Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin adds familiar face to initial coaching staff
Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin is turning to a name he knows very well to lead the Tigers’ strength and conditioning program.
The program announced on Tuesday that Jeff Pitman has been hired to the position, replacing Ryan Russell. Pitman was part of Harsin’s staff during the latter’s stint at Arkansas State and then joined him at Boise State in 2014. The 2 were also on the Boise State staff together from 2001-2006 as Harsin returned to his alma mater as a graduate assistant and was eventually named offensive coordinator prior to the 2006 campaign.
“He has been an instrumental part of many championship teams and players he has worked with leave their time with him praising Coach Pitman for developing them as football players and men,” Harsin said in a statement. “We know his approach in the weight room and other performance areas will make our players better all-around, especially as he specializes with our men up front on the offensive and defensive lines.”
Pitman, a former Boise State offensive lineman, walked on to the Broncos program during the late 1980s during its Division 1-AA days and eventually earned a scholarship and a starting role. His other collegiate coaching stops include Minnesota, Montana State, San José State, Colorado and Western Carolina.
Harsin has a fine line to walk in respect to his staff. He needs people that he knows and that are familiar with his schemes, yet he also needs coaches that know, and have a name in the southeast for recruiting. AU has a few good ones he probably will consider, hopefully the offensive line coach will not be one and a position in which he can improve.
He doesn’t have a fine line to walk.. he’s the HC. It’s his staff and he’ll build it how he wants it to built, regardless of where they came from. Recruiting is a national thing now and not just the southeast. Also the OL coach has been there for one year. A year where there was no spring practice or anything. Hard to imagine him coming back but the OL problems weren’t his fault.
sonny boy you show your ignorance
Great response.. You make some very good points
This has nothing to do with the article, but, since we’re losing so many receivers this year, we must go after Oklahoma transfer Charlston Rambo. Maybe Grant Calcaterra can recruit him for us.
Please ex lain to me why it is ok for Bama, Georgia, LSU, and others to recruit into California and Texas ( among other states) yet multiple media experts ( Finebaum in particular) insist that we stay in our recruiting footprint in the South?? We MUST keep our Southern connections.
That is absolute baloney. If anything, we need to expand nationally. We need to go after the best players regardless of location.Then coach them up. Sure, I think we have some good assistants now. But how loyal are they going to be Coach Harsin? And how good are our assistants at developing players?? We don’t know. Sure Malzahn is responsible for some of the non development. But all of it?? Makes you wonder.
I think we need to let Harsin do his job. Pick who he wants and lets give him time. So what if the recruiting rankings slip some this year?
But all this stuff about staying in the footprint is ludicrous. All that counts is what’s on the field.
Get the best players and coaches you can get.
because nationally most do not who the barn is?
Don’t think that’s it.
Neither do you because there is nobody called barn.