Auburn football fans saw Bryan Harsin's name pop back up in the rumor mill. And Harsin will always be seen as a failure on the Plains, he has value on the West Coast. Cal is interested in bringing him on as offensive coordinator, and with his play-calling shops -- which were not a weakness with the Tigers, unlike his recruiting, or lack thereof -- comes a pipeline from Boise from years successfully running his alma mater, the BSU Broncos.
Saturday Down South's Sydney Hunte covered Harsin's candidacy with reverence from what the Boise native did on the vaunted blue turf.
"While he struggled at Auburn, he enjoyed a sensational run at Boise State, putting together a 69-19 record in 7 seasons," Hunte wrote.
Boise State's worst season since the 1990s was the year after Harsin left. Andy Avalos had them at 7-5 and got fired after a 5-5 start in his second season. Under Spencer Danielson in 2024, the Broncos are 12-1 and College Football Playoff-bound.
Harsin maintained Boise State's excellence during his time there. It's a talent factory under most coaches, but the Broncos didn't get worse while he was there.
Perhaps a year at Cal as offensive coordinator can be parlayed into a head coaching job on the West Coast. Before long, Harsin could potentially find his way back to Boise State if/when Danielson gets more money to head to the Power 4.
You have to question if Harsin and Berkley are built for each other from a cultural standpoint, but Cal has been bad for so long that taking a chance on the disgraced ex-Auburn coach wouldn't be a downgrade at all. There are inherent positives to hiring him if anything.
How's that for the Calgorithm, Tiger fans? After stunning AU at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Week 2, the Golden Bears may be stuck in the Auburn family's collective psyche indefinitely if Cal hired Harsin.