Auburn University Tuesday hired Boise State's Bryan Harsin as its next head coach. Harsin comes to the Tigers after compiling a 69-19 record at Boise State, where he led the team to three conference championships.
Harsin issued the following statement:
“I’m incredibly excited and humbled for the opportunity to be at a place like Auburn University. I knew it would take a special opportunity to get me out of Boise and Auburn is exactly that, the chance to compete at the highest level for one of the greatest programs in college football,” Harsin said in a statement. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for the coaches and players in the Southeastern Conference, but am ready to help build a foundation at Auburn where we can consistently compete for championships. I want our program to make Auburn proud both on and off the field with consistent excellence. I’m very grateful to Allen Greene and Dr. Gogue for this opportunity. Kes, our kids and I can’t wait to meet the Auburn family and get to work! War Eagle!"
Harsin's hiring was announced nine days after Auburn fired Gus Malzahn. It's not the first time Harsin has followed Malzahn. His first head coaching job was at Arkansas State where he succeeded Malzahn in 2013, following the latter's hiring by Auburn.
“We started the search with two goals," Auburn president Jay Gogue said. "We want a coach who will lead our team to consistently compete at the highest levels and to make Auburn proud on and off the field. We found both in Coach Harsin.” Gogue defended the search calling it "thoughtful and diligent," and criticized "misinformation about the process."