Auburn fans shouldn't get too attached to Bryan Harsin in 2022; predicting where Harsin coaches in 2023
The Auburn Tigers announced on Friday that they're bringing Bryan Harsin back as the program's head coach in 2022. "Let me be clear — our university, the administration and the entire Board of Trustees stand behind Coach Harsin and are ready to help him succeed as the leader of our football program,” read a statement […]
The Auburn Tigers announced on Friday that they're bringing Bryan Harsin back as the program's head coach in 2022.
"Let me be clear — our university, the administration and the entire Board of Trustees stand behind Coach Harsin and are ready to help him succeed as the leader of our football program,” read a statement from Auburn president Dr. Jay Gogue on Friday. “It is my hope and expectation that the entire Auburn Family will join us in uniting behind Coach Harsin. With that support, I have no doubt that Auburn football’s best days are ahead.”
That statement is a bizarre ending to a week that started with indelicate rumors surrounding Harsin's personal life and ended with Auburn giving him a vote of confidence as the program's head coach.
A couple of days ago I didn't think there was any way Harsin would be the Tigers' head coach in 2022.
But this was always the best outcome for both parties — at least in 2022.
It's clear that Auburn doesn't want Harsin — otherwise they would've buried these rumors as soon as they emerged on social media (who lends credence to social media rumors?!?!).
I think it's also clear that Harsin doesn't want to be at Auburn. There's a reason he was looking around at other jobs — specifically the Washington job — this past offseason.
But Harsin doesn't want to get fired, either. That would destroy his ability to get another job after the 2022 season.
Auburn, on the other hand, wasn't in a good position to hire a new coach if they fired Harsin in February (plus they didn't want to pay his buyout). It's going to be hard to lure a coach to Auburn after a witch hunt that got the previous coach fired. Just ask the Tennessee Vols, who had a tough time making a hire after they fired Jeremy Pruitt with cause (Tennessee got lucky and hired Josh Heupel, who had an existing relationship with new Vols athletic director Danny White).
Harsin is going to do his best to boost his stock in 2022 with a decent season (a winning record is really all he needs) and then he's probably going to bolt. And Auburn isn't going to try to keep him. They might even waive part of his buyout to make it easier for him to leave.
Auburn would then be in a much better position to hire a head coach from a larger pool of candidates.
Where does Bryan Harsin coach in 2023?
Harsin simply isn't a good fit at Auburn. That's how most national analysts felt when he was hired. And everything that's gone down over the last several months seemingly confirms that he's not a good fit.
Harsin is an Idaho native. He's spent the majority of his career west of the Mississippi. It certainly feels like he's trying to get back to that side of the country.
The former Boise State head coach will have limited options after the 2022 season. It obviously all depends on how the coaching carousel plays out.
One potential opening that I think would be a decent fit for Harsin would be Colorado.
Karl Dorrell was hired to lead the Buffaloes two years ago after Mel Tucker left for Michigan State.
Dorrell is squarely on the hot seat entering the 2022 season. He's 8-10 in his first two seasons (Colorado only played six games in a pandemic shortened 2020 season) and he's had some off-the-field drama. Dorrell was forced to apologize this past October when he shoved a camera while running off the field for seemingly no reason at all.
It's hard to see Dorrell surviving the 2022 season.
Boulder, CO seems like a much better fit for Harsin than Auburn. It's a more low-key job in an area of the country where Harsin is comfortable. If Harsin shoves a camera like Dorrell at Auburn, it's a national story for weeks. When it happens at Colorado, it barely gets any coverage.
That's the kind of job Harsin needs. He's not exactly adept at handling intense media pressure.
It'll certainly be interesting to see how this all plays out in 2022, but I feel comfortable predicting that Harsin won't be Auburn's head coach in 2023.
Featured image via John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
