linebackers coach to defensive coordinator. Both previously held those roles on his staff at Boise State, as the moves signaled that Harsin was doubling down on familiar faces on the staff as he attempted to shape the program in his image.
However, before Harsin could reshuffle his staff, he had to endure the university’s scrutiny of his handling of the program. Gogue announced at a board of trustees meeting in February that the university was “trying to separate fact from fiction” and would use the program to quickly determine Harsin’s future. Harsin hoisted his flag and vehemently defended himself in an interview with ESPN, in which he said, “Any attack on my character is bullshit.”
Former players spoke publicly about their experiences with Harsin over the past season, while current players rallied around the embattled coach. After an eight-day investigation and uncertainty over whether Harsin would see a second year, Auburn announced its decision to retain the coach and Gogue released a statement on the matter, explaining that it was “a waiver of the responsibility of the University” would not have followed up on concerns raised about the football programme. Gogue added that the University is committed to Harsin and will provide him with the necessary support to achieve his goals as head coach.
Although the examination took place in the rearview mirror, Harsin entered the year 2 on unstable ground. He spent the offseason restoring his image and reputation with the fanbase, alumni and donors, and at the SEC Media Days in July he urged everyone to just “watch” what’s happening on the field this fall.
The same message flashed across the video wall at Jordan Hare Stadium every Saturday this season during the team’s pre-game hype video: Harsin in the center of the screen with the words “JUST WATCH” on either side.
Everyone watched as Harsin’s vision unraveled. Two uneven performances against FCS and Group 5 opponents early in the season, followed by a humiliating loss to Penn State in what was the program’s worst home loss in a decade. Auburn escaped his SEC opener against Missouri in overtime before losing each of his next three. The deathblow came in the form of Saturday’s double-digit loss to the Razorbacks, which dropped the Tigers to 3-10 in the last calendar year and ended an uncomfortable, unfounded and ultimately dysfunctional coaching stint.
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.