Shutterstock
Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin is addressing the mounting rumors that have been making the rounds in the news and on social media.
There have been accusations of “volatility” within the Tigers program and questions about his treatment of assistant coaches and players — along with some unfounded, salacious rumors online — which Harsin says are all a bunch of “bullsh*t.”
Harsin gave an interview to ESPN and defended himself against the allegations with a fiery statement.
“Any attack on my character is bullsh*t,” Harsin said. “None of that is who I am.
“I’m the Auburn coach, and that’s how I’m operating every day. I want this thing to work, and I’ve told our players and told everybody else there is no Plan B. 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.”
His future as @AuburnFootball’s coach in limbo, Bryan Harsin tells ESPN: “I didn’t come here to fail.” https://t.co/tRrN9CjZ3i
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) February 4, 2022
According to Harsin, he is currently on vacation and there has been no indication that he will be fired.
Auburn went a disappointing 6-7 in Harsin’s first season at the helm — after a 6-2 start which saw the Tigers reach No. 12 in the rankings. After five straight losses to end the season, a number of high-profile players transferred from the program, including quarterback Bo Nix and 18 scholarship players in total.
The Tigers also saw a huge overturn in the staff with coaches being fired and making lateral moves to other programs.
Despite all of the turmoil in the offseason, Harsin plans to continue moving forward as the Auburn coach.
“This is where I want to be. This is what I want to do,” Harsin said. “That’s why I came here. I didn’t come here to fail. We’ve got to build something, and right now I feel like when you hear some of these things, that there’s a lot of things building against me.
“Certainly, I’m the right man for the job. There’s no doubt about it. No one is going to have a better plan than I do, but we’ve got to change some things. This place is not going to be a championship program until we change some things. You’ve got to let the head coach be the head coach and support him.”
We will have to wait and see if the Auburn Board of Trustees agrees.
