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Auburn football: Paul Finebaum tabs 2022 as do or die season for Bryan Harsin

By Andrew Hughes

Paul Finebaum implied that the 2022 Auburn football season will be make or break for Bryan Harsin. Mandatory Credit: The Montgomery Advertiser
Paul Finebaum implied that the 2022 Auburn football season will be make or break for Bryan Harsin. Mandatory Credit: The Montgomery Advertiser /
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Auburn football HC Bryan Harsin was already going to be facing heaps of pressure during the 2022 season after the way the 2021 campaign concluded. One simply doesn’t have a five-game losing streak in November and December and comes away unscathed.

The offseason inquiry into his tenure from the Auburn University Board of Trustees, which ranged from accusations of infidelity and racism towards his players, only put a target on his back and set his coaching seat ablaze.

No wonder, then, that this upcoming season–one in which the Tigers are being projected to finish last in the SEC West by many a pundit–is starting to be labeled as a ‘do or die’ type season for the Boise native.

Paul Finebaum was one of the aforementioned pundits putting the onus on Harsin to win in order to keep his post as the leading voice of the Auburn football locker-room:

"“Now, the question I have is — if the record doesn’t improve dramatically, are the powers that be, who were ready to pull the trigger in January, are they going to say, ‘OK, let’s give this guy a couple more years.’ And based on what I saw in January, I don’t think that’s a true statement. … If that schedule, the first six games don’t go very well for Auburn all of this excitement in April will be for naught.”"

Auburn football HC Bryan Harsin needs to nail his QB choice

It is far from a stretch to say that the Tigers’ 2022 season largely hinges on what Harsin does with the QB position. The offense is a far bigger question mark than the defense for Auburn football.

Tank Bigsby is what he is in the backfield, and Sean Jackson will be a critical piece of the puzzle for AU’s run game. Along with a returning Jarquez Hunter, the RB room will be the focal point of new OC Eric Kiesau’s offense.

This isn’t military academy football, though. Running the ball will only be half the battle.

If the Tigers coaching staff goes with a safe choice over the guy that puts them in the best position to win, this season could be the latter half of the ‘do or die’ label for Bryan Harsin as Auburn’s head coach.

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