It was a deal done with a lot of silence and it truly came out of the blue … the blue turf, if you don’t mind.
Per Jay Tate of AuburnSports.com, sources confirmed to him that Boise State’s Bryan Harsin has agreed to become the 27th head coach at Auburn.
The impending deal was first reported by Pete Thamel who wrote:
Once Auburn fired coach Gus Malzahn last week, a spree of rumors and backchannels around the university began. Auburn officials point to Harsin’s hiring as the culmination of a thorough search run by athletic director Allen Greene, which included the use of Parker Executive Search.
“There’s been lots of speculation out there, but it’s been a professional search,” said source familiar with the search. “The process was managed in a way that’s consistent with industry standards.”
One of things that appealed to Auburn officials was Harsin’s competitiveness, as the school acknowledges the challenge of competing in the SEC West. Harsin comes from the Chris Petersen tree at Boise State, which is known for high integrity and the ability to connect with players.
Along with high-flying offenses, it was attractive to Auburn officials that Boise State traditionally values dominating both lines of scrimmage.
In seven seasons with the Broncos, Harsin went 69-19 and won three Mountain West Conference championships.
This would be the second time he has taken over a job from Gus Malzahn, the first coming in 2013 at Arkansas State.
