The Harsin Question

[murpjf88 506]

2 hours ago, NWALA Tiger said:

He has been competitive in all his games at Auburn , save the 2nd half at Georgia

He lost to Jimbo and A&M 20-3 last year. I wouldn't call that competitive. And losing to a two win South Carolina team is inexcusable. 

[Cardin Drake 1,821]

A head coaches' job is 90% sales. Selling your university and program to football players, recruiting a staff, and selling your vision to alumni and the money men who will raise the NIL money that is a now a baseline requirement for a top program.  So I disagree with the premise of your question. Getting the 4 and 5 star kids and the staff who can win a championship is very difficult. The X's and O's are the easy part.  I feel that Harsin is fine with that. The rest, not so much. 

[GreenTiger 1,004]

My take is Auburn football is at a really low point right now and it’s going to take a long time for any coach to rebuild the program. 

We have been behind in facilities and NIL organizational leadership. Auburn leadership itself is in flux and making many things worse for the program. We have weird boosters being weird boosters. We are paying a huge unnecessary buyout. Critical position groups have been neglected for years on the recruiting front. At the same time recruiting against regional rivals who are at the very top of CFB. And let’s not forget the gift that keeps on giving, a schedule that is brutal year after year. 

A new coach is not going to magically fix things. IMO Harsin has been making Chicken Salad out of Chicken Shat and any coach will have to for the foreseeable future. 
 

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by GreenTiger

[Gowebb11 9,313]

32 minutes ago, murpjf88 said:

He lost to Jimbo and A&M 20-3 last year. I wouldn't call that competitive. And losing to a two win South Carolina team is inexcusable. 

It was Gus that lost to a 2 win SC team. 

[AUFlyer99 647]

1 hour ago, Randman5000 said:

Recruiting is great.. but you have to win in the football field. Recruiting rankings are nice but don't mean squat off they don't translate to actual football. 

No coach is going to win if not recruiting well.  Especially with any type of consistency.  

[nurbis 572]

34 minutes ago, murpjf88 said:

He lost to Jimbo and A&M 20-3 last year. I wouldn't call that competitive. And losing to a two win South Carolina team is inexcusable. 

The A&M game was 6-3 through three quarters and a one score game in the 4th quarter until Nix fumbled and it was returned for a touchdown. The game was competitive but Nix had one of his bad games that day and that fumble pretty much sealed it. 

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

1 hour ago, murpjf88 said:

He lost to Jimbo and A&M 20-3 last year. I wouldn't call that competitive. And losing to a two win South Carolina team is inexcusable. 

I agree we have no business losing to South Carolina, but they did win more than 2 games, as Mikey has told us over and over

Edited September 13, 2022 by NWALA Tiger

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

1 hour ago, nurbis said:

The A&M game was 6-3 through three quarters and a one score game in the 4th quarter until Nix fumbled and it was returned for a touchdown. The game was competitive but Nix had one of his bad games that day and that fumble pretty much sealed it. 

Yep

[AUCE05 369]

I want Harsin to stay for four years before we evaluate.  However, a L vs PSU could send us into a death spiral and I don't think he makes it out.  

[au302 2,669]

In terms of the ability to game-plan and prepare a team for a game from an X's and O's standpoint, I personally think Harsin is pretty good at this. In fact, Saturday was the first time that I was disgusted with his game prep.

The "coaching issues" with Harsin last year were not X's and O's related, rather, it was game management decisions in crucial moments. Harsin would likely fit better as an NFL OC than a college HC for many reasons.

In terms of recruiting, while the Boise boys are easy targets, I think they are a red herring that disguises the real issues. The real issues are Jimmy Brumbaugh and Will Friend. We need trench players more than anything this cycle, and they simply can't deliver. Ironically they are also the two biggest "SEC guys" on staff, yet are pulling the lest amount of weight.

Don't get me wrong, Schmedding and Kiesau aren't good on the trail, but 1. they were never expected to be, as they were brought here by BH to help implement his culture and schemes and 2. They are now coordinators, which allows them to do more of that while letting the position coaches clean up on the trail.

 

[Auburn93 524]

3 hours ago, Randman5000 said:

Recruiting is great.. but you have to win in the football field. Recruiting rankings are nice but don't mean squat off they don't translate to actual football. 

Low recruiting rankings aren't nice and they mean a lot when the translate to actual football. 

[bigbird 60,461]

4 hours ago, Dshep4au said:

There is really no comparison between Harsin and Coach Dye. Dye beat bammer in year 2 at Legion Field so…

How did Harsin do in year two?

[gr82b4au 5,568]

3 hours ago, murpjf88 said:

He lost to Jimbo and A&M 20-3 last year. I wouldn't call that competitive. And losing to a two win South Carolina team is inexcusable. 

No different than Gus losing to usce in 2020. That usce team went 2-8 and fired their coach mid season I think. 
Let’s face it - we have not had a good coach with good talent in a while. 
But let’s see how this year turns out

Edited September 13, 2022 by gr82b4au

[eaglenest 332]

7 hours ago, CodeRocket said:

Dr. Gouge made a terrible mistake allowing a public investigation involving CBH's relationship with departing players and allegations swirling in the media concerning his relationship with a staffer. The fact that insufficient evidence of wrongdoing was uncovered to take termination action or even issue a reprimand made Auburn a joke in the college football world. The stain from that investigation continues to color everything Auburn in a way that is not beneficial to the university and it's football program.

