ESPN Insider: Updated timeline for Auburn decision on Bryan Harsin

Coming into the 2022 season, most fans, insiders, and experts expected Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin to be the first coach to get fired. He wasn’t. Since the season started, five Power Five schools have fired their head football coaches. Still, most people expect the end to come sooner than later for Harsin at Auburn.

Now, Adam Rittenberg, a college football insider for ESPN, has given an updated timeline for Auburn to make a decision on Bryan Harsin.

“The Tigers blew a double-digit lead on their home field for the second straight game, and this time couldn’t escape as LSU won 21-17 after trailing 17-0. Auburn has slipped to 107th nationally in scoring,” Rittenberg writes.

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Next up for Auburn is rival Georgia. The Bulldogs are the defending national champions and are coming off a difficult win against Missouri. For Auburn’s part, the Tigers are 30-point underdogs in this game. If they do lose badly, it could be the final nail in the coffin for Bryan Harsin.

According to Rittenberg, an ugly loss to Georgia will probably signal the end for Bryan Harsin. That is unless Auburn waits for a bye week to make the transition.

“Harsin made it through the weekend, but a loss to Georgia, especially an ugly one, could spell the end for him on the Plains. Auburn also could wait until after next week’s game at Ole Miss, as the team then has an open week before hosting Arkansas.”

Auburn’s next five games are against Georgia, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Texas A&M before they play Western Kentucky and travel to Alabama to end the season.

Pete Thamel on Bryan Harsin firing

Adam Rittenberg isn’t the only ESPN college football insider who is working to set a timeline for Bryan Harsin’s future. Pete Thamel has also discussed the chances that Harsin is fired and the challenges in doing so now.

“Predicting Auburn when you don’t know who’s in charge, is always a little bit dangerous. I think there’s a really good chance if the result is lopsided. I mean, they’ve become kind of a caricature of themselves at this point at Auburn, because it is a matter of when Bryan Harsin gets fired at Auburn, not if. There have been — there was a window last week to do it, especially after the way the play calling went in the second half. They passed,” Thamel said.

“The interesting part of the dynamics of firing Bryan Harsin is that he’s the play caller, and there’s no obvious interim on staff. So, do you make (Secondary Coach/Associate Head Coach) Zac Etheridge the head coach, who’s kind of one of your young Auburn guys who, I would say, sometimes guys do this like at USC, may save the recruiting class, or to keep recruiting momentum going. Maybe the worst recruiting class in the SEC. So that doesn’t seem to be a factor, but like, you still have to coach six games at this point. That’s a long time. There’s some pretty high leverage games left. That’s not a place that just wants to wave the flag.”