Did the PtB not know Harsin would be radically different?

I heard this morning Cubelic and McElroy talk about the coaching tree and philosophy that Harsin comes from. Chris Petersen and the “Boise” way was to find “OKGs” or “our kind of guys.” Recruiting was less about impressing the hottest, highest rated recruits and more so about finding guys that could be molded into competitive players that fit the culture and system. Some coaches take top rated guys no matter what because pipelines, hype, and character risks are worth taking the chance on top talent even if they don’t really fit. But the Petersen philosophy is to take the right guys and not worry about star ratings.

It seems like this was already known about Harsin. No one had a stellar report about his recruiting prowess at Boise. Certainly a search committee would know his philosophy on recruiting prior to coming to Auburn. It might help explain some of the recruiting “woes.” Harsin was recruiting the South differently than anyone else.

I’m not saying it’s a good plan to take such an approach, but it seems odd that anyone would be surprised by his different way of doing things. He skipped the Georgia shindig because for him, it’s not part of his recruiting plan.

If we hired him to do HIS thing, it seems reckless and foolish to fire him for doing what he was hired to do.

Maybe we just realized it’s such a risk that it’s worth cutting ties early. Or maybe Harsin is a total crook that was breaking laws and needs to be fired for cause.

But it’s definitely lunacy to hire this guy and not give him some time to accomplish his goals.