Auburn announces multiple staff changes, new offensive coordinator

The Auburn Tigers have announced a number of changes to the football coaching staff under head coach Bryan Harsin. Wide receivers coach Eric Kiesau will serve as Auburn’s offensive coordinator, while Roc Bellantoni will serve as outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator and secondary coach Zac Etheridge is now associate head coach.

Kiesau served as Auburn’s wide receivers coach this past year after being an offensive analyst since last February. He becomes the new offensive coordinator after Austin Davis stepped down from the position just a month after being hired.

Auburn announced the promotions on Friday, where Bryan Harsin commented on the promotions of Kiesau and Bellantoni.

“One of the biggest things our players and program needs going from year one to year two with us is consistency – consistency with the system, the coaches and our plan for success,” Harsin said. “Coach Kiesau and Coach Bellantoni are excellent football coaches and teachers of the game with 44 years of Division I experience between them, including 22 combined years in coordinator roles. Both have been part of the relationship building process over this past year here at Auburn, with the team and staff. They understand fully and are bought in on our goal and process.”

Kiesau previously worked with Harsin as Boise State, eventually becoming his offensive coordinator in 2020. He has also worked at Fresno State, Alabama, Washington, Kansas, Colorado, and Utah State in the past.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some really good coaches in my career, but very few have the offensive mind, the attention to detail and the overall plan for execution like Coach Harsin,” said Kiesau. “I’m fired up to work in a collaborative offensive environment like we have, from the head coach to the coordinator and position coaches to the analysts and all the way down to the graduate assistants. This gives you an opportunity to be successful, and our players feel that chemistry.”

Roc Bellantoni on his promotion

In addition to Kiesau’s comments, Bellantoni also released a statement in Auburn’s announcement about his promotion.

“Auburn football has had a long tradition of impact pass rushers and relentless outside linebacker and edge play,” said Bellantoni. “The opportunity to teach and mentor these young men who want to add to that legacy is truly an honor. That same relentless approach is what we expect from our special teams unit as well. This phase determines the outcome of many games, and exactly why we need an all-in mentality from every player and coach when it comes to special teams. We want to be the best in the country with those units and want guys who are possessed to make a game changing play as part of a special teams unit.”

Bellantoni began his coaching career in 1993 at the high school level. Since 1995, he has served in a number of defensive assistant roles across college football. Bellantoni has served as defensive coordinator at Drake, Eastern Illinois, Florida Atlantic, and Washington State. He has also been the special teams coordinator at at Buffalo and Utah State.

Auburn first hired Bellantoni as a defensive analyst ahead of the 2021 season. Bellantoni’s promotion comes after a number of changes to Auburn’s coaching staff since the end of last season.