Hugh Freeze's Auburn football program hit a low point on November 18, 2023, when the Tigers lost to New Mexico State, 31-10, at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Everyone had something to say about the loss, including perhaps the person least qualified to mock AU, Bryan Harsin.
“HARD WORK BEATS TALENT WHEN TALENT DOESN’T WORK HARD," Harsin posted on Instagram in the aftermath, speaking ill of some of the players he recruited to the Plains, as well as the rest of Freeze's roster.
Harsin's pettiness was likened to that of a scorned lover by AL.com's Michael Casagrande.
"It’s the kind of thing you’d expect from a scorned lover or a high school crush," Casagrande prefaced before saying, "Instead, it was a passive aggressive comment from a coach paid a $15.3 million buyout after being fired midway through his second season with a 9-12 record."
Bryan Harsin has been petty about Auburn football exit despite $15.3 million buyout
Auburn fans understand time travel isn't a thing and that one cannot go back and make sure Allen Greene IV never deferred to an agency to help him find Gus Malzahn's replacement. Or hopped into a hot tub with Harsin to discuss the job, as has been floated but not corroborated by participating party.
Harsin is the ghost of Auburn football who refuses to stop haunting the program after he was paid handsomely ($15.3 million) to go away. Given his perceived mistreatment by the local media, which is half-true, and fans, it appears Harsin is holding a grudge.
As long as he continues to kick Tiger fans when they're done, like after a bad loss to a Group of 5 program, he'll be the most hated man on the Plains.
It speaks volumes Harsin has that title over any Alabama Crimson Tide coach, but here we are.