The destructive self-sabotaging behavior of the Auburn Board of Trustees (though they deny it) this past offseason may have done irreversible damage to Auburn football HC Bryan Harsin’s recruiting pitch — particularly during the current recruiting cycle.
Harsin had to defend his character against unfounded claims while dissenting players had an amplified voice amidst an exodus of outbound transfers via the portal. It doesn’t get much worse for a coach who ended up keeping his job.
While the Auburn Board of Trustees wanted to fire Harsin with cause and find an immediate replacement, there was no cause. Harsin is back, and it’s clear he wants to be. Predictably, though, the issues engulfing the Auburn football program have been used against them by other coaching staffs.
According to one SEC coach who spoke with AthlonSports, the Tigers are nursing ‘self-inflicted’ wounds this offseason from this past February’s inquiry into the program:
"“You could argue a lot of the wounds they’re nursing are self-inflicted by both the head coach and the people around the program. It certainly drove coaches and players out of the program, and it absolutely made it easier to recruit against them.”"
Auburn football HC Bryan Harsin may end up better off because of the inquiry
To quote the enigmatic Kanye West, ‘that that don’t kill me can only make me stronger’. Since Bryan Harsin’s leash is almost as short as the Chick Fil-A line on Sundays, the rest of Kanye’s quote applies here too (I need you to hurry up now ’cause I can’t wait much longer).
Six wins is not sustainable on the Plains, especially in the wake of Gus Malzahn being fired having coached the Tigers to a winning season every year he spent as the head coach of Auburn football. Positive on-field results is mandatory in 2022. Otherwise, other coaches will have to find a new spin on the recruiting trail not aimed at the embarrassing offseason inquiry that nearly sunk the Bryan Harsin era on the Plains.