Auburn football has moved on from former head coach Bryan Harsin, but Tiger fans have long been moved on from the Boise native before his dismissal was made official on Halloween this past Monday.
Harsin’s reputation for losing close games, forged from his initial season on the Plains, dissipated this season amidst a 3-5 start. While his Tigers fought hard but ultimately fell short to Penn State, Alabama, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Houston during the 2021 season, he was blown out in all but one of the team’s losses this season — and the other loss saw a 17-point lead blown to LSU.
It was probably time to move on from Harsin weeks ago, but the cord has been cut and the coaching search can now commence. Following a day of processing that his time in East Central Alabama is coming to an end, Harsin released a statement on November 1 thanking the program and admitting that the resources are there for Auburn football to be a perennial winner with the interesting caveat that complete alignment is necessary.
Some Tiger fans left with a positive parting message:
Wishing you and your family the best @CoachHarsin! #WarEagle 💙🧡🦅 https://t.co/GLO6TqMeCY
— Devan21 🧡💙🦅 (@dev_music21) November 1, 2022
Sorry it didn’t work out @CoachHarsin. You still have the best dad bod in the game! Best of luck to you and your family. 🧡💙 https://t.co/UEYze7dkbj
— Kerrigan (@KerriJMack) November 1, 2022
All class! We are sad this did not work out, as we would be with anyone who chooses us. Thank you for your efforts and best of luck to you, @CoachHarsin! #WarEagle https://t.co/vETrx72na9
— E2C Network: The Auburn Experience (@E2C_Network) November 1, 2022
Happy Birthday, @CoachHarsin! Thank you for your time at Auburn. Wishing all the best to you and your family! https://t.co/3IfRUsII8i
— Chanda Fikes 🦚 (@ChandaFikesAU) November 1, 2022
This is a very good and welcome statement from Bryan Harsin. We’ll see if it was genuine or not when the inevitable no-named-sources Pete Thamel notebook dump story arrives.https://t.co/PHmU1FAXUx
— Will Collier (@willcollier) November 1, 2022
Good luck on your future endeavors coach! Now let’s get back to the Auburn Standard! War Eagle 💪🏻🦅🐅 https://t.co/aEYFpxUWWE
— Reynolds Smith (@AvidAuburnTiger) November 1, 2022
And some, not so much…(WARNING: NSFW LANGUAGE)
Crazy how the first four words describes every Auburn fan watching him coach the past two seasons https://t.co/mFOIaRls1i
— Michael Wester II (@mikewazowski_13) November 1, 2022
If that was you pouring your heart and soul into this, you need to find something else to do. https://t.co/Uu8rp1YgHu
— Drewbert (@Drewbert_5) November 1, 2022
“Poured my heart and soul into this program” https://t.co/mhaVSqjooV pic.twitter.com/JAzweihjVS
— Reid Stewart (@Reid__Stewart) November 1, 2022
— Brrrr 🥶❄️ (@nextyrforsure) November 1, 2022
Had he taken such a humble approach from the jump, things may have gone differently.
— Summers (@m_summers_81) November 1, 2022
Statements like this always leave me in a state of 🤷🏻♂️, as I’m glad to see him go, but I never want to see anyone hurt. https://t.co/k2oKGt2DYQ
Bryan Harsin has options after Auburn football
Arizona State and Colorado are two programs previously linked to Bryan Harsin even ahead of his firing, and Boise State could always phone the long-time Broncos head coach and alum should their season go sideways like their 2021 campaign did.
Harsin will have plenty of options during his post-Auburn football career because of what he had accomplished before then. His 6-2 start to the 2021 season leading the Tigers and his four career conference championships with Arkansas State and Boise State ensures that he’ll have somewhere to land after a newsworthy (and not all for the right reasons) tenure on the Plains.