Auburn football: Paul Finebaum says the fall of Bo Nix was “inevitable”

First-year head coach Bryan Harsin made waves in the Auburn football program in more ways than one this weekend. The buzz started when Harsin pulled third-year starter Bo Nix after halftime and sent in LSU transfer TJ Finley, who then lead the team to a close victory.

The following Sunday, the team took another blow when it was announced that Harsin fired wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams, who was in his first season on the Plains. Though it was clear that the receivers needed immediate improvement, many were shocked by the coaching change.

Throughout his tenure in orange and blue, many have lost faith in Bo Nix’s ability to be a great quarterback. There have been flashes of success and improvement, but after Saturday’s fiasco and TJ Finley’s triumph, there aren’t a lot of people left on the Bo Nix wagon.

Paul Finebaum reacted to the situation at Auburn on the radio show “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” and he did not show a lot of optimism for Nix:

"“From a distance, Cole, I like the fact that he’s willing to move forward and not remain status quo,” Finebaum said. “I think everyone connected to that program knew at some point this season that Bo Nix would be coming out. It was inevitable. I didn’t think it would be this past weekend, but again, nobody could have predicted that."

While it seems a bit harsh on Nix, the fact is that he has had two full years and four games into the 2021 season to improve, and he’s showing that he’s just not good enough. On the other hand, Finebaum was complimentary of Harsin’s decision to take action:

"“You can look at this and say this place is in turmoil, it’s coming apart, or you can look at it, say, you know what, he’s taken a good look after 4 weeks and said, I don’t like what I see,” Harsin said. “I tend to like the fact that he’s done something. Now whether that will mean anything or not remains to be seen. I don’t think you could be bouncing off the walls with optimism after what we all saw Saturday.”"

Whether Bo Nix or TJ Finley will start for Auburn football on Saturday in LSU’s Death Valley remains to be seen, but it’s clear that the quarterback competition is heating up.