While the Bryan Harsin watch continues into Monday, everyone is weighing in on what is going down on the plains. Some believe the administration wants to move on from the head coach at any cost. But why are we at this point?
There are wild accusations on just about every college football message board. They have grown legs to the point outgoing school president Jay Gogue addressed the situation at a Board of Trustees meeting. The administration was addressing “future litigation matters” behind closed doors on Friday. Everyone can read between the lines, this had everything to do with the head coach.
According to the latest from Andy Staples of The Athletic, he believes this boils down to recruiting. He addressed it in his latest article on the Harsin situation (subscription required). Before you roll your eyes on that comment, let’s take a look at the premise here.
The answers may or may not help separate the fact from the fiction. But there is one fact that no one will or can dispute, and it probably explains better than any other why Harsin’s job is at stake so early in his tenure. If we want to make it as simple as possible, we can boil it down to one number.
No. 141.
That is the highest ranking on the 247Sports composite of any of Auburn’s signees in the class of 2022.
Shouldn’t Harsin have more time to establish his recruiting ties before he gets judged too harshly?
History says we can render a verdict on Harsin as a recruiter right now.
What exactly are we doing here?
More often than not when media, fans, or pundits call for a change at head coach due to lack of recruiting, it usually bleeds onto the field. However, in this instance, the administration could want change at the head coach because of one class. It is a tale as old as time: The brass is having buyer’s remorse.
The issue here, for me anyway, is holding Harsin accountable after one class. That one class finished in the top 20 of the 247Sports composite team rankings. Why should they hold Harsin to a higher standard than previous coaches? Staples mentions a top-five class being the measuring stick, that’s the bar.
Since 2000 the Auburn Tigers have secured a top-five class once: 2011. They have been close, but the Tigers haven’t shown the ability to consistently recruit at that top-five level other schools have.
Seems as though this is just another scapegoat to get rid of a coach the board never wanted in the first place.