Tony Franklin on Bryan Harsin

[aubiefifty 16,842]

Tony Franklin eviscerates Auburn, Bryan Harsin: ‘You hired a weak man with no backbone’

By Mark Heim | mheim@al.com

5-6 minutes

---

The beginning of the end for Bryan Harsin has already begun.

That’s quite a statement, considering the man has coached a grand total of four games at Auburn.

However, the signs have already reared their ugly heads, if you subscribe to Tony Franklin’s line of reasoning.

Yes, that Franklin. The former Auburn coach offensive coordinator fired mid-season by Tommy Tuberville in 2008 held nothing back when talking about the Tigers on “The Coach Tony Franklin” podcast.

“You hired a weak man with no backbone who is gonna get run over by all these boosters,” he said.

It’s already happened, he explained.

The wheels were set in motion on Saturday, Sept. 18 in Happy Valley. Facing fourth-and-2 inside the 5, the Tigers called a questionable and unsuccessful pass play. The result: Penn State 28, Auburn 20.

“You called a press fade for the inside slot receiver for your go-to play to beat Penn State?” he asked. “That’s your go to? That’s what you got? That’s what you go to?”

As a result, the boo birds were out, questioning the play, from Internet trolls to big-money men, Franklin contends. So, Harsin had to give the masses something to quiet the negativity. He gave them a scapegoat, according to the former coach.

On Sunday, Harsin parted ways with first-year wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams less than 24 hours after Auburn completed a come-from-behind 34-24 win against Georgia State in the team’s nonconference finale.

“Four games in and you crack, and you fire your receivers coach?” he asked. “The best coached group on the field for offense was your receivers. You’re basically firing your receivers coach because your offensive line sucks. Your offensive line is bad.”

The proof, he explains, was in the game against Georgia State when TJ Finley hit Shedrick Jackson for the game-winning touchdown with just under a minute to play.

“The ‘great’ Georgia State team that came in and deserved to beat you,” he started. “... You had an offensive lineman who missed a block. He whiffs. Your quarterback makes a play. Then, the play of the day, your receiver, who was coached on what to do on a scramble play, makes the catch for the touchdown.

“Did you fire the offensive line coach? He’s an Alabama guy (Will Friend). That would make all the Auburn people happy. Fire the Alabama offensive line coach. He started four years at Alabama, and you hired him as your offensive line coach?”

Friend, for the record, had coaching stints at Tennessee, Colorado State and Georgia before landing the job at Auburn.

Now, Franklin knows what you are thinking. He is bitter toward Auburn because he was fired in the middle of the 2008 season. In addition, he coached Williams at Troy, so he has a personal allegiance to the former Hoover High star.

You’re right. He loves Williams, but he also loves Auburn, he said. He went on to say he “deserved” to be fired in 2008 and “is good with it.”

“You showed the powers that be they run the show,” Franklin said of Harsin. “They make the calls.

“If you want to blame somebody for sucking right now, the way your football team sucks, I got a great idea. Instead of firing Cornelius, or whoever the next guy is you’re going to fire, just quit. Just resign.”

Franklin continued to hammer away at the Tigers, who he said are nothing more than a reflection of their coach.

“The characteristics of this football team are the same as the coach: soft, soft, soft,” he said.

“They aren’t a physical team. I’ve seen physical Auburn football many times in my life as a fan, as a coach.”

Franklin’s zingers continued throughout his 22-minute podcast.

Here are some of the more sensational comments below.

On the OL

“The offensive line is worse than bad. They don’t look like they know what they are doing. ... They can’t pass pro(tect). The quarterback already has the yips. I don’t think the quarterbacks are well coached either. The running backs don’t make plays in space against a good team.”

On playing hard

“The offense and defense are soft. They don’t play hard, and they’re not very good or talented. If they played the hardest they could play, you could be a middle-of-the-pack SEC West team. If you don’t get it fixed, I don’t know if you can win a game in the SEC.”

On Georgia State

“You almost lost to Georgia State? You should have lost to Georgia State. Georgia State has a better team than you do.”

“The problem, no offense to everybody that was there before you, you don’t have many good players.”

On Harsin being the next Tuberville

“We turn into Tommy Tuberville No. 2. The thing about Tommy Tuberville is he’s gonna get some good players. Whatever it took to get him, he’s gonna get them. Now, in the end, he didn’t have good enough players. He knew (Alabama coach) Nick Saban was gonna beat his brains out, so he quit. They paid him $5 million to quit.”

On competing with Alabama

“You’re not in the same hemisphere with Alabama talent wise, but you are also really poorly coached. That’s a reflection of you, sir, Bryan Harsin.”

Check out the Franklin podcast here.

[dking 12]

Typical al.com unbiased article.

[BJCrawford 1,568]

Why does anyone care what Tony Franklin thinks….especially since he included a statement that the receivers were the best coached position on the field? 

