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Bruce Pearl reached out to new Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin to offer support
By Jake Rill
Published:
Bruce Pearl was hired to be Auburn’s men’s basketball coach in March 2014. At that time, Gus Malzahn was already the Tigers’ football coach, having been hired himself in December 2012.
During that time, Pearl and Malzahn got to know each other well. But this year, Malzahn was fired by Auburn, while Pearl still remains the leader of the men’s basketball program. He’ll now get an opportunity to know Bryan Harsin, who was hired to be the Tigers’ new football coach on Dec. 22.
And the day after Harsin was hired, he had a conversation with Pearl on the phone.
“I told him how close Coach Malzahn and I were and still are, but that I was here for him to help him be successful,” Pearl said, according to AL.com’s Giana Han.
Harsin was previously the head coach at Boise State from 2014-20, and he played for the Broncos from 1995-99. He was also an assistant for the program from 2001-10, so he has spent much of his life near that school.
However, Pearl believes that Harsin will soon have an affinity for Auburn, too.
“I told him, I said Auburn is going to give Boise a run for its money, as far as a place where your family could be happy and be comfortable in a church setting and comfortable in a social setting,” Pearl said, per Han.
According to Han, Pearl also said that he thinks Harsin is a “great competitor,” a “grinder,” and “as good a man as he is a football coach.”
Now, Harsin will have an opportunity to try to lead the football program to success. This season, the Tigers are 9-4, marking the sixth straight season that they’ve lost four or more games.
Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.
