Auburn investigates exodus under former Boise State coach Harsin. Kellen Moore still a Cowboy
Former Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said he doesn’t plan on looking for a new job anytime soon, despite inquiries from Auburn officials after a mass exodus of players and coaches since his first season at the SEC school ended, he told ESPN on Thursday.
“I want this thing to work, and I’ve told our players and told everybody else there is no Plan B,” Harsin told ESPN late Thursday night. “I’m not planning on going anywhere. This was and is the job. That’s why I left the one I was in, to come here and make this place a championship program and leave it better than I found it.”
Harsin said he hasn’t had any conversations with Auburn officials that suggest he won’t be back for the 2022 season, but university administrators are investigating the circumstances surrounding the exit of 20 players and five assistant coaches since Harsin took over.
The overall volatility of the program and Harsin’s treatment of players is at the root of Auburn’s investigation, according to ESPN.
“There have been a lot of rumors and speculation about our football program,” Auburn President Jay Gogue said at a board of trustees meeting on Friday. “I just want you to know we’re trying to separate fact from fiction. We’ll keep you posted and make the appropriate decision at the right time.”
A former player recently went public with his thoughts on how Harsin treated him. Defensive lineman Lee Hunter, who has transferred to UCF, posted Friday on Instagram that “Coach Harsin has the true mindset for a winner but has a terrible mindset as a person. The reason I chose to leave auburn (is) because we got treated like we (weren’t) good enough and like dogs.”
Auburn defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding — one of three assistant coaches Harsin took with him from Boise State — went to Twitter to defend his head coach on Friday morning. Schmedding was promoted to defensive coordinator after Derek Mason left for Oklahoma State last week.
“(Coach Harsin) and this staff are building men of character,” he wrote. “Block the noise and work.”
Former Boise State offensive line coach Brad Bedell is now coaching tight ends at Auburn, and former offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau is coaching wide receivers. Kiesau was promoted to wide receivers coach after Harsin fired former assistant Cornelius Williams four games into the season.
Strength coach Jeff Pitman and associate athletic director Brad Larrondo also joined Harsin at Auburn.
If Harsin is fired without cause, it will cost Auburn $18.3 million to buy him out of the remaining five years of his contract. He signed a six-year deal last January.
Harsin — a former quarterback at Boise State — left his alma mater in December 2020 after seven seasons as head coach. He went 6-7 in his first season at Auburn, and the Tigers ended the year on a five-game losing streak, including a loss to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl.
His tenure at Auburn has already been marked by constant turnover on his coaching staff. Harsin fired offensive coordinator Mike Bobo after the season ended. Mason left for Oklahoma State, and Bobo’s successor, former Seattle Seahawks assistant coach Austin Davis, resigned for personal reasons earlier this week after less than two months on the job.
Moore is still on the market
The Jacksonville Jaguars have hired Doug Pederson as head coach, the team announced Thursday night.
Pederson, who won Super Bowl LII with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018, will replace Urban Meyer, who was fired last December.
The vacancy being filled means one less possible destination for former Boise State quarterback and current Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
The Jaguars were the first team to request an interview with Moore. He was also connected to coaching vacancies in Philadelphia and Minnesota, and Moore reportedly had a second interview with the Miami Dolphins this week.
Moore was a candidate to take over at Boise State after Harsin left for Auburn, but he took himself out of the running after signing a three-year contract extension with the Cowboys. He joined the staff in Dallas as quarterbacks coach in 2018 and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019.
Moore still holds program records at Boise State for career touchdown passes (142), passing yards (14,667), completions (1,157) and attempts (1,658), and his 50 career victories are the most by any quarterback in NCAA history. He ranks No. 2 in NCAA history in career touchdown passes, behind former Houston quarterback Case Keenum.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 11:29 AM.