[aubiefifty 16,842]

it was told to a guy on reddit from a booster that harsin got on corn hard for receivers not being on the field and wr spacing. it is claimed with no proof that corn told harsin to go screw himself on the sidelines using the f bomb. i was going to wait for verification but since tony had some unkind words and mistruths i decided to put a different spin out there. lets hope wde can verify this or not. and on one play with no receiver on the field when he was supposed to it cost us thirteen seconds and gave the d more time to figure out what we were doing. take it with a grain of salt but i believe it to be the truth. harsin has never fired anyone midseason. and we know what a child franklin acted like when he was shown the door.

Edited September 29, 2021 by aubiefifty

[gravejd 3,270]

Me thinks Tony Franklin might still be sore about the way he was treated during his short stint here. 😬

[aubiefifty 16,842]

3 minutes ago, BJCrawford said:

Why does anyone care what Tony Franklin thinks….especially since he included a statement that the receivers were the best coached position on the field? 

do you want the news or not? it will be all over the media tomorrow with folks trying to make us look bad. folks have a right to know. it does not mean you have to like it.

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,945]

10 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

Tony Franklin eviscerates Auburn, Bryan Harsin: ‘You hired a weak man with no backbone’

By Mark Heim | mheim@al.com

5-6 minutes

---

The beginning of the end for Bryan Harsin has already begun.

That’s quite a statement, considering the man has coached a grand total of four games at Auburn.

However, the signs have already reared their ugly heads, if you subscribe to Tony Franklin’s line of reasoning.

Yes, that Franklin. The former Auburn coach offensive coordinator fired mid-season by Tommy Tuberville in 2008 held nothing back when talking about the Tigers on “The Coach Tony Franklin” podcast.

“You hired a weak man with no backbone who is gonna get run over by all these boosters,” he said.

It’s already happened, he explained.

The wheels were set in motion on Saturday, Sept. 18 in Happy Valley. Facing fourth-and-2 inside the 5, the Tigers called a questionable and unsuccessful pass play. The result: Penn State 28, Auburn 20.

“You called a press fade for the inside slot receiver for your go-to play to beat Penn State?” he asked. “That’s your go to? That’s what you got? That’s what you go to?”

As a result, the boo birds were out, questioning the play, from Internet trolls to big-money men, Franklin contends. So, Harsin had to give the masses something to quiet the negativity. He gave them a scapegoat, according to the former coach.

On Sunday, Harsin parted ways with first-year wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams less than 24 hours after Auburn completed a come-from-behind 34-24 win against Georgia State in the team’s nonconference finale.

“Four games in and you crack, and you fire your receivers coach?” he asked. “The best coached group on the field for offense was your receivers. You’re basically firing your receivers coach because your offensive line sucks. Your offensive line is bad.”

The proof, he explains, was in the game against Georgia State when TJ Finley hit Shedrick Jackson for the game-winning touchdown with just under a minute to play.

“The ‘great’ Georgia State team that came in and deserved to beat you,” he started. “... You had an offensive lineman who missed a block. He whiffs. Your quarterback makes a play. Then, the play of the day, your receiver, who was coached on what to do on a scramble play, makes the catch for the touchdown.

“Did you fire the offensive line coach? He’s an Alabama guy (Will Friend). That would make all the Auburn people happy. Fire the Alabama offensive line coach. He started four years at Alabama, and you hired him as your offensive line coach?”

Friend, for the record, had coaching stints at Tennessee, Colorado State and Georgia before landing the job at Auburn.

Now, Franklin knows what you are thinking. He is bitter toward Auburn because he was fired in the middle of the 2008 season. In addition, he coached Williams at Troy, so he has a personal allegiance to the former Hoover High star.

You’re right. He loves Williams, but he also loves Auburn, he said. He went on to say he “deserved” to be fired in 2008 and “is good with it.”

“You showed the powers that be they run the show,” Franklin said of Harsin. “They make the calls.

“If you want to blame somebody for sucking right now, the way your football team sucks, I got a great idea. Instead of firing Cornelius, or whoever the next guy is you’re going to fire, just quit. Just resign.”

Franklin continued to hammer away at the Tigers, who he said are nothing more than a reflection of their coach.

“The characteristics of this football team are the same as the coach: soft, soft, soft,” he said.

“They aren’t a physical team. I’ve seen physical Auburn football many times in my life as a fan, as a coach.”

Franklin’s zingers continued throughout his 22-minute podcast.

Here are some of the more sensational comments below.

On the OL

“The offensive line is worse than bad. They don’t look like they know what they are doing. ... They can’t pass pro(tect). The quarterback already has the yips. I don’t think the quarterbacks are well coached either. The running backs don’t make plays in space against a good team.”

On playing hard

“The offense and defense are soft. They don’t play hard, and they’re not very good or talented. If they played the hardest they could play, you could be a middle-of-the-pack SEC West team. If you don’t get it fixed, I don’t know if you can win a game in the SEC.”

On Georgia State

“You almost lost to Georgia State? You should have lost to Georgia State. Georgia State has a better team than you do.”

“The problem, no offense to everybody that was there before you, you don’t have many good players.”

On Harsin being the next Tuberville

“We turn into Tommy Tuberville No. 2. The thing about Tommy Tuberville is he’s gonna get some good players. Whatever it took to get him, he’s gonna get them. Now, in the end, he didn’t have good enough players. He knew (Alabama coach) Nick Saban was gonna beat his brains out, so he quit. They paid him $5 million to quit.”

On competing with Alabama

“You’re not in the same hemisphere with Alabama talent wise, but you are also really poorly coached. That’s a reflection of you, sir, Bryan Harsin.”

Check out the Franklin podcast here.

Screw that unorganized  drunk Franklin.   

[gr82b4au 5,568]

Who? Is this the same TF that was run out of town as one of the worst offensive hires in AU history? 
Yeah, let’s listen to him. 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

Can’t wait to read the article tomorrow where BVG talks about how our defense is terrible. 

Edited September 29, 2021 by gr82b4au

[PoetTiger 1,899]

Was he drunk?

[BJCrawford 1,568]

5 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

do you want the news or not? it will be all over the media tomorrow with folks trying to make us look bad. folks have a right to know. it does not mean you have to like it.

Oh I did not mean that about it being posted! I was being rhetorical. I appreciated the post. Was all directed at Franklin! Sorry!

[aubiefifty 16,842]

Just now, BJCrawford said:

Oh I did not mean that about it being posted! I was being rhetorical. I appreciated the post. Was all directed at Franklin! Sorry!

my apologies back to you then! and i mean that sincerely.

[Frozen Tiger 9]

I would love to see him say that to Harsin’s face. Weak and spineless? Not hardly…
 

He must have been drunk when he said that garbage. 

[creed 1,642]

Who's Tony Franklin?

[AUApostle 7,651]

1 minute ago, creed said:

Who's Tony Franklin?

Entrepreneur 

[gctiger 937]

Franklin’s physical appearance in his time at Auburn was usually disgraceful.  He looked like he belonged in a low rent trailer park.  If Franklin knew half as much as he thinks he does, he would be employed by a major P5 program.  

[aubaseball 2,641]

Tony, Tony, Tony.    It’s funny how things are in this day and age of podcasts.   Everyone thinks what they have to say is important.   

[PoetTiger 1,899]

11 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

do you want the news or not? it will be all over the media tomorrow with folks trying to make us look bad. folks have a right to know. it does not mean you have to like it.

Easy there, I think he was just saying nobody really cared what TF had to say, but props for the article. Would be surprised if he was encouraged to say negative things about AU.

[difball 310]

15 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

it was told to a guy on reddit from a booster that harsin got on corn hard for receivers not being on the field and wr spacing. it is claimed with no proof that corn told harsin to go screw himself on the sidelines using the f bomb. i was going to wait for verification but since tony had some unkind words and mistruths i decided to put a different spin out there. lets hope wde can verify this or not. and on one play with no receiver on the field when he was supposed to it cost us thirteen seconds and gave the d more time to figure out what we were doing. take it with a grain of salt but i believe it to be the truth. harsin has never fired anyone midseason. and we know what a child franklin acted like when he was shown the door.

I can believe this is closer to what happened to get the coach fired - I even recall the play where the WR bolted on the field late and the ref had to go back to the ball to stop the snap

Edited September 29, 2021 by difball

[IronMan70 3,277]

Franklin comes across as someone very bitter. Harsin is weak ? The WRs are the best coached on the offense ? Both of those statements are laughable. Welcome to the SEC Coach Harsin. 

[aubiefifty 16,842]

2 minutes ago, PoetTiger said:

Easy there, I think he was just saying nobody really cared what TF had to say, but props for the article. Would be surprised if he was encouraged to say negative things about AU.

yes thank you for keeping me straight but i did apologize before you posted. i have no problem when i screw up and owning up to it and i was wondering cus he always seems to be a great guy. i just realized i have not smoked one yet today so i think it is time..............

[Zeek 16,658]

2 minutes ago, gctiger said:

Franklin’s physical appearance in his time at Auburn was usually disgraceful.  He looked like he belonged in a low rent trailer park.  If Franklin knew half as much as he thinks he does, he would be employed by a major P5 program.  

This dumb **** is calling Harsin weak?

 

[aubiefifty 16,842]

is tony still coaching at troy? if so i hope we have them scheduled while he is still there and put acouple hundred on his azz.............

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,945]

[aubiefifty 16,842]

Just now, Zeek said:

This dumb **** is calling Harsin weak?

 

i think we need to send golf to visit him. straighten him out a little bit.