Auburn fired coach Brian Hassing after a 41-27 loss to Arkansas on Monday, ending an awkward and unsuccessful tenure in the Plains. Harsin was relieved as the Tigers are two games under .500 to 3-5 this season, the program has lost 10 of their last 13 games and nine of their last 10 games, which is a major draw for the Tigers. going back to last season.
“Auburn University has decided to change the leadership of the Auburn University football program,” the school said in a statement. “President Christopher Roberts made the decision after a thorough review and assessment of all aspects of the football program. Auburn will immediately begin a search for a coach who will bring the Auburn program back to a place that consistently competes at the highest level and represents Auburn The winning tradition of football.”
Harsin went 9-12 (4-9 seconds) in less than two full seasons after taking over from Gus Malzahn in the 2020 campaign. Marzan went 67-35 (38.27) in eight seasons at Auburn.
Despite only a year at The Plains, Harsin entered the 2022 season in one of the hottest seats in the country. After a 6-7 debut in 2021 that ended a five-game losing streak, school power brokers are trying to stage a coup to oust Hassing. Frustration with roster and coaching staff turnover, and Hassing’s failure to sign a player on the traditional national signing day in February, sparked a week-long saga with reports linked to the Auburn sports department. Powerful people try to fire Hassing for reasons. The move will allow those in power to avoid paying the roughly $15 million buyout.
The effort ultimately failed. Auburn kept Hassing in his second season, though he was by no means a solid foundation. In August, Alan Green, the athletic director who played a major role in hiring Harsin, announced he was withdrawing from the program. Harsin’s survival becomes more fragile as the Tigers need to hire a new AD.
Auburn is processing Hire Mississippi Ad John Cohen According to multiple reports, serving the same role.
Hassing did little to quell the rising tensions in Year 2. Auburn beat San Jose State by just 8 points in Week 2, a win before a home loss to Penn State and an overtime win over Missouri on a touchdown. Wild victory. . The Tigers followed, with consecutive losses to LSU, Georgia, Olemis and Arkansas, leaving Hassing to pack.
A former quarterback at Boise State, Harsin, 45, arrived at Auburn after a successful alma mater, where he went 69-19 and won three Mountain West titles. His stint in Boise comes after a season as a coach at Arkansas State, where he went 7-5 in 2013 and won his share of the Sun Belt Championship.
The product has degraded to unsustainable levels
When Marzan coached the Tigers, they were at least competitive. At best, they are national title contenders. At worst, they’re a mid-sized SEC team. Under Harsin, the floor fell like a stone in more than a year. It was the worst Auburn team since 2012 when the team went 3-9 and the SEC went 0-8. Defense ranks 11th in the SEC in defensive yards per game (5.74), total defense (407.1 YPG) and points defense (29.9 PPG).
The offense lacks explosiveness, hasn’t developed a first-choice receiver, doesn’t seem to be able to get Tank Bigsby back to the ball in key situations, and struggles to consistently protect the quarterback. As a result, the Tigers are averaging just 22.9 points and converting only 37.38 percent of their 3-point attempts.
At the same time, the lack of effort in the recruiting game is staggering. The Tigers were No. 9 in last cycle’s 247Sports team recruiting rankings, No. 7 in 2021, and are currently No. 12 in the 2023 conference rankings. This is unacceptable in a place like Auburn with so much tradition, passion and available resources.
product of new age
In previous eras, it seemed crazy to fire a coach before he finished his second season. However, this is a very different time. “Project construction” is no longer an effort to crack down on high school hiring. It’s about managing the in and out of the transport portal. It’s about exposure in the world of names, images and likenesses. Hassing didn’t do that.
More than two dozen players have left the program through transfer portals since the start of last season, including just last week when several, including wide receiver Landon King, jumped ship. At the same time, he doesn’t put a lot of impact players on the show. The most notable transfer last offseason was quarterback Zach Calzada, but he hasn’t played once this season after a shoulder injury. What’s more, the overall lack of star power, combined with Auburn’s absence from the national spotlight, didn’t help. So does Hassing.
Time is everything in management
Surprisingly, Harsin wasn’t fired after a 48-34 loss to Ole Miss on Oct. 4. 15 Considering the Tigers are entering bye week. It’s now clear, though, that Roberts is waiting for all his ducks to line up before stamping his signature on the future of the athletics department.
This Reports that surfaced Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen is discussing taking over the same role at Plains, an integral part of the process. It’s unclear whether Cohen was involved in the decision to fire Hassing, but it’s clear that Roberts — who started as Auburn president in May — wants to tear off the bandage and start over.
Having said that, there is no need to leave before this coaching search. The national consensus is that Auburn jobs will open at some point, so coaches, agents and players aren’t surprised by the news. Also, Auburn’s candidate list is unlikely to be the same as the schools that currently have job openings — namely Nebraska and Wisconsin.