Harsin out

AU 247

The university announced Monday it has fired its head football coach after just one full season for Harsin on the Plains and an unsightly 3-5 start in Year 2. He was hired in December 2020 to replace Gus Malzahn.

Auburn is expected to hire Mississippi State's John Cohen later in the day as its new athletic director.

"President Roberts made the decision after a thorough review and evaluation of all aspects of the football program," the university said in a release. "Auburn will begin an immediate search for a coach that will return the Auburn program to a place where it is consistently competing at the highest levels and representing the winning tradition that is Auburn football."

Harsin's buyout is 70% of the remaining amount on his contract — approximately $15.3 million, with half due to be paid within 30 days, followed by four annual payments of the remainder. Auburn spent and will continue to spend close to $21.5 million on Malzahn's buyout from the end of the 2020 season.

In February, Harsin's job security at Auburn began to come into question, as he became the subject of an investigation by university leadership. An ESPN report said the subject of scrutiny for Harsin was the "overall volatility in the program and Harsin's treatment of players and assistant coaches,” and that many of the assertions against his leading the program stemmed from exit interviews by Auburn leadership with players and coaches who are no longer with the team.

Harsin was in Mexico on vacation during the early stages of the dispute between he and Auburn, with Harsin saying “any attack on my character is bullsh--t.” He told ESPN he was not given any indication that his job could be in jeopardy before he left for a planned vacation after the February signing period.

In a statement, Auburn said it was "judiciously collecting information from a variety of perspectives, including our student-athletes, and moving swiftly to understand any issues in accordance with university policies and procedures."

Auburn's program was thrust into a holding pattern, with coaches and players encouraged to continue business as usual with winter workouts, while completely unsure of their immediate futures with the program. After a week in limbo, Harsin was retained.

Hired after seven seasons at Boise State, his alma mater, where he produced a 69-19 overall record with three Mountain West championships, Harsin went 6-7 in Year 1 at Auburn — the program's first losing season since 2012.

Auburn rose as high as No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings in October after a 6-2 start before losing five straight games. The Tigers blew a double-digit lead in three straight losses to Mississippi State, South Carolina and Alabama.

This season, after a 24-16 scare against San Jose State, Auburn was dealt its worst home loss in a decade when it was smacked by Penn State, 41-12 in Week 3. It then had a miracle win over Missouri, blew a 17-point lead in a home loss against LSU, suffered its worst loss in a decade against Georgia, saw a six-game winning streak over Ole Miss snapped in Oxford, then had another six-game winning streak broken in a 41-27 home loss to Arkansas.

Harsin's Auburn tenure ends with a 4-11 record against Power Five opponents, including losses in nine of his last 10 such matchups, and seven of his last eight SEC games. Harsin is 3-10 in his last 13 games at Auburn overall.

In Harsin's first offseason, 19 scholarship players transferred out of Auburn, including three-year starting quarterback and Auburn legacy Bo Nix.

Additionally, Harsin turned over six assistant coaches since the start of the 2021 season. Wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams was fired four games into the 2021 campaign; offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was fired after the regular season; defensive line coach Nick Eason left for the same job at Clemson; outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Bert Watts left for an assistant role with the Denver Broncos; defensive coordinator Derek Mason left for Oklahoma State; and offensive coordinator Austin Davis resigned 44 days after being hired this past offseason "for personal reasons."

Auburn's first full recruiting class under Harsin ranked ninth in the SEC and No. 21 nationally, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. His 2023 class, with 11 commitments, ranks No. 49 nationally and third-to-last in the SEC.