Bryan Harsin

Published: Oct. 31, 2022, 11:59 a.m.. Bryan Harsin. Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin reacts to a play during the second half of an ...

The death knell came in the form of Saturday’s double-digit loss to the Razorbacks, which dropped the Tigers to 3-10 in the last calendar year and brought an end to a coaching tenure that was uncomfortable, unfounded and ultimately didn’t work. Two uneven performances against opponents from the FCS and Group of 5 to open the season, followed by a humiliating loss to Penn State that marked the program’s worst at home in a decade. After an eight-day investigation and uncertainty about whether Harsin would see a Year 2, Auburn announced its decision to retain the coach, with Gogue releasing a statement on the matter, explaining that it “would have been an abdication of the university’s responsibilities” to not investigate concerns raised about the football program. The year was capped with a loss to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl, which solidified the program’s first losing season since 2012 and its first five-game losing streak to end a season since 1950. Harsin struggled to recruit at a consistently high level at Auburn, which only widened the gap between the Tigers and their rivals in the upper echelon of the league. Before Harsin could reshuffle his staff, though, he had to endure the university-led inquiry into his handling of the program. Greene, in a power play, seized control of the search and ultimately landed on Harsin, who went 69-19 in seven seasons as Boise State’s head coach but who had no ties to the region, much less experience coaching in the SEC. Defensive line coach Nick Eason left for his alma mater, Clemson, and edge coach/special teams coordinator Bert Watts left for a job with the Denver Broncos. Harsin’s tenure on the Plains lasted just more than 22 months, and he finishes with a 9-12 record at Auburn that included a 4-11 mark against Power 5 opponents. At the time, Harsin was referring to the February inquiry into his handling of Auburn’s football program, but as time wore on, it was apparent those same words aptly summed up his stint as the Tigers’ head coach, which abruptly ended Monday following a 41-27 loss to Arkansas that dropped the Tigers below .500 for the first time since 2012. The former Boise State coach was lured away from his alma mater by then-athletics director Allen Greene during a coaching search that played out like a high-stakes game of tug-of-war between influential Auburn boosters and Greene and then-president Dr. “President Roberts made the decision after a thorough review and evaluation of all aspects of the football program.