Auburn University head football coach Bryan Harsin is expected to face heightened scrutiny this season as discontent permeates throughout the institution’s athletic department.
Harsin’s job security appeared to be in jeopardy after the football program experienced an exodus of players and staff after the Tigers’ 2021 season. The turmoil led the university’s administration to conduct a review into its head coach.
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Last week, former AU Athletic Director Allen Greene announced his resignation after reports surfaced which suggested his contract was at risk of being terminated.
According to SEC football media icon Paul Finebaum, Greene’s resignation was an indication the hiring of Harsin had not been viewed favorably by administration officials.
“As somebody who has criticized Auburn a lot over the years, this was the right and necessary move,” Finebaum said during a Monday appearance on WJOX 94.5 FM’s “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.” “… This was something that was a setup, that states the obvious, that most people at Auburn don’t think Bryan Harsin is going to make it. I’m talking administration-wise. And when that happens, why stay with a lame-duck athletic director who clearly has looked for other jobs. Get rid of him.”
Greene’s decision to “buck the system,” Finebaum said, cost the administrator his job.
“He made a decision at Auburn to buck the system, and buck the hierarchy and he paid for it with his job,” he said. “Just like we all knew he would the moment Bryan Harsin had a bad first season.”
The @SECNetwork's Paul @Finebaum joined @MacandCube to share his thoughts on the announcement that Allen Greene is out as the @AuburnTigers' athletic director.
Whole interview here: https://t.co/tL5dDolzdL pic.twitter.com/jkuTeLUIOf
— WJOX 94.5 FM (@WJOX945) August 29, 2022
Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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