Auburn Tigers football coach Bryan Harsin, who has not been able to secure a contract extension with the university despite winning three conference championships in the last four years, said he’s “not planning on going anywhere” at this point. Poor performance and recruiting woes have led many to speculate that Harsin would take his talents elsewhere if given an offer. But after being linked as a potential candidate for several jobs around college football, including Arkansas State and Oklahoma State, it appears that Harsin will stay put for now
Auburn Tigers football coach Bryan Harsin ‘not planning on going anywhere’ amid program’s volatility. Coach Harsin has been with the Auburn Tigers since 2013 and is currently in his third season at the helm.
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Senior Writer for ESPN- Reporter for college football
- In 2007, he began working for ESPN.com.
- The University of Tennessee has awarded me a bachelor’s degree.
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Pete Thamel is a character in the film Pete Thamel
Senior Writer for ESPNWhile university officials examine Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin’s troubles amid a player and coach exodus, Harsin told ESPN he’s dedicated to the institution for the long haul.
Harsin, who is in his second season, told ESPN in a long interview late Thursday night, “I’m the Auburn coach, and that’s how I operate every day.” “I want this to succeed, and I’ve made it clear to our players and everyone else that there is no Plan B. I have no intention of leaving. This was and continues to be the job. That’s why I left my previous job to come here and turn this facility into a championship program, leaving it in better shape than I found it.”
Harsin, who is on vacation outside of the nation, said he hasn’t had any interactions with Auburn officials that indicate he won’t return for the 2022 season.
According to ESPN, while he attempts to complete the rebuilding of his staff, university authorities are looking into the causes that led to the departure of 20 players and five assistant coaches.
At a board of trustees meeting on Friday, Auburn president Jay Gogue remarked, “There have been a lot of whispers and conjecture concerning our football program.” “I just want you to know that we’re trying to figure out what’s true and what’s not. We’ll keep you updated and make the best choice possible when the time comes.”
Upper-level Auburn officials, including executive vice president and chief operations officer Lt. Gen. Ron Burgess, have held talks with some of the departing employees, according to ESPN sources. According to ESPN, the investigation stems from the program’s general instability and Harsin’s handling of players and assistant coaches.
One insider told ESPN, “It all comes down to individuals and how they were abused.” “There’s a reason why so many people have abandoned ship. You don’t see so many individuals on a single school leave, much alone in a single year. It’s a shambles.”
Burgess and Greene, the athletic director, did not reply to calls for comment.
“Coach Harsin has the proper attitude for a winner but has a bad perspective as a person,” Lee Hunter, who moved from Auburn to UCF this summer, said on Instagram on Friday. “The reason I opted to leave Auburn was because we were treated like we weren’t good enough and like dogs,” he wrote.
Harsin reacted angrily to any insinuation that he abused coaches or players, pointing out that coaches and players leave for a variety of reasons. He covered anything from a coach getting a new job or departing for personal reasons to a coach not living up to expectations to a player leaving because he was a distraction to the team or was wooed by another institution.
“Any assault on my character is a load of nonsense,” Harsin said. “None of it describes me.”
According to one ESPN source: “In the locker room, there are a few youngsters that like him. What are we going to do if he is fired? Auburn would lose two or three years as a result.”
On Friday, Auburn linebackers Chandler Wooten, who is going to the NFL, and Derick Hall, who led the Tigers in sacks and tackles last season, came to Twitter to support Harsin.
“We didn’t need a best friend, we needed a coach,” Wooten said on Facebook.
We didn’t need a closest buddy; instead, we required a coach, which we had.
February 4, 2022 — Chandler Wooten (@ItsMeWootang)
Defended security On Instagram Live, NFL draft hopeful Smoke Monday said: “Bryan Harsin has never spoken to my mother or father since he was hired. He probably has no idea who they are. How can you explain it as a coach?”
Harsin said he’s had trouble getting clarification from school authorities on the contract numbers for his available offensive coordinator position, one of three on his staff following his first season.
“This is the place I’d want to be.” Harsin said, “This is what I want to accomplish.” “That’s why I came here,” says the narrator. I didn’t come to this place to fail. We have to develop something, and right now I feel like there are a lot of factors working against me when you hear some of these things.
