Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin takes job in nation’s top conference
Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin is heading to the SEC.
Auburn has hired Harsin to replace Gus Malzahn, Auburn announced Tuesday evening. Malzahn was fired Dec. 18 after eight seasons with the Tigers.
“I’m incredibly excited and humbled for the opportunity to be at a place like Auburn University. I knew it would take a special opportunity to get me out of Boise, and Auburn is exactly that — the chance to compete at the highest level for one of the greatest programs in college football,” Harsin said in a statement released by Auburn.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for the coaches and players in the Southeastern Conference, but am ready to help build a foundation at Auburn where we can consistently compete for championships. I want our program to make Auburn proud both on and off the field with consistent excellence. I’m very grateful to (Auburn Athletic Director) Allen Greene and (Auburn President) Dr. (Jay) Gogue for this opportunity. Kes, our kids and I can’t wait to meet the Auburn family and get to work! War Eagle!”
In seven seasons as the head coach at Boise State, Harsin was 69-19, with a 49-8 record in Mountain West play. He led the Broncos to four straight conference championship games and three Mountain West titles (2014, 2017 and 2019). Boise State was ranked in the Top 25 at some point in each of Harsin’s seasons.
“I think it’s a great hire,” former Boise State quarterback Jaylon Henderson told the Idaho Statesman. “I think he’s going to be able to compete for a national championship, and I know that’s what he wanted.”
Boise State finished the 2020 season 5-2, falling to San Jose State in the Mountain West championship game before opting out of playing in a game bowl. The Broncos also signed 15 recruits last Wednesday on early signing day, including quarterback Taylen Green, who said he and the bulk of the class remain firm in their commitment.
Green said Tuesday that he’d already spoken to wide receiver Kaden Dudley and safeties Seyi Oladipo and Zion Washington.
“We’ve all said we’re sticking with Boise State and going to ball out and work hard,” said Green, adding that he and Harsin texted at least twice a week during the recruiting process.
After serving as Boise State’s offensive coordinator from 2006 to 2010, Harsin spent two seasons as the co-offensive coordinator at Texas (2011-12). He helped transform the Longhorns’ offense from 88th in the country prior to his arrival to a No. 24 ranking in 2012.
He then earned his first head coaching job at Arkansas State in 2013, leading the Red Wolves to a 7-5 record, a share of the Sun Belt Conference championship and a berth in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. He replaced Malzahn there, too.
Harsin returned as the Broncos’ head coach in 2014 after Chris Petersen left to take the job at Washington.
In Harsin’s debut season, Boise State went 12-2 and won its first outright Mountain West championship followed by a 38-30 victory against Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl. He was named a finalist for the Paul “Bear Bryant” National Coach of the Year Award, the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award and the Dodd Trophy that season.
Harsin is a graduate of Capital High who went on to play quarterback at Boise State from 1995 to 1999. He graduated from Boise State with a degree in business management and began his coaching career as a running backs and receivers coach at Eastern Oregon in 2000. He joined Boise State’s staff as a graduate assistant in 2001 and served as the Broncos’ tight ends coach from 2002 to 2005.
All told, Harsin has been in the Broncos’ program in some capacity for 22 of the past 26 seasons — and for all three Fiesta Bowl wins.
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Harsin to the Auburn family,” Greene, the Auburn athletic director, said in a statement. “He’s a proven winner whose record speaks for itself. Coach Harsin impressed me with his detailed plan to lead Auburn to consistently compete for championships in the Southeastern Conference.”
Boise State President Marlene Tromp said a national search for the Broncos’ next head coach will begin immediately.
“Boise State has been on a stunning trajectory for decades and has effectively built on our previous successes,” Tromp said in a statement released Tuesday evening. “Each of our head coaches has used his unique talents to enhance the excellence of this program — an excellence we have all come to expect — and we are confident that our next coach will do the same. This is an exciting time for Boise State and Bronco Athletics.”
Harsin’s departure comes at a tumultuous time for the Broncos’ program. Tromp became Boise State’s president in July 2019. Since then, Athletic Director Curt Apsey has moved into a university-level fundraising role; the baseball and swimming and diving teams have been cut; the athletic department has faced a potential revenue shortfall of more than $20 million because of COVID-19; and emails from Harsin have been released through public records requests indicating he wanted to leave the Mountain West and was concerned about his program’s budget. The school is in the process of searching for an athletic director.
A pair of familiar names are likely to be candidates to replace Harsin: Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, a former linebacker at Boise State who also spent time as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator; and former Boise State star Kellen Moore, who is the most successful quarterback in program history and the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive coordinator.
Avalos played at Boise State from 2000 to 2004 and was an All-WAC linebacker, leading the team in tackles three times. He returned as the defensive line coach under Petersen (2012-13) and stayed on as the linebackers coach under Harsin (2014-15) before becoming the defensive coordinator (2016-18).
“I’ve never set out and said, ‘I want to be a head coach,’ ” Avalos told the Idaho Statesman in March 2019 after he left for Oregon. “I want to do the best in my role, let the rest handle itself. It’s got me this far, staying on that track. Whatever opportunities, we’ll address them when they pop up. Boise has a huge spot in my heart. It’s the place that helped me grow.”
Moore won a major college football record 50 games, with just three losses, as the Broncos’ quarterback from 2008 to 2011. He’s in his third year as an NFL coach after playing in the league. He’s in his second year as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator, but has no college coaching experience.
“I’ll do anything for Boise, and you never know with this coaching thing where it will take you,” Moore told the Idaho Statesman in March 2018. “It’s a place I’d love to be. … If something were to happen, it would obviously be interesting.”
Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter may also get a look. He was the head coach at Boise State from 1998 to 2000 and a finalist when Harsin was hired.
Petersen stepped down as Washington’s coach at the end of the 2019 season and is out of coaching. His last game was a win against Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Harsin’s contract buyout is $250,000, a small number by college football standards. That’s a product of his contract, which extended each time he won eight games — leaving him with essentially a perpetual five-year deal. His buyout started at $2 million and phased out after four seasons. A new buyout was added in October 2018.
Harsin was scheduled to make $1.95 million at Boise State in 2021.
Harsin was the fourth straight highly successful coach at Boise State: Dirk Koetter was 26-10 from 1998 to 2000 (two conference titles), Dan Hawkins was 53-11 from 2001 to 2005 (four conference titles) and Petersen was 92-12 from 2006 to 2013 (five conference titles).
Harsin will face similar expectations at Auburn, which fired Malzahn despite a 68-35 record in eight seasons coaching in the nation’s most challenging conference and in the same division as perennial power and rival Alabama.
The SEC has won 10 of the past 14 national titles, including Auburn in 2010.
“We started the search with two goals. We want a coach who will lead our team to consistently compete at the highest levels and to make Auburn proud on and off the field. We found both in Coach Harsin,” Gogue said.
This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 5:02 PM.
