Bryan Harsin has been fired as Auburn’s football coach, the school announced on Monday.
The program’s move comes as no surprise after Auburn suffered a 41-27 loss to Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers were outscored 24-14 in the second half on the way to their fifth loss of the season.
Much speculation had arisen about Harsin’s future with the program during the offseason, and the heat was cranked up after a lackluster overtime win against Missouri on Sept. 24. His job security only became more precarious with a 21–17 loss to LSU—a game in which Auburn held a 17-point lead in the second quarter—followed by a 42–10 loss to Georgia and then a 48-34 defeat to Ole Miss last week.
Although Auburn earned the 17–14 victory against Missouri, Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman reported that if Missouri would have defeated Auburn in Week 4, there was a “really good chance” the program would have fired Harsin the next day.
“It’s felt like a real inevitability that he will get let go at some point this year,” Feldman said.
Harsin survived another month, but the program’s loss to Arkansas apparently was the final straw. Harsin compiled a 9–12 record in a season and a half at Auburn.
His tenure as the Tigers coach was not an easy one. Auburn launched an investigation into the football program over the offseason after five assistant coaches and nearly two dozen players left the program, including defensive coordinator Derek Mason and offensive coordinator Austin Davis.
Harsin described the investigation as “uncomfortable” and “unfounded.” In addition to the investigation, Auburn also created a new school policy that forced coaches in the program to cooperate with university investigations.
Then, last month, former athletic director Allen Greene stepped down from his role. Auburn is expected to hire Mississippi State AD John Cohen, a move that, according to SI’s Ross Dellenger, was finalized over the weekend and should be official this week.
With Saturday’s loss, Auburn (3–5) has four games remaining on the schedule, including at Mississippi State (5-3) on Saturday.
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