With Ed Orgeron announced to be leaving LSU after the conclusion of the 2021 season, several Auburn football coaches could be in the mix to replace him.
To be clear, Bryan Harsin is not one of them. After defeating Arkansas on the road two weeks after doing the same to Coach O’s Tigers in Death Valley–the first time Auburn has done that since 1999–Harsin is just getting started in reshaping the culture at AU.
That said, some of his assistants could be targets for the Louisiana State Tigers if the Plains Tigers keep winning at the rate they are.
At 5-2 and re-entering the AP Top 25, Auburn football is very much alive in the SEC West. They control their destiny and can punch their ticket to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta if they can knock off (in succession) Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, and Alabama in SEC West play. A trap game in Columbia, South Carolina, against the Gamecocks (who barely beat Vanderbilt) is stuffed in between the Iron Bowl and welcoming Hail State, though hopefully not their cowbells, to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
If the Tigers could do the unthinkable in Harsin and co.’s first season in charge, expect money to be thrown at this coaching staff. Unforeseen success should lead to university athletic programs’ pocketbooks opening like the Red Sea did for Moses across the company.
LSU could have interest in a number of coaches on the Tigers sideline currently. Derek Mason comes to mind due to his SEC head coaching experience with Vanderbilt, even if things weren’t hunky dory in Nashville. Zac Etheridge could be an intriguing option considering his strength matches up with LSU’s historically in the secondary. Nick Eason brings NFL coaching experience and is currently overseeing Auburn’s most dominant group on defense.
Coach O’s dismissal means Auburn football coaches could be poached this upcoming offseason
Time will tell, but if Auburn keeps winning like they do, it’s only a matter of time before other programs take notice and poaches their coaches.