It couldn’t have been an easy decision for Bryan Harsin to leave his alma mater but when an elite program in the SEC came calling, the opportunity was too hard to pass up for the Boise State head coach.

Nine days after firing Gus Malzahn, Auburn pulled the trigger and named Bryan Harsin the leader of its football program.

Harsin heads to The Plains after racking up a 69-19 overall record at Boise State and three Mountain West Conference championships as the program’s head coach. Before landing the job at Boise State, Harsin served one season as Arkansas State head coach, where he replaced Gus Malzahn.

Prior to being named head coach of Boise State, Harsin served as Chris Petersen’s offensive coordinator at Boise State from 2006-2010. The Broncos went 61-5 during Harsin’s run as the team’s offensive coordinator. Harsin’s run included the infamous Statue of Liberty play in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl that beat Oklahoma. Harsin was the one that called the play.

After news of Harsin’s hire was released on Tuesday evening, former Auburn offensive lineman and current SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic shared his thoughts on the hire.

“Big fan of Coach Harsin. Covered his teams multiple times. Focused. Physicality will not be an issue. Direction & organization always on point. Scheme can be successful in the SEC. The staff will obviously go a long way in determining just how good the hire is, but for now,” Cubelic posted on Twitter.

The former Auburn lineman then followed up those comments with a video interview with Drew Carter of CBS 42:

Here is the statement issued by Harsin following his hire at Auburn:

“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.

“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!”