Quote from L Turner on November 4, 2022, 8:57 pm

Friendly AU fan here 👋.  Sorry we hired a lousy AD that went rogue and took your coach.  Harsin was great at Boise, but his time in AU has been nothing but a nightmare.  He could not get out of his own way and the program had a level of toxicity never seen at Auburn,

Would most Boise fans want him back?  Also, the prevalent rumor right now around Auburn circles is that Harsin’s buyout was reduced so he would not be getting his full $15M,….there were some things that if they fully came to light, no one would hire him again.  Since he was fired, a lot of things have started to trickle out, especially about recruiting which he botched epically.

And no, none of this had to do with an alleged staffer affair, that was message board rumors and not what Auburn was investigating although a friend who works in the AD said there were a lot of whispers as they thought the relationship was unusual….no past AU head coaches had a young, hot “assistant” like that and no one really knew exactly what she did.

I have a friend in the AD who said he’s never seen anything like it, one man so hated but that Harsin was a complete ass that no one liked.

Quote from Railroader on November 4, 2022, 9:31 pm

Great insight L Turner. Most of us Boise fans were not surprised,  2 years was the timeline for the firing. Former coaches say he can be Brian or Hars, depending on his moods, a real jerk. Very few fans would want him back. Hard to believe he was St. Pete's OC and we went 50-2 when a certain fella named Kellen was gunslingin' the pigskin all over the field. Good luck with finding your new coach.

Quote from Bronco7454 on November 5, 2022, 5:31 am

Quote from L Turner on November 4, 2022, 8:57 pm

Friendly AU fan here .  Sorry we hired a lousy AD that went rogue and took your coach.  Harsin was great at Boise, but his time in AU has been nothing but a nightmare.  He could not get out of his own way and the program had a level of toxicity never seen at Auburn,

Would most Boise fans want him back?  Also, the prevalent rumor right now around Auburn circles is that Harsin’s buyout was reduced so he would not be getting his full $15M,….there were some things that if they fully came to light, no one would hire him again.  Since he was fired, a lot of things have started to trickle out, especially about recruiting which he botched epically.

And no, none of this had to do with an alleged staffer affair, that was message board rumors and not what Auburn was investigating although a friend who works in the AD said there were a lot of whispers as they thought the relationship was unusual….no past AU head coaches had a young, hot “assistant” like that and no one really knew exactly what she did.

I have a friend in the AD who said he’s never seen anything like it, one man so hated but that Harsin was a complete ass that no one liked.

As Railroader already related nobody here (well nearly nobody) was very surprised.  We have had a number of former head coaches at Boise State and nearly all of them were loved here and fans were devastated when they left for "greener" ($$$$$) pastures in the past.  There were two exceptions to that. First one being Houston "the used car salesman" Nutt and Brian "Hars" Harsin.  Even tho Harsin was a former Boise State back-up QB when he played college football he was more tolerated than "loved".  And when he chose to leave for Auburn most Boise State fans didn't really care one way or the other and many here were glad to see him leave.

As to the chances that he will return to Boise State I'd say that's as likely to happen as the day when pigs will fly and gasoline will be back below 25 cents per gallon.

As to the rumor you mentioned about a reduced amount on his contract.  I generally don't believe rumors because...............well...............they're RUMORS.   A contract is a contract and the terms of the contract will have to be honored.  After all it's not like the S.E.C. team that is Auburn can't afford to pay him off.  Just like they paid off the Auburn coach (Gus Malzahn) who preceded Harsin (to the tune of more than 21 million) when they fired him.

I wish Auburn a lot of luck in finding their next head coach.  I think you're going to need it after the disgraceful way your school admins and your fanbase has conducted themselves in the last 18 months or so.  Auburn has earned themselves a very poor reputation for a school that USED to have a very good reputation.  Any head coach worth considering is going to ask themselves do I really want to work for a school that engages in spreading unproven and unfounded rumors and attempts to destroy not only their head football coach but also that coach's family and children.

All in all is appears that the things that Auburn is best at is spreading rumors that have no basis in fact and destroying the reputation of their head football coach (as well as their own reputation - in the process).

Personally I am not a Harsin fan but I'm also not a Harsin hater either.   I am, however, a hater of people who spread rumors about others without any factual evidence whatsoever.  They remind me of a certain political party.

Quote from L Turner on November 5, 2022, 7:20 am

Again, like I said, Auburn University didn’t engage in those “rumors”, so don’t get that confused with the actual facts of what was happening.  But also when you are in the spotlight at a major SEC program you better watch what you do and the moves you make especially around the AD office.  There was some very concerning stuff happening.

When you have a mass exodus of players and they are publicly talking about how they were treated, and coaches leaving to take lower paying jobs, it makes you want to look and Auburn would have been derelict not to.   Coaches were reporting to the AD that Harsin didn’t want a “certain” type of player and that is what was conveyed by Mason.  It had a racial connotation to it.  The program is about the players…not Harsin….and the things happening in the program could not be ignored. Derek Mason was a highly respected coach and there were reason he would no longer work for Harsin.  Coaches in the area and SEC know what was happening because all the coaches whisper to each other….Bobo is back at UGA now and their beat reporters are reporting he is saying many of the same things about how Harsin was running the Auburn program.  I mean the man ran off Bo Nix who was born in an Auburn jersey.

Auburn gave him everything he needed to succeed in the SEC….they paid him $5M+, gave him millions for assistants and a massive support staff, a fully funded NIL, a new $100M football only facility,  All he had to do was listen to some of the SEC experience he had on staff but he wanted to do it “the Boise way” and unfortunately that does not work in a league like the SEC.

Regarding Malzahn, he was loved in Auburn but many saw the writing on the wall…he had many of the same issues you are seeing Texas A&M have with Jimbo, pure stubbornness to not change his offense which was badly needed.  He also had a lot of trouble with roster management and put us in a bind with the offensive line….but Harsin was still given a roster that was top 15 talent and all he had to do with go hard after some linemen to fill needs which he didn’t do, and he handcuffed one of the SEC’s best offensive line recruiters in Will Friend.

Its also really telling that no Auburn players have tweeted anything about Harsin, nothing.  Even some of the recent players that have announced entering the portal before he was fired were thanking Malzahn, their position coaches….but not Harsin.