After putting together his inaugural staff for Auburn football in 2020 and not having the season he wanted in 2021, head coach Bryan Harsin has seen a lot of changeup in his coaching staff heading into his second year on the Plains.
The first to fall was wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams, who was let go mid-season and replaced by former Boise State staffer Eric Kiesau. Immediately following the end of the 2021 regular season, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was dismissed. His replacement came in former Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Austin Davis.
Next, defensive line coach Nick Eason announced he would be returning to his alma mater to coach defensive tackles and coordinate the run game, and Jimmy Brumbaugh was hired to take over his position on the Plains.
Soon after, Derek Mason announced he would be stepping down from his position as defensive coordinator. Bryan Harsin brought in former Florida linebackers coach and interim defensive coordinator Christian Robinson to cover the LBs and promoted Jeff Schmedding to defensive coordinator.
All the staffing changes after just one year seemed to set off warning bells for some Auburn football fans, but it’s clear that the players and coaches have complete faith in Schmedding to run the Tigers’ defense. Senior leader Chandler Wooten shared his feelings about Schmedding on Twitter following the program’s official announcement:
My guy 💙 https://t.co/XzPGC5l0iL
— Chandler Wooten (@ItsMeWootang) January 25, 2022
But the praise didn’t stop with Wooten. Former Auburn linebacker Zakoby McClain praised Schmedding’s coaching before it was even announced he would be stepping into the DC role, per the Locked on Auburn podcast:
"“I love Coach Schmedding…he’s very good, he helped me a lot. He helped me understand defense more, and like understand my job more.”"
According to Coach Harsin, Schmedding worked closely alongside Derek Mason in developing the defense and will be successful in his new position, per On3 Sports:
"“Coach Schmedding was at Coach Mason’s side day after day getting our defense prepared and ready. He is a tremendous defensive coach, who has coordinated championship defenses and is a proven winner. I know our defense will take the next steps forward under Coach Schmedding’s leadership.”"
Despite the many coaching changes Auburn football has dealt with during this offseason, it’s clear that Bryan Harsin is consistently making moves towards improving the program.