SEC Media 2022 Days: Auburn’s Brian Harsin resilient after attempted coup, focus on positives ahead of year two

ATLANTA – Nearly six months after surviving an internal coup targeting his job, Brian Harsin stood on the main stage of his SEC Media days inside the college football hall of fame. Confident and holds nothing, second year Auburn The coach remained steadfast in his vision for the program – an impressive feat considering he could have done one job at SEC.

“There was an investigation. It was uncomfortable. Unfounded,” Harsin said. “It gave people the opportunity to attack me, my family, and my programme. It didn’t work.”

Harsin’s off-season ordeal was similar to a daytime soap opera. His tiger went 6-7 and lost their last five games in 2021. Then Harsin lost both veteran SEC coordinators left – one by choice and the other by lateral movement – and a small village of players was taken out of the program. In addition, the enlistment efforts leading up to the traditional National Signature Day were not on par with what Auburn had anticipated during her rise to competition for the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Then came a bomb the size of a Jordan Hare stadium.

on February 3 Auburn Live reported That many high-ranking officials were actively looking for ways to fire Harsin “for a cause”. This set off a wild eight-day saga that culminated in the announcement that Harsin would be retained as the Tigers’ trainer.

It was a unique Auburn stand – “Just Auburn Being Auburn” (JABA) As it is known in southern football circles. The program has been known for decades for having too many chefs in the kitchen. The most notable example of this was in 2003, Iron Powell’s week against Alabama, when former athletic director David Housell and several influential boosters traveled to Louisville to gauge Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino’s interest in a key coaching job at Auburn, which remains busy. Tommy Tuberville at the time.

The question that swirled around SEC Media’s Thursday days was simple: What happens next? Harsin is comfortable… at least for now… where he’s standing with the powers that be.

“For now, our focus is moving forward,” Harsin said. “What came out of that inquiry was a lot of positives. There is a positive side to all of this because what I saw from our players and coaches were leadership opportunities for them to advance. That’s exactly what they did. I got the chance to see the players providing leadership and coaches providing leadership. It united our football team. It united our team and united our football team. I’m really proud of our guys. I’m proud of something like that, which can be very difficult and difficult for a lot of people, and how our guys went up and coped with it.”

John Samuel Schenker, who has been supportive of Harsin on social media, echoed those sentiments.

“I’m a Brian Harsin fan through and through,” Schenker said. “You also know, knowing his character and the man he is and the father he is husband to, they’re just there to move fate. He’s been blown away by social media. His support is a thing even though we, even [defensive lineman] Derek [Hall]Me and some of the other guys on the team thought this was the best. Having this experience with him brought us closer as a team. I thought it might be a problem and a separation between guys, but it really did bring us closer. We are all pushing for one thing and that is to keep our coach here.”

But how long will this “peace” last? CBS Sports Senior Writer Dennis Dodd put it on Harsin One of the hottest seats in America advance this month. The timeline doesn’t say he’ll get out of said hot seat unless the Tigers orchestrate a massive one-year transformation.

Auburn faces both participants in last season’s national title match – Georgia and Alabama – on the road. The Tigers also face an Ole Miss on the road the week after the Georgia game and have a Penn State at home in Week 3.

Currently, Harsin met the people who tried to overthrow him in the middle. This is the first step. But the second challenge will be the biggest challenge of his career: winning the Securities and Exchange Commission.