Auburn football head coach Bryan Harsin may stick around for the 2022 season simply due to the lack of a clear replacement — this, at least, according to “Always College Football” podcast host and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy.
While talking heads like Paul Finebaum have claimed that Harsin is set to be fired any day now, and McElroy’s former Crimson Tide teammate A.J. McCarron has claimed that the Boise native has already been alerted he’s a lame-duck coach, On3’s Justin Hokanson reported this potential pivot on October 7.
While Auburn football alumni like Cadillac Williams, Zac Etheridge, and Trovon Reed would be popular coaching options among the fanbase, only Williams was mentioned by McElroy as a possible replacement. Eric Kiesau and Jeff Schmedding, two guys that came with Harsin from Boise State, were also mentioned.
Still, McElroy sees none of them as viable, and for that reason, he predicts Harsin sticking around for the rest of the season:
"“In order to make a move on a head coach, you must first understand who the interim’s going to be. Who on Auburn’s staff is capable of being an interim coach. “It’s not like they have a guy that’s like, for sure he can take over that he can run the team at this point. I have heard that people have said it’s likely he finishes the season.”"
The names being linked to the Auburn football head coaching job
There have been a high volume of names linked to the Auburn football head coaching job by the media, and excitement levels vary for each candidate. Lane Kiffin is perhaps the most attractive name of the bunch given the Rebels renaissance he’s inspired in Oxford, but he has already rebuffed the role.
Deion Sanders is another highly popular name, but his insistence that he ‘is SWAC’ following an on-field scuffle with Alabama State head coach Eddie Robinson Jr. and the accusation from Robinson that Prime Time ‘ain’t SWAC,’ makes it less likely he’ll make the Power Five jump just yet.
Hugh Freeze and Matt Rhule are less popular, but perhaps more realistic, candidates for the head coaching job. Still, neither feels all that likely at this point. Once an AD is installed, Auburn football will likely be linked to more realistic names for HC. As of now, we’re likely far from any clarity on the issue.