Podcast hosts slam ESPN article 'victimizing' former Auburn coach Bryan Harsin
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Back to criticizing Auburn during the offseason.
ESPN released a story on May 25th detailing how former Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin was moving on from life at Auburn. He's back in Idaho and living comfortably, enjoying various activities across the country and "thriving" according to Chris Low.
The article can easily be interpreted as an attempt to paint Bryan Harsin as a victim of Auburn's, putting Harsin on record saying that he wasn't going to let being fired eat at him "no matter how (expletive) some of the things were" that he and his family had to endure. The article frames the firing and and paying of upwards of $15 million dollars to Harsin as if the university did a bad thing.
Harsin noted that while during the entire process he saw "some of the worst in people," he harped on how things have changed since he's been let go and how happy he and his family are with what's currently going on in their life.
He also mentioned something he said in his parting statement with the program - complete alignment from the president to the board of trustees to the athletic director is critical to win consistently in the SEC. But "we don't want to make that our problem any longer," Harsin said. "That's Auburn's problem. We've moved on and being home has never felt better."
Zac Blackerby and Darrell Dapprich of the Locked On Auburn Podcast discussed the article on a recent episode and criticized ESPN for the framing of Harsin in the piece.
"They leave out everything," Blackerby said. "They leave out the fact that on recruiting trips the position coaches and the recruiters would have to bring the player to his office, and there would also be instances where the kid would want to meet with Harsin and (the coaches) would be like 'yeah, he's already gone home. Sorry, you don't get to talk to the head coach, you are not awarded that honor.'"
Blackerby continued, questioning the structure of the article in relation to what feels like its initial purpose; to be a hit piece on Auburn.
"It's a ridiculous slant, and it feels like Chris Low... he got halfway through it trying to paint this picture about how Auburn is the bad guy, and it's kind of like he ran out of ammo? The last half of the article is just 'I'm going to put a lot of quotes from Bryan Harsin.'"
Dapprich went on to talk about Harsin's quotes.
"One of the most disingenuous parts of the article is when Bryan Harsin blames his recruiting struggles and 'starting behind the 8 ball' on COVID," Dapprich said. "I get that. He couldn't go on visits... the last two years we weren't locked down. There was no stay at home order... that in itself is a small microcosm of the problem."
"He blamed COVID, and then didn't go out and do anything when COVID and the lockdowns were over. He had unlimited visits, and where was he at? Watching his son play high school football at Auburn, not visiting high school coaches... ask Derek Mason, ask some of the players, ask some of the recruit's parents that he big-timed... it gets painted a certain way even though he failed on every level."
It wasn't just the things that were happening off the field. It was also the in-game decision making from him and his staff.
There were multiple moments in the Harsin era that left fans dumbfounded when it came to situational awareness and play-calling. It was a variety of things on and off the field that led to Harsin's downfall - and ESPN fails to mention any of them.
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