I am not an attorney but I have often heard that one of the fundamental laws of being a trial lawyer is to never ask a question in a courtroom you do not already know the answer to. Perhaps Dr. Gouge should have heeded this axiom.

I also, have a hard time seeing a future for CBH at Auburn. Even if CBH is strong enough to get past what happened he is surely aware of the emotional damage done to his family.

I certainly hope Dr. Roberts leads Auburn with more intellect and vision than the past two presidents have done.

Good luck, the trend of hiring Auburn Grads only helps 1 person and he has no moral compass or integrity. It is amazing to see so many fans come on here and for get what you just stated, it is baffling that they don't understand what was done in February was very calculated and was intended to hurt this football program plain and simple.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

Have we ever hired an Auburn grad as head coach? 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

1 hour ago, AUCE05 said:

I want Harsin to stay for four years before we evaluate.  However, a L vs PSU could send us into a death spiral and I don't think he makes it out.  

Actually I think the next game is a heck of a lot more important. That is a game that we were supposed to win

[eaglenest 332]

2 minutes ago, gr82b4au said:

Have we ever hired an Auburn grad as head coach? 

Came close with Sullivan, but that's not what I am referring to, it's the administrative side that matter the most, because you can keep it down home cuz..

[AUx 3,001]

19 minutes ago, bigbird said:

How did Harsin do in year two?

My crystal ball says he will not lose at Legion Field!

[Hank2020 3,199]

20 minutes ago, bigbird said:

How did Harsin do in year two?

Didn’t do bad in a loss in his first year albeit at home.

[Mikey 16,569]

1 hour ago, gr82b4au said:

Have we ever hired an Auburn grad as head coach? 

Shug Jordan. Only the winningest coach in AU history.

According to legend, when the PTB's were discussing hiring Jordan, they said his main drawback was that he was an Auburn man. Jordan is said to have replied "If they think an Auburn man can't do the job they should shut the damn place down".

Edited September 13, 2022 by Mikey

[AU-24 3,063]

11 hours ago, AuburnEagle79 said:

Should be a category on whether he can get the 4-5* talent to win. 

I have no doubt he would win 10 games a year with UGA's roster, but it's still up for debate if he can get that talent. 

Just out of curiosity, not trying to give anyone a hard time but why is it up for debate? This is his third recruiting class and he’s not even close. Plus, he has lost more talent to the portal, than he has brought in.

 For that matter, even if he had all four and five star talent, what decisions has he made that convinces anyone he is going to be a 10 game winner?  For the sake of Auburn, I hope I am wrong but I’m just not seeing a lot of coaching positives from the guy. 

[AU-24 3,063]

5 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

It was Gus that lost to a 2 win SC team. 

Correct, and it was Harsin that lost five games in a row and is struggling to finish in the top 10 recruiting in the SEC. (If you include Texas and Oklahoma, but he’s struggling in recruiting even without them)

Keep in mind, the fifth loss, after struggling all season, was when Harsin had over a month to prepare for Houston in Birmingham and he lost that game as well.

[bigbird 60,461]

9 hours ago, AU-24 said:

Plus, he has lost more talent to the portal, than he has brought in.

That's just dumb. Really, it's verifiably dumb.

[AU-24 3,063]

49 minutes ago, bigbird said:

That's just dumb. Really dumb.

Lol, it’s 100% true! I noticed you got off that Allen Greene bandwagon really quick. By seasons end or next year, you’ll be off the Harsin bandwagon as well. But of course, you will never admit it, you will just quietly move on to the next coach and next AD.

Pick which source you want to use, so there is no bias, I decided upon our own Auburn Wire: With losses in the transfer portal and a relatively poor recruiting class, it certainly won’t be easy for Harsin to prove his worth. A tough schedule and bleak outlook has put his name on most “hot seat” articles, and Harsin will certainly need to wow Auburn fans and shatter expectations to keep his job.

https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/2022/06/07/bryan-harsin-auburn-football-hot-seat-sec/

Edited September 13, 2022 by AU-24

[AU-24 3,063]

55 minutes ago, bigbird said:

That's just dumb. Really dumb.

Loser: Auburn Tigers

Bo Nix had a topsy-turvy career with Auburn, but the dude made plays and was a legacy whose dad, Patrick, is deeply involved with the program, so when he left for Oregon, it signified deeper-rooted issues.

Leading receiver Kobe Hudson resurfaced at UCF after getting booted from the team, and projected starting offensive guard Tashawn Manning decided to leave for Kentucky.

Defenders bolted the Plains, too. Edge rusher Romello Height is going to be a big part of the defensive rebuild for Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans, and safety Ladarius Tennison departed for conference foe Ole Miss.

https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/10046281-br-cfb-recruiting-winners-and-losers-of-the-transfer-portal-part-2.amp.html