A new ESPN feature revealed that Auburn was close to landing a different coach from current head coach [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] before the 2020 season.
The piece, written by ESPN writer David M. Hale, detailed two head coaching opportunities that current Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables had while he was a coordinator at Clemson — one of which was with the Auburn Tigers. Here is what the article had to say about the potential move from Venables:
“There was a point, said Venables’ oldest son, Jake, when the family had all but given up on the idea he might one day make the leap. But every so often, a job would open, and Venables would gather the family in the living room to talk through the pros and cons. Florida State called a few years back, but that didn’t feel right. Then there was Auburn after the 2020 season. That one seemed promising. They put it to a vote. The family voted in favor of taking the gig. Venables voted against it.”
It’s impossible to say just how much would have changed had Venables taken the Auburn gig, but given the controversy with Harsin’s attempted coup over the offseason, it would be interesting to see what could have happened if Auburn had landed Venables instead. Perhaps it was for reasons like what happened in the offseason that Venables didn’t take the job, but Auburn wasn’t the only school he spurned — according to the report, Venables also had an opportunity to coach Florida State in 2019 that he turned down as well.
[vertical-gallery id=50697]