Bryan Harsin embraces NIL opportunities

[aubiefifty 16,766]

 

 

Watch Bryan Harsin describe embracing NIL for Auburn athletes

Updated: Apr. 29, 2022, 8:54 a.m. | Published: Apr. 29, 2022, 6:16 a.m.

Lah Griddy and coach Bryan Harsin doing the GRIDDY during Auburn football practice on Saturday, March 19, 2022 in Auburn, Ala. Todd Van Emst/AU AthleticsTodd Van Emst/AU Athletics

 

 

By Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com

Bryan Harsin gave a resounding endorsement for Auburn athletes pursuing Name, Imagine, and Licensing deals when he spoke to Auburn alums Tuesday in Atlanta with Bruce Pearl, hosted by Cole Cubelic.

 

“Our guys are doing something productive instead of sitting in their room playing video games,” Harsin said during the event near Lenox Mall. “We like that they’re being productive and feeling they’ve accomplished something, which makes them better people on and off the field.”

 

“They do everything we ask them to do when it comes to being prepared to play football at Auburn. Once they’re done with those responsibilities, they focus on NIL, which allows them to make money they do something with.”

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

Based on what I heard either he has been converted or the rumor that he was against NIL was bogus in the 1st place.  It is looking more and more like we have some Auburn people who because they didn't like the hire were willing to do anything to sabotage the man which also hurt Auburn as a program. 

[Hank2020 3,199]

1 hour ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Based on what I heard either he has been converted or the rumor that he was against NIL was bogus in the 1st place.  It is looking more and more like we have some Auburn people who because they didn't like the hire were willing to do anything to sabotage the man which also hurt Auburn as a program. 

Just sounds to me like his was last years deal, and they have increased this year.

[Randman5000 4,226]

Sounds like he's all about it and it's really going to help student athletes adjust to the life outside of football and do things to help the Auburn brand and themselves. 

[Mikey 16,578]

1 hour ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Based on what I heard either he has been converted or the rumor that he was against NIL was bogus in the 1st place.  It is looking more and more like we have some Auburn people who because they didn't like the hire were willing to do anything to sabotage the man which also hurt Auburn as a program. 

It may look that way to you but I don't see it. If some high rollers didn't instantly dump a pile of cash into an NIL program, I can't blame them. It didn't have to have anything to do with Harsin.

Most people who make an investment want to know just exactly what they are purchasing with their funds. Last year, nobody knew much about the NIL and the AU effort at that time was poorly organized, with some questionable people involved. Apparently all that has been straightened out now and there is solid funding. If last year's shortcoming had had anything to do with disliking Harsin the money still would not be there.

[IronMan70 3,277]

3 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Based on what I heard either he has been converted or the rumor that he was against NIL was bogus in the 1st place.  It is looking more and more like we have some Auburn people who because they didn't like the hire were willing to do anything to sabotage the man which also hurt Auburn as a program. 

I'll go with the rumor being bogus. There were a lot of falsehoods being spread around about CBH and yes, it did do damage to the Auburn program.

[Randman5000 4,226]

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/33822608/bryan-harsin-reiterates-commitment-auburn-football-program-offseason-uncertainty

AUBURN, Ala. -- Bryan Harsin passionately doubled down on his commitment to being Auburn's head football coach and to his players Thursday despite his future seemingly hanging in the balance nearly three months ago amid a university-directed inquiry into the program.

"The simplest, strongest statement to come out of all this was what I said at the time, that it was bulls---, and I still feel like that," Harsin told ESPN during a lengthy interview.

Quote

"Everything we were going through -- these players, this program, the attacks on my character and my family -- was bulls---. Let's be clear on that. We're not folding our tent whatsoever. We'll fight, and we'll keep doing it. That's not going to change. We're fighting for the kids on this team. They're worth fighting for."

Auburn announced on Feb. 11 that Harsin would return as coach after he remained in limbo for eight days as news surfaced that the university had been scrutinizing the exodus of players and assistant coaches that accompanied Harsin's first season at Auburn, which ended with a 6-7 record and five straight losses.

Auburn lost its regular-season finale to rival Alabama at home in a 24-22 heartbreaker in four overtimes. The Tigers led 10-0 entering the fourth quarter, but the Crimson Tide drove 97 yards for a touchdown in the final seconds to force the first overtime and ultimately win the game.

Harsin, asked if there would have been any question about his coaching future had Auburn held onto that fourth-quarter lead against Alabama, smiled and said, "Yeah, good question. I don't know."

Even as the inquiry was ongoing and reports swirled about Harsin's job status, he said he nor his agent ever had any talks with Auburn about a financial settlement. Harsin would have been owed an $18.3 million buyout, a figure that only drops to the $15 million range if he were to be fired following the 2022 season without cause.

"I said it then and say it now," Harsin said. "I wasn't going to turn and run just because we faced some adversity. I was going to fight like hell for these players because they deserve it. I want people to know that, whoever you are, that these players at Auburn deserve your support. These guys bust their ass."

Harsin said the most heartening part of those eight days while he waited for Auburn to finish its inquiry was the way his family, along with players and former colleagues, reached out to offer their support. In fact, senior offensive lineman Nick Brahms set up a meeting with Auburn board of trustee members. Harsin said he also heard from Mack Brown and Chris Petersen, among others.

"Let me say this: I never thought I wasn't coming back, never," Harsin said. "Never in my mind did I think I wouldn't be sitting there laying out the plan for our players moving forward in that next meeting."

Some outgoing players took to social media to criticize Harsin for not relating well to players. Former defensive lineman Lee Hunter, who transferred to UCF, posted on his Instagram that he left "because we got treated like we wasn't good enough and like dogs." However, the majority of players, even some of the ones leaving for the NFL, supported Harsin publicly.

"When you're on a team, there's going to be a lot of opinions about things you do, and that's OK," Harsin said. "What you try to do is get everybody in alignment with the direction of where we want to go with this program. That's the challenge as coach. To me, I felt like we had a lot more positive than negative."

Harsin, who admittedly remains angry over the toll the whole ordeal took on his family, said those inside the Auburn football program rallied around each other this spring and that the vibe among coaches and players is the best it's been since he took the job in December 2020.

"Something else I want to make clear is that people are underestimating this football team, and that's one thing I've told our players," Harsin said. "When they say I can't recruit and can't do all these things, they're underestimating the players on this team. These are our players. We believe in them, and we know talent. These guys busted their asses this spring. It felt like the teams I've coached before."

Harsin brought in three new assistant coaches, including former Auburn player Jimmy Brumbaugh as defensive line coach and promoted Eric Kiesau to offensive coordinator and Jeff Schmedding to defensive coordinator. Harsin believes all the uncertainty from February actually became a rallying point for the players and coaches on this team.

"Coming out of this, we're stronger," Harsin said. "We're in a much better position than we were 16 months ago. Our team, the leadership, the chemistry, the cohesiveness -- all those things -- have really shown up over the past two or three months."

Harsin said he was never given any clarification on what precipitated the inquiry which ended with Auburn president Jay Gogue saying that "the process, which was never individual-or-outcome-specific, did not yield information that should change the status of our coaching staff or football program."

Gogue announced his retirement last June, as Chris Roberts is set to take over as Auburn's president on May 16.

Harsin, while not getting into specifics, said he had productive conversations with Gogue and others in Auburn's administration following the inquiry. Asked if the proper alignment was in place at Auburn, both internally and externally, to win at a championship level, Harsin responded, "I know this: I know this place wants to win, and I know the people who support it want to win. When I go out into the community or I do events, every single person I see, they love Auburn, love what we're doing and appreciate what we're doing.

"So I don't get to hear the negative face to face. I hear the positive. I hear the support. I hear, 'Hey, we're going to get where we all want to be.'"

Harsin said he feels better about the direction of the Tigers' recruiting after getting the inquiry behind him and that the new NIL rules should help them. Auburn's 2022 signing class was ranked 18th nationally by ESPN, although the Tigers are not ranked in the top 25 of ESPN's latest 2023 class rankings.

"I think this, that when guys step on our campus, they see who we are and what we're about," Harsin said. "They see that some of those things people say about our program, that they're not true and have nothing to do with anything we're about. I think a lot of those families and players see right through that and know where we're going."

 

 

[AUatHeart 624]

I’m still waiting for the NIL to fall.  Big money folks aren’t going to like giving a lot of money to a kid out of high school and then that kid being a bust.  aTm has a lot of opportunities for that to happen.

[passthebiscuits 6,845]

Dude is just NOT going to make it. He’s not the culture fit for AU, and it makes you seriously question what the heck the AD was thinking.
 

This isn’t some conspiracy. Folks will see it soon enough.

 

Can’t recruit. Seriously devoid of talent. Falling further behind. He’s on the clock. There’s ZERO support because there’s ZERO excitement about this program. We are having trouble filling the coffers now in football! In FOOTBALL!  I don’t know what people are seeing…maybe it’s blind optimism but geez. 

anyway, rant over. 

[au302 2,669]

1 hour ago, passthebiscuits said:

Dude is just NOT going to make it. He’s not the culture fit for AU, and it makes you seriously question what the heck the AD was thinking.
 

This isn’t some conspiracy. Folks will see it soon enough.

 

Can’t recruit. Seriously devoid of talent. Falling further behind. He’s on the clock. There’s ZERO support because there’s ZERO excitement about this program. We are having trouble filling the coffers now in football! In FOOTBALL!  I don’t know what people are seeing…maybe it’s blind optimism but geez. 

anyway, rant over. 

I don't know if the man will make it. It certainly doesn't look like it, but I don't get the whole poor fit thing. The reality is that the culture that AU football program was built on doesn't seem all that different than what Boise was built on to me. Pretty similar actually. Auburn's was "we may not have the resources to out recruit you, but we'll be damned if you out tough us. We're gonna line up and run it down your throats." Boise's and Harsin's was "we're gonna get our OKG's regardless of stars and out tough and discipline you"... seems to match up pretty well, and no I don't think he's Pat Dye, lol. Just don't think AU has ever been 5 star U like some of y'all believe. We are a blue collar whether we like it or not

I think he's clearly made recruiting mistakes, but if he pulls in a good '23 class and gets the roster stabilized, his system is the type that will keep things stable. Won't be as much of a roller coaster as Gus. Again, that is if he survives long enough to get offensive players in from HS. And I don't buy the rumors that all the players and staff hate him. I'm sure some did, as any coaching change works, but if you stick around after all of that you're clearly bought into what Harsin and AU are about. Jmo

Edited April 30, 2022 by au302

[DAG 33,980]

14 hours ago, passthebiscuits said:

There’s ZERO support

Well that’s false. There is definitely a group who don’t support him but don’t sit here and say he has zero support.

[PoetTiger 1,896]

23 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Based on what I heard either he has been converted or the rumor that he was against NIL was bogus in the 1st place.  It is looking more and more like we have some Auburn people who because they didn't like the hire were willing to do anything to sabotage the man which also hurt Auburn as a program. 

They did not like him because he probably told them to get out my way and let me do my damn job.

[PoetTiger 1,896]

I would love for someone to explain “culture fit” 

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

22 hours ago, Mikey said:

It may look that way to you but I don't see it. If some high rollers didn't instantly dump a pile of cash into an NIL program, I can't blame them. It didn't have to have anything to do with Harsin.

Most people who make an investment want to know just exactly what they are purchasing with their funds. Last year, nobody knew much about the NIL and the AU effort at that time was poorly organized, with some questionable people involved. Apparently all that has been straightened out now and there is solid funding. If last year's shortcoming had had anything to do with disliking Harsin the money still would not be there.

I was not talking about the people putting up the NIL money. I was talking about all the unfounded rumors. Cheating on his wife against NIL, etc. I totally understand people initially being hesitant investing in NIL as it was new and we were not initially very organized.  From what I have read recently the NIL side has been addressed, Harsin has learned that there were things he needed to do better like being out there more being more accessible and it appears he has.  The problem was with the way things went down and so many bogus rumors it has put him and his staff having to not only work hard contacting and working with recruits but also having to deal with opposing coaches who will be saying don't sign with Auburn as this Coach and his staff are on the way out. Some of the complaints were legitimate but a normal after the season conversation and those issue could have been resolved as we are seeing many changes in Harsin and the way he runs things.

[abw0004 10,110]

So these comments were at the AMBUSH event I made a post about last Tuesday.  I was there and had a chance to meet him and Pearl.  For those who do not have access to the Eagles Nest, I have also helped clients of mine work with Auburn’s NIL, along with UGA, Ole Miss, and Georgia Southern (if you want to call it that) so far.

Two things: Harsin was very well spoken and I was impressed with him.  He seems very different than last year.  Less arrogant in my opinion and a great step forward.  I saw this at his A-Day interview as well so that makes me happy.

