A sure sign that Bryan Harsin is about to crash and burn at Auburn
Bryan Harsin had an up-and-down first season as the Auburn Tigers' head coach. Auburn knocked off the best Ole Miss team ever, and they nearly beat Alabama. But the Tigers also lost five straight games to end the season. Harsin is a good coach — he had a lot of success at Boise State (69-19 […]
Bryan Harsin had an up-and-down first season as the Auburn Tigers' head coach.
Auburn knocked off the best Ole Miss team ever, and they nearly beat Alabama.
But the Tigers also lost five straight games to end the season.
Harsin is a good coach — he had a lot of success at Boise State (69-19 over seven seasons). But he doesn't feel like a good fit at Auburn. Harsin is an Idaho native who has spent the majority of his career at Boise State (outside of two seasons at Texas and one season at Arkansas State…and a grad assistant year at Eastern Oregon).
There have already been rumors that Harsin has been looking for a way out of Auburn (there were rumblings he was interested in the Washington job). But so far, those have just been rumors.
Is something amiss at Auburn?
On Wednesday, The Athletic's Bruce Feldman reported that Auburn defensive coordinator Derek Mason has emerged as a strong candidate to be the new defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State under Mike Gundy.
This is a giant red flag for Harsin. Auburn shouldn't want to lose Mason. The former Vanderbilt Commodores head coach led the Tigers to the No. 27 scoring defense in the country in 2021 and the No. 4 defense in the SEC in the fewest yards allowed per play.
Mason is absolutely an asset for Harsin and Auburn.
Good SEC defensive coordinators don't leave to become defensive coordinators in the Big 12. They leave to become head coaches.
Another solid year for Mason at Auburn would likely result in another head coaching opportunity for the former Stanford defensive coordinator.
Why would Mason leave Auburn to essentially take a step down the coaching ladder?
The only thing that makes sense is that Mason foresees impending doom at Auburn. He seems a program that's going to plummet in 2022 and he's jumping off the ship before it goes down.
Look, I know some Auburn fans are going to read this and probably say "who the hell is this Zach Ragan clown?"
I get it.
But trust me. As someone who has watched multiple Tennessee Vols coaches fail in spectacular fashion, I know a red flag when I see it. And when good assistants start leaving for jobs that aren't promotions, something isn't right.
Auburn can be a championship program. And maybe Harsin is a championship coach. But that doesn't mean Auburn and Harsin are a good match.
Featured image via Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK
