The Auburn University football team went into halftime on Saturday trailing the Arkansas Razorbacks in a tight game. The visiting Razorbacks came out at halftime and completely dominated Auburn. Auburn got two late scores to make the 41 to 27 game closer than it appeared, but Auburn fans had already begun leaving the stadium by the thousands. New University President Chris Roberts and the decision makers at Auburn had seen enough, and on Monday, the decision was announced that head football coach Bryan Harsin was fired.
Last year’s team finished 6 and 6 and went to a bowl game in Birmingham. After losses to Penn State, Ole Miss, LSU, and Arkansas and poor play in victories over Mercer, San Jose State, and Missouri that were often more disturbing for Auburn fans than the losses, it was apparent that year two of the Harsin era was not going to even approach the low bar set in 2020 that resulted in an attempted coup and formal investigation of the football program by the outgoing administration.
Athletics Director Allen Greene, who hired Harsin, left in August when it was apparent that his contract was not going to be renewed.
On Monday, Auburn announced that new AD John Cohen will make $1.5 million a year. The first act of his tenure was firing Harsin and beginning the search for Auburn’s next football coach.
Harsin was hired by Greene just 22 months ago over booster’s objections, who preferred former defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. The fans and boosters never really rallied behind Harsin, the former Boise State Coach; but a losing record, two horrid recruiting classes, spats with assistant coaches, and an exodus of talented players out of the transfer portal meant that Harsin never gave the Auburn faithful much to cheer about. Roberts and the leadership made the decision that the program could not realistically let Harsin coach out his six-year $31.5 million contract so it was better to end the Harsin era now rather than waiting to the end of November to begin the coaching search.
“Auburn University has decided to make a change in the leadership of the Auburn University football program,” the University said in a statement on Monday. “President Roberts made the decision after a thorough review and evaluation of all aspects of the football program. Auburn will begin an immediate search for a coach that will return the Auburn program to a place where it is consistently competing at the highest levels and representing the winning tradition that is Auburn football.”
As of press time, the University has not announced who will be the interim coach.
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