Second, Harsin says he is onboard with the NIL, but that is not my impression when I tried to work with the department.  Sponsors needed direction from him on which players need help and didn’t get help from Harsin.  Now, is this his job?  I am not sure.  This is still all so new.  But I know Lane Kiffen was extremely helpful as was Smart (I hate that I have to say that).  Words and actions are different.

[Mikey 16,578]

8 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

The problem was with the way things went down and so many bogus rumors it has put him and his staff having to not only work hard contacting and working with recruits but also having to deal with opposing coaches who will be saying don't sign with Auburn as this Coach and his staff are on the way out.

That's nothing new. AU has been fighting against that for years now and will still be combating negative recruiting for years into the future.

[au302 2,669]

5 hours ago, abw0004 said:

So these comments were at the AMBUSH event I made a post about last Tuesday.  I was there and had a chance to meet him and Pearl.  For those who do not have access to the Eagles Nest, I have also helped clients of mine work with Auburn’s NIL, along with UGA, Ole Miss, and Georgia Southern (if you want to call it that) so far.

Two things: Harsin was very well spoken and I was impressed with him.  He seems very different than last year.  Less arrogant in my opinion and a great step forward.  I saw this at his A-Day interview as well so that makes me happy.

Second, Harsin says he is onboard with the NIL, but that is not my impression when I tried to work with the department.  Sponsors needed direction from him on which players need help and didn’t get help from Harsin.  Now, is this his job?  I am not sure.  This is still all so new.  But I know Lane Kiffen was extremely helpful as was Smart (I hate that I have to say that).  Words and actions are different.

That's good to hear. I wonder how much some of the disorganization, for lack of a better word, of the NIL department hindered communication efforts. Its been said that there were some questionable folks involved who turned out to be way in over their heads, and thus, a new group has had to take over and some people were told they are no longer involved.

Maybe that caused issues with communicating with university officials, including Harsin? That is even if they are allowed to officially communicate. Hopefully it trends up this year for both parties, because we need an organized NIL and a coach on board with it

[passthebiscuits 6,845]

16 hours ago, DAG said:

Well that’s false. There is definitely a group who don’t support him but don’t sit here and say he has zero support.

True. I was being poetic. 
However, in the donor world, it is close to being true. Hot take. 😂

Edited May 1, 2022 by passthebiscuits

[Mikey 16,578]

8 hours ago, au302 said:

Its been said that there were some questionable folks involved who turned out to be way in over their heads, and thus, a new group has had to take over and some people were told they are no longer involved.

That's how I heard it.

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

On 4/29/2022 at 1:44 PM, AuburnNTexas said:

Based on what I heard either he has been converted or the rumor that he was against NIL was bogus in the 1st place.  It is looking more and more like we have some Auburn people who because they didn't like the hire were willing to do anything to sabotage the man which also hurt Auburn as a program. 

I agree 💯.  However,  Harsin needs to change the subject, Whenever Interviewed by ESPN.  I'm sure it's difficult the way his family and character was drug thru the mud.  But it is time to move forward and when he is asked about it , he needs to have a canned response and say we are looking to the future etc..

[PoetTiger 1,896]

NIL in the legal sense is new for all parties involved, NIL in the illegal sense has been easy for some schools because they already had a foundation of paying kids in the first place. Not sure where Auburn falls but it comes as no surprise that schools like UGA, UA, TAMU, and a few others have found an easier transition to “legal” NIL. 

[oracle79 3,569]

23 hours ago, PoetTiger said:

I would love for someone to explain “culture fit” 

[W.E.D 11,070]

On 4/29/2022 at 6:06 PM, IronMan70 said:

I'll go with the rumor being bogus. There were a lot of falsehoods being spread around about CBH and yes, it did do damage to the Auburn program.

Eh, I don't buy that. He wasn't for NiL like he is now. He's changing and adjusting. 

[IronMan70 3,277]

8 hours ago, W.E.D said:

Eh, I don't buy that. He wasn't for NiL like he is now. He's changing and adjusting. 

That was just a minor issue imo and yes he is definitely adjusting. The main point was, the real damage that negative false rumors from within have on a program. That tactic is also disgusting. 

[W.E.D 11,070]

7 hours ago, IronMan70 said:

That was just a minor issue imo and yes he is definitely adjusting. The main point was, the real damage that negative false rumors from within have on a program. That tactic is also disgusting. 

I disagree. NIL hurt us last sig inf class and the past two portal classes.

Internet rumors started by a wide variety sources was blip on the radar for a week