And after all that, it looks like Bryan Harsin is going to stay.
ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Friday morning that Auburn is expected to keep Bryan Harsin, after a week of speculation and intrigue that will do nothing to help his already struggling regime on the Plains.
The outcome appeared headed that way before ESPN's report. Here's ESPN sideline reporter, Birmingham radio host, and former Auburn offensive lineman Cole Cueblic earlier Friday:
Must find a way for everyone to attempt to put this behind them & move forward to help all parties reconcile & find a way to work together towards competing for championships. Will not be easy. Divisiveness cannot continue.
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) February 11, 2022
After this week, reading that tweet is akin to saying a hippopotamus could be fly if it would simply lose weight.
The cynical view to Auburn keeping Harsin is: A) Auburn was unable to uncover a significant amount of dirt to fire him for cause, B) through backchannels, Auburn wasn't able to get a commitment from candidate(s) worth of paying the nearly $20 million it would cost buy out Harsin, or C) some combination of the two.
And so now Harsin returns after a 6-7 season, with no offensive coordinator, with his preferred defensive coordinator now working at Oklahoma State on a pay cut, with the No. 8 recruiting class in the SEC, and with a fan base and administration that is lukewarm on him, at best.
Good luck circling those wagons, Tigers.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
Update: Auburn has confirmed Harsin will stay for the 2022 season. Here's the full statement from president Jay Gogue.