“Without a doubt, I’m the best candidate for the position. There is no denying it. No one has a better strategy than I do, but we need to make some adjustments. Unless we make certain changes, this place will never be a championship program. You must support and allow the head coach be the head coach.”
Auburn went 6-7 in Harsin’s first season, but finished the season with a five-game losing streak that included a blowout loss to Texas A&M, a collapse against Mississippi State and a stunning loss to South Carolina.
If Harsin is dismissed without reason, the cost of buying out his Auburn contract is $18.3 million, with 70 percent of the money guaranteed for the remaining five years of his deal.
Harsin transferred from Boise State following the 2020 season, where he won more than 78 percent of his games in seven years. However, the transfer to Auburn hasn’t been smooth, since there have been issues in putting together a staff and keeping the roster up to date.
A source informed ESPN that those connected to Auburn’s legal affairs have been seeking out for explanations as to why there has been a staff exodus and why there have been so many difficulties inside the program.
Another person close to Auburn officials told ESPN, “It was almost like they were creating a case beforehand.”
Auburn has a history of being one of the SEC’s most impatient football schools, as proven by previous coach Gene Chizik’s dismissal in 2012, only two seasons after winning the national championship. After sacking previous coach Gus Malzahn last year, when Auburn finished 6-4 in the regular season, the institution owed him about $21.5 million.
This investigation of Harsin occurs at a time when the university is in the midst of a presidential transition, and Greene is the only Power 5 athletic director in the last year of his five-year contract.
Auburn sports decisions are often determined at levels above the athletic department, and Greene’s contract status just emphasizes that perception. Harsin’s appointment was significant for Greene’s ability to conduct a conventional search, which included fighting off an outside push for interim coach Kevin Steele.
According to ESPN, “the same folks who didn’t want to employ [Harsin] now want to dismiss him.”
According to the public agenda, the Auburn board of trustees is not slated to address Harsin’s future until after two days of planned sessions.
Following the regular season, Harsin dismissed offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Derek Mason, the defensive coordinator, departed for the same post at Oklahoma State. After six weeks on the job, Bobo’s replacement, former Seattle Seahawks assistant Austin Davis, quit for personal reasons earlier this week.
On Friday, Jeff Schmedding, who was just elevated to defensive coordinator to replace Mason, expressed his support for Harsin on Twitter.
Schmedding tweeted, “@CoachHarsin and this crew are raising men of character.” “Block out the background noise and go to work, hard labor. #WarEagle.”
This staff, led by @CoachHarsin, is developing men of character. Block off the background noise and go to work, hard labor. #WarEagle is a hashtag for a war eagle.
February 4, 2022 — Jeff Schmedding (@SchmeddingJeff)
Since Harsin’s inaugural season, twenty players have departed the program. Bo Nix, a famous legacy recruit who departed for Oregon, was one of them. Harsin also lost two additional assistants in addition to the three coordinators. During the season, defensive line coach Nick Eason departed for Clemson, while wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams was dismissed by Harsin.
“There was a complete disconnect,” an insider said.
During the first season, like with most coaching transitions, there will be attrition among players and coaches. Harsin said that he has made it clear to the players who have remained that he does not intend to quit, at least not of his own own.
Following the season, there were stories linking Harsin to head-coaching searches at Oregon and Washington, but Harsin informed ESPN that he never spoke with either institutions.
Harsin added, “I’ll tell you what I told our players: I didn’t come to Auburn to leave.” “It’s one of the best jobs in the nation.” You’re in the SEC, and you’ve got the tools to succeed. I didn’t come to Auburn looking for a new job. I would have remained exactly where I was. When [linebacker] Owen Pappoe inquired about it, I told him that.
“That is the information I want people to have about me. I’m dedicated and will do all I can to make this place the best it can be, and all I want in return is for the same level of support.”
This story was co-written by ESPN reporters Mark Schlabach and Adam Rittenberg.
The “alabama football” is a story about how the Auburn Tigers football coach Bryan Harsin ‘not planning on going anywhere’ amid program’s volatility.
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