Outgoing Auburn President clears the air on Bryan Harsin situation
On Friday afternoon, outgoing Auburn President Jay Gogue finally put some more clarity to the very strange situation over the past few weeks with their head football coach, Bryan Harsin. He issued a statement, Auburn’s second of the day on Harsin, that reads:
“Let me be clear — our university, the administration and the entire Board of Trustees stand behind Coach Harsin and are ready to help him succeed as the leader of our football program. It is my hope and expectation that the entire Auburn Family will join us in uniting behind Coach Harsin.”
The situation for the past few weeks has been undoubtedly very strange and flat out bizarre, to say the least. The statement from Jay Gogue comes on the same day Auburn made the news official that they were keeping Bryan Harsin as their head football coach.
The school announced today that Harsin would return
After two weeks of speculation and rumors surrounding their head coach, the Tigers officially announced on Friday that Harsin would return next season. Auburn Live’s Justin Hokanson first reported on Feb. 3 that Harsin’s future as Auburn’s head coach was “in question.”
ESPN first reported the news of Auburn retaining Harsin as the team’s head coach, and the Tigers officially announced the news later on Friday. After a “fact-finding review, Auburn opted to give Harsin a second season.
The past couple of weeks have been hard for Harsin, and that had nothing to do with being a football coach. He was on the receiving end of a lot of criticism, but he is ultimately happy that some came to support him.
“This has been one of the hardest weeks of my career and it had nothing to do with my coaching ability,” said Harsin. “The personal attacks on me and my family went too far and were without justification. Their resolve through this experience has been incredible but also completely expected. We saw and felt the worst of the worst in some people. Fortunately, we also saw the best of the best in others and we will always be grateful for the support of so many through a very difficult time – our players, staff, the Auburn family, and many others.”
Harsin: ‘I know who I am as a husband, father and football coach’
As Auburn conducted its investigation over recent days, Harsin said that he “cooperated fully.” He also took the opportunity to say that he knows who he is both as Auburn’s head football coach, as a husband, and father.
“I know who I am as a husband, father and football coach and cooperated fully throughout this process,” Harsin said. “I believe that every challenge in life is an opportunity to grow and learn. This is no different. Every day we’re not moving forward together is a step in the wrong direction. In order for us to take the Auburn program where we all want it to go we must, at all levels, commit to each other and this great university that we all love. I’m confident we can get there under the leadership of Dr. Gogue, incoming President Roberts, Allen Greene, and our Board of Trustees.
“I’m proud to be your head coach and appreciate the opportunity to lead the incredible group of young men in our locker room. War Eagle!”
The Tigers went 6-7 in Harsin’s first season. After a turbulent offseason, he is hoping to see improvements all-around in 2022.
On3’s Jonathan Wagner also contributed to the report.