Few in Jonesboro Surprised Harsin May Get Fired at Auburn
It apparently hasn't taken long for Auburn folks to figure out Bryan Harsin.
Only a year after being tabbed to replace Gus Malzahn, multiple reports are coming out that "it's over for Bryan Harsin at Auburn," according to Joseph Goodman at AL.com.
A lot of people over in Jonesboro have honestly been wondering how it took that long for it to happen.
They had their fill of Harsin at Arkansas State in less than a year and a source said he was there when athletics director Terry Mohajir told him he was out.
"Oh, (Harsin) was going to be fired," the source said. "I was standing right there when Terry told him after he had to go get him for a press conference."
Jeff Blake / USA TODAY Sports
Nelson Chenault/USA TODAY Images
With Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin, it's hard to tell if the next phone call is to invite him to his new job or to tell him to clean out his office at his current one. (Vasha Hunt / USA TODAY Sports)
Marvin Gentry / USA TODAY Sports
At the end of a tumultuous season, Harsin had blown off a press conference after he had ditched a postgame radio appearance and Mohajir had to go get him at his house.
It was not a pleasant conversation, according to some folks who were there.
ASU avoided the whole firing issue when Boise State picked Harsin, who had been Chris Petersen's offensive coordinator before going to Jonesboro.
All of this makes you wonder exactly who did the vetting for Auburn when they were looking for somebody to take over for Malzahn. They picked Harsin.
Now they may have to pay $18 million to get rid of him. Don't pay attention to the talk about an affair. That's never the real reason anybody gets fired, just a convenient contributing factor that lets athletic directors win the press conference.
Harsin was the pick because Auburn may be the most dysfunctional place in the SEC.
Throwing a jerk like Harsin into that mix was a lit match near a gas can. It was really just a matter of time before it blew up.
There are some in the coaching fraternity already making excuses for Harsin's failures down on The Plains, laying the blame at the university's feet.
All of that might be possible to swallow if not for the wave of players leaving the program followed by a race by the assistant coaches to get out of Auburn.
The second offensive coordinator Harsin hired quit six weeks into the job. Defensive coordinator Derek Mason took a $400,000 pay cut to leave for Oklahoma State.
You can bet your last nickel when an assistant football coach walks away from nearly a half-million a year there's more to it than anybody knows.
All anybody had to do, apparently, was contact some folks at Arkansas State.
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