By Joseph Goodman | jgoodman@al.com
The future is uncertain for Auburn football after that blinding sugar crash against Mississippi State, and we’re about to learn a lot about how much faith people have in the first-year coach.
For example, is Bryan Harsin vaccinated for COVID-19? He won’t say, and that has created some confusion for Auburn, but trusting that Harsin knows what’s best for Auburn football is the only way for Auburn to be a winner in the SEC.
Gotta trust that he’s going to be fully vaccinated by Auburn University’s new deadline.
Gotta trust that he can manage his assistant coaches.
Gotta trust that he knows how to land a Top 5 recruiting class.
Gotta trust that this team right now at Auburn, the one that just blew the largest lead in program history, is all part of the plan.
The learning curve for winning in the SEC is too steep for most coaches, and, historically, patience and trust have not been virtues for some of the power brokers and fans on The Plains. It’s going to take plenty of it, though, before the chance even exists for Harsin to turn Auburn into a champion. That’s just the hard truth on a cloudy day in November. Auburn’s dream seems so far away now, with the team sitting at 6-4 heading to South Carolina, but one recruiting class can change everything.
Be patient, Auburn. Have faith.
We’ve seen it at Alabama with Nick Saban, and we’ve seen it at Georgia with Kirby Smart. How did they build contenders year after year? It’s not some big mystery. Saban and Smart have done it by out-recruiting everyone in the SEC.
Those two giants of coaching are Auburn’s primary rivals, so there is no reason to think that Harsin and Auburn can’t be giants, too, with the best players in the country wearing navy blue and Auburn orange. Auburn is currently ranked 12th in the SEC in recruiting, per 247Sports’ composite breakdown, and there are only 27 more days until the beginning of the early signing period, but have faith. Be patient.
Trust that Harsin’s vaccination status won’t matter when it comes to recruiting.
Harsin promised a consistent national powerhouse when he was hired, and we’ve watched him use this first season to hollow out the program down to the studs. People need to remember, with Auburn facing the real possibility of a four-game losing streak to end the season, that Harsin was hired to revolutionize a program. He wasn’t hired to win the SEC West in Year One or Year Two.
Patience, Auburn. Trust. Maybe even consider not worrying about wins and losses at all until Year Three.
Don’t forget that Saban had to tear down Alabama in 2007 before going undefeated in the regular season in 2008, and then winning it all in 2009. Gus Malzahn never lost three games in a row at Auburn, and Harsin needs a victory against South Carolina to avoid that streak, but have faith. Saban lost four