The scene in Auburn Sunday perfectly illustrated the absurdity of what has unfolded over the last few days on the Plains.
As Bryan Harsin continued to vacation outside the country, nearly two dozen Auburn fans met at Toomer’s Corner to rally support for the embattled Auburn head coach. The highlight of the rally wasn’t anything to do with Harsin, though, but rather a dog dressed wearing a unicorn horn riding around in a motorcycle.
That Harsin hasn’t returned to Auburn to fight for his job, and less than 25 people decided it worthy of defending their football coach Sunday, speaks volumes. Harsin has dug his heels in, vowing publicly and privately to want to remain Auburn’s coach, but there hasn’t been a considerable groundswell of support on his behalf.
Still, Auburn needs to decide on Harsin’s future and do so as soon as possible. On Monday, the school released a statement saying, “The Auburn administration is judiciously collecting information from a variety of perspectives, including our student-athletes, and moving swiftly to understand any issues in accordance with university policies and procedures,” the statement read. “Decisions regarding the future of Auburn and its athletics programs, as always, are made in the interests of our great university and in fairness to all concerned. We do not make institutional decisions based on social media posts or media headlines.”
Auburn can’t move swiftly enough because Harsin and the program are currently twisting in the wind. Once speculation cranked up that Harsin’s job was in peril -- and Auburn president Jay Gogue did nothing to tamp down that speculation with his public comments on Friday -- it became increasingly difficult for Harsin to return for a second season. How can Harsin successfully recruit while all the speculation hangs over the program? Or, even more pressingly, how can Harsin hire a good offensive coordinator when at any moment he could be dismissed? You can argue he wouldn’t hire a good offensive coordinator regardless, but the circumstances certainly don’t make it any easier.
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How did we get here? Harsin has never been popular with some of Auburn’s most influential boosters, who were upset in 2020 when Auburn AD Allen Greene bucked their wishes and hired the Boise State coach. Harsin was never all that interested in building relationships with boosters and seemed to relish the fact he didn’t try to ingratiate himself with them. No one could have predicted this would unravel so quickly after only one season, but Harsin has done himself no favors.
Since defeating Ole Miss to improve to a 6-2 record on Oct. 30, nothing has gone right for Harsin and his Auburn football program. Auburn ended the season on a five-game losing streak, including blowing leads against Mississippi State, South Carolina and Alabama. Harsin hasn’t shown anything to make anyone believe he’ll be an elite recruiter at Auburn, a point of frustration among the fanbase. Instead, he is banking on his ability to coach up the players he can get. But blowing leads in important league games cast doubts about his X’s and O’s prowess in the SEC though he won 78 percent of his games while at Boise State.
The player exodus that began after the season ended raised questions about Harsin’s ability to coach up the team to great success. Nearly 20 players opting to play for someone other than Harsin, including contributors like quarterback Bo Nix and receiver Kobe Hudson, prompted concerns about Harsin’s player and coach treatment that the school is currently investigating. Former Auburn defensive lineman Lee Hunter said Friday Harsin treated players “like dogs.”
Comments like Hunter’s are why it’ll be so challenging for Harsin to return and have any success at Auburn moving forward. All any competing school has to do is reference those comments on the recruiting trail to top recruits to dissuade them from attending Auburn. Not only are you not going to win big under Harsin, they’ll say, but you’ll be treated poorly in the process. That might not be fair to Harsin, as other players have come to his public defense, but once the perception is out there, it almost doesn’t matter. Harsin has now been portrayed as a no-fun coach who doesn’t have good relationships with his players and has created a bad culture, a reputation that will be difficult for him to shake.
Is it salvageable? It doesn’t feel like it. Harsin is steadfast in wanting to be Auburn’s head coach, as my colleague Nubyjas Wilborn has reported the last few days, but it is difficult to imagine him having enough success in 2022 to win over enough support to keep his job long-term. It would just be delaying the inevitable. Harsin is digging in, but at this point, it really should just come down to money. What is the most Auburn is willing to pay? What is the least Harsin is willing to accept? If those numbers overlap, a deal can be struck.
If Auburn fires Harsin without case, it will owe him more than $18 million. When you add in Malzahn’s buyout, Auburn would be paying nearly $40 million to two different men not to coach before it even hires a new coach. If Auburn’s investigation into Harsin turns up enough credible information that supports mistreatment claims, it could fire him with cause and owe him nothing. The middle ground is where Auburn and Harsin can agree to a reduced buyout, perhaps a lump sum that wouldn’t be mitigated by future income, to allow Harsin to start over somewhere else.
Regardless of the path Auburn takes, the destination should be the same. There is simply too much speculation, too much negativity and too many hurt feelings to reasonably turn back now. The coaches, players and fans all deserve clarity as soon as Auburn can provide it.
John Talty is the sports editor and SEC Insider for Alabama Media Group. You can follow him on Twitter @JTalty. Want more SEC stories like this straight to your inbox? Sign up for the Inside College Football with John Talty newsletter here.