Dysfunction has reared its ugly head at Auburn again
Could the LSU Tigers see an unfamiliar face when they travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Oct. 1, 2022?
Rumors are flying on the plains currently with questions about the Auburn Tigers’ current head coach, Bryan Harsin, and if he will still be leading the team out of the tunnel in 2022.
Coach Harsin finished the 2021 season 6-7 with a loss to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl. Since then, Auburn has had 19 players enter the transfer portal and the Tigers finished with the No. 18 recruiting class in the country. They signed all of ZERO players on national signing day.
If Auburn chooses to move on from Harsin after only one season, it will be the third different Auburn head coach that LSU has faced in the past three years.
The streak started with Gus Malzahn in 2020. LSU traveled down to the plains on Halloween night where the LSU Tigers came up short 48-11. Malzahn finished with a 68-35 record as the head coach at Auburn. He was 2-5 in bowl games with one national championship game appearance. Malzahn was let go before the Citrus Bowl against Northwestern in 2020.
Last Year, Auburn traveled into Death Valley and escaped with a narrow victory 24-19. Auburn scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to retake the lead from LSU and secure the win. At the time it was viewed as a monumental win for Bryan Harsin and with how Auburn throws around contract extensions, I am surprised he didn’t get a new contract on the spot. Especially considering it was the first time in two decades Auburn won a game at Tiger Stadium.
Everything went downhill after that. Auburn had enough ejections during games this season, I guess they decided they needed to continue the trend off the field as well. It seems like the only constant on the Plains these days is the Jumbotron.
If the administration decides to fire Harsin without cause he will be owed $18 million due to his buyout. That would make it the most for any coach this cycle surpassing the $17 million that LSU is paying Ed Orgeron, but at least he won something of significance.
