Over one week since the whole mess started, Bryan Harsin is still standing as Auburn football’s head coach. Ugly rumors have flown around the Plains, the administration and Board of Trustees have launched an official investigation, and interviews were conducted with current and former players and staff members, but there is still no concrete answer as to whether or not Coach Harsin will be fired.
The Auburn football community has been on hold for days, with the program trying to continue to operate as normally as possible despite the confusion as to what is going on while gaining attention on a national scale. Did Bryan Harsin actually do anything wrong? Is it going to be impossible to recruit players to the Plains after this saga?
More importantly, who is going to coach the Auburn football team in the 2022 season? Spring practice is right around the corner and the school is running out of time to find an entirely new coaching staff. According to ESPN’s Cole Cubelic, it’s likely that Harsin is retained:
Must find a way for everyone to attempt to put this behind them & move forward to help all parties reconcile & find a way to work together towards competing for championships. Will not be easy. Divisiveness cannot continue.
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) February 11, 2022
While there is most certainly divisiveness among the coaching staff, the athletic department, the administration, and the Board of Trustees, the good news is that the actual student-athletes seem to be united in their support for their coach. No matter what the school or the BoT throws at Harsin, it is extremely important that he has the support of the kids he will be coaching.
There is no doubt that this investigation has created a giant mess for the Auburn football program, but the more time passes the more likely it seems that Bryan Harsin is on board for 2022.