USA TODAY ranks Bryan Harsin, Gus Malzahn hirings as top this offseason

It took some time for Auburn to find its new head coach but they found a good one in Bryan Harsin who the Tigers hired away from Boise State.

USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg definitely thinks highly of the hire as he has it as the second-best hiring of this offseason.

Harsin had options over the years but waited patiently for the right opportunity, following the trajectory of a career that has always taken a calculated approach to the next move. His program at Boise State (2014-20), where he won 78% of his games but never fully escaped Chris Petersen’s shadow, developed the most important positions on the field: quarterbacks, offensive tackles and edge rushers. As long as the standard for success isn’t unseating Nick Saban and Alabama from atop the SEC, Harsin is a very good fit.

Now, about that unseating Nick Saban and Alabama thing. Isn’t that the goal of any SEC coach, especially the one at Auburn?

Yet it wasn’t just Harsin who was named on the list. In fact, the guy he replaced — Gus Malzahn — was ranked the best hire of the offseason by Myerberg.

“Malzahn will inherit one of the top teams in the Group of Five, including one of the nation’s best quarterbacks in Dillon Gabriel, and for the first time in his coaching career have the luxury of holding a talent advantage against nearly every opponent. First off, he’ll have to show how his hurry-up offense can be tailored to fit Gabriel. But to reel in a coach who won 66% of his games at Auburn (2012-20), beat Alabama three times and played for a national championship is an enormous victory for UCF.”

It wasn’t all good for coaches with Auburn roots in the rankings as Terry Bowden, who joined Louisiana-Monroe as its head coach, came in dead last.

“Bowden’s time at Akron (2012-18) should give him a taste of what’s to come at ULM, which never led for a single second during the 2020 season. Is the 64-year-old former Auburn coach the right fit for a program that needs a complete reboot? In good news, you have to like Bowden’s addition of former West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez as offensive coordinator.”

Ouch. That one hurts. Let’s hope Myerberg is right about Harsin, though.