Officials at Auburn are reviewing the first year of the Bryan Harsin era amid the transfer of 20 players and departure of five assistant coaches, and whether the football coach returns for a second season suddenly seems in question.
“There have been a lot of rumors and speculation about our football program,” Auburn president Jay Gogue said at a board of trustees meeting Friday. “I just want you know we’re trying to separate fact from fiction. We’ll keep you posted and make the appropriate decision at the right time.”
Earlier this week, Auburn offensive coordinator Austin Davis left the program just a month after getting hired — the latest question mark within the program. Among the players to transfer were quarterback Bo Nix, a three-year starter, and veteran running back Shaun Shivers.
ESPN reported that high-ranking administrators at Auburn have spoken with some of the people who have departed the university. Harsin’s treatment of players and assistant coaches seems to be the focus.
Harsin told ESPN in an interview late Thursday that players and coaches left for a variety of reasons, including better opportunities to play with another program or a a new job. He refuted accusations of mistreatment.
“Any attack on my character is bulls—,” Harsin said. “None of that is who I am.”
Former and current players have started to take sides in the matter, sharing their experiences with Harsin on social media on Friday.
Lee Hunter, a defensive lineman, is one of them. One of the top commits in the 2021 class, he transferred to UCF, coached by Gus Malzahn, whom Harsin replaced.
He said he left Auburn “because we got treated like we wasn’t good enough and like dogs,” adding Harsin “has the true mindset for a winner but has a terrible mindset as a person.”
Safety Smoke Monday, who declared for the NFL draft, backed up Hunter’s post.
“Love auburn to death but this is real and true and I was at auburn for 4 years and it never felt like how it felt this past season. … he (Harsin) truly don’t understand kids that come from nothing,” Monday responded to Hunter.
Derick Hall, a defensive end, threw his support behind his coach and told the Auburn community not to believe what they were hearing and reading.
“We are behind him 100% no matter what’s being said,” Hall tweeted. “Great man of character who loves this team.”
Chandler Wooten, a linebacker entering the draft, agreed.
“We didn’t need a best friend we needed a coach … that’s what we had,” he posted to social media.
The Tigers finished 6-7 last year in Harsin’s first season, hired after a successful tenure at Boise State that included a 69-19 record.
He told ESPN he intends to be back for a second season.
“I’m the Auburn coach, and that’s how I’m operating every day,” Harsin, 45, said. “I want this thing to work, and I’ve told our players and told everybody else there is no Plan B. I’m not planning on going anywhere. This was and is the job. That’s why I left the one I was in, to come here and make this place a championship program and leave it better than I found it.”
One source told ESPN it might not be that simple for Harsin.
“It all gets back to people and the way they were mistreated,” one source told ESPN. “There’s a reason so many people have left. You just don’t see that many people at one school leave, not in one year. It’s a mess.”
–Field Level Media