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Social media reacts to Auburn hiring Bryan Harsin as its new head coach
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Auburn has its next head coach, hiring Boise State’s Bryan Harsin to fill the vacancy left by the firing of Gus Malzahn. Ahead of Tuesday’s official announcement, it was widely reported that the two parties had reached an agreement, which led to reactions on social media.
Ironically, this is the 2nd time Harsin is replacing a job left open by Malzahn. Following the 2012 season, Arkansas State hired the then-Texas co-offensive coordinator after Malzahn left for the Plains, with Harsin leading the Red Wolves to a 7-5 mark before being hired as the head coach of his alma mater.
At Boise, Harsin was 69-19.
Harsin will be tasked with boosting the profile of a program that struggled to meet expectations throughout Malzahn’s tenure. Outside of the 2013 and 2017 seasons, the Tigers failed to finish better than 3rd in the SEC West. Against Alabama, Malzahn was 3-5.
Social media reaction was fairly mixed on the hiring of Harsin. Here is a sampling of what was said of the decision:
Is Auburn required to hire former Arkansas State head coaches?
If Bryan Harsin was Allen Greene’s hire, then I’m happy for Greene. I suspect he was.
I don’t know if this dude can recruit against Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Georgia, etc., but we’re about to find out.
— Justin Hokanson (@_JHokanson) December 22, 2020
Bryan Harsin to Auburn is a great hire. They’ll be immediately better next season and the offense will be much better. Put stock in @BoNix10 folks
— Donovan James (@DonJamesSports) December 22, 2020
Got to chat in person with Bryan Harsin on our trip to Boise. Smart. Aggressive. Offensive-minded. Innovative. Confident. Bowl game every season. Finished in top 25 four of last six years. Good hire for Auburn. Bummer loss for Broncos fans. He’s really good.
— Damon Amendolara (@DamonAmendo) December 22, 2020
#Auburn fans are vigorously googling “Boise State football” and Bryan Harsin right now. #AuburnFootball #AuburnCoach #WarEagle
— Joel Laseter (@JoelLaseter) December 22, 2020
Bryan Harsin is a damn good coach. I'm way more impressed with what he did than Hugh Freeze, tbh. But that just seems like an…odd fit? At Auburn?
— Billy Gomila (@BillyGomila) December 22, 2020
Let’s be honest, Bryan Harsin just looking to spend a couple years in the south and get that buyout life
— zach ragan (@zachTNT) December 22, 2020
https://twitter.com/DonorBig/status/1341522363867869185
I'm not super upset about Bryan Harsin, but given the names that came prior this is a bit underwhelming. Dude was solid at Boise though and always had a QB.
— Colby Dodson (@colbydodson) December 22, 2020
Bryan Harsin better win right off the bat or he'll be out at #Auburn after 2 seasons. #SEC #NCAAF
— VC's SPORTS PICKS (The Colonel) (@TheVOLColonel) December 22, 2020
I’d like to congratulate Auburn on hiring a guy who had a worse career winning percentage at Boise St than Dan Hawkins
— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) December 22, 2020
O …. kay? ?♂️ https://t.co/ScLPghBisJ
— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) December 22, 2020
https://t.co/G1rnDcNkOP pic.twitter.com/RbecPJi7eR
— Barstool Bama (@BarstoolAlabama) December 22, 2020
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
