Allen Greene sheds more light on Bryan Harsin situation

This offseason was a rocky one for Auburn and football coach Bryan Harsin, whose job status became “in question” before eventually keeping his job. In an interview with AL.com, Tigers athletic director Allen Greene shed some more light on the situation.

Auburn saw multiple coaches leave the program. The Tigers fired Mike Bobo after one year and hired Austin Davis, who resigned after 43 days on the job. Auburn Live also reported the Tigers’ interest in Arizona State offensive coordinator Zak Hill, who resigned amid an NCAA investigation into the Sun Devils program. Some big-name players transferred out and spoke out about everything.

Eventually, the university launched an inquiry into the program. Greene said even though the situation became “more public than would be ideal,” he wanted to make sure the university had enough information before he commented.

“There’s not much to say when there’s an inquiry going on,” Greene told Nubyjas Wilborn. “Speaking about topics before you have enough information is doing the inquiry a disservice. So there’s no need to get out and speculate ahead of something before you have more information. You know, no matter what we do, those folks who sit in positions like mine, you are constantly dealing with something.

“This one happened to be more public than would be ideal. In many ways, it’s no different from many things that we deal with in athletics and many cases, the university setting; it just happens this was very public.”

Ultimately, Greene and the university decided Harsin will return as the Tigers’ coach this coming season. Greene said it was essential to gather every piece of information to ensure it was a thorough investigation.

“Navigating tumultuous times is understanding that many things get stirred up when there’s a void of information,” Greene said. “The university has an obligation to run to the ground information that may cause concern. It’s part of what we do to maintain integrity.”