Auburn has fired head coach Bryan Harsin, the school announced Monday. Running backs coach Cadillac Williams has been named interim head coach, according to multiple reports.
The move comes two days after a 41-27 loss to Arkansas, and moments after the school hired Mississippi State AD John Cohen to the same role on the Plains.
Hired away after a 69-19 run at Boise State, Harsin exits Auburn with a 9-12 record and a 4-9 mark in SEC play.
Harsin had no SEC experience when he got the job, a fact he tried to mitigate by hiring SEC vets Mike Bobo and Derek Mason to run his offense and defense, respectively. Both left after a year. Harsin then hired Austin Davis as offensive coordinator, a move that lasted six weeks before the 32-year-old with three years of coaching experience (none in college) realized the college lifestyle was too much for him and left.
Harsin then promoted Eric Kiesau and Jeff Schmedding, two Boise lieutenants that came within him as position coaches, as his offensive and defensive coordinators. Through eight games, Auburn is eighth in the conference in yards per play and 11th in yards per play allowed. More importantly, Auburn finished ninth in the SEC in recruiting in 2022 and stands at 12th today.
In reality, the Harsin-Auburn marriage was doomed to fail from the start, and the death knell was AD Allen Greene's resignation just days before the season opener.
Harsin was nearly removed after the 2021 season, as forces around the program generated wild, libelous rumors about Harsin's personal life. Auburn investigated the rumors and found nothing to them. While Harsin was cleared personally, the episode merely delayed the inevitable profesionally.
Harsin and Auburn were simply too different to work, and now new AD John Cohen, the former baseball coach who has risen the ranks as an administrator, is in the batter's circle.
Auburn owes Harsin 70 percent of his remaining 6-year, $30 million contract, half of which is due within 30 days of today. With four seasons and change remaining, that would put the buyout total around $15 million. That number is a third lower than the $21.45 million Auburn paid Gus Malzahn to leave less than two seasons ago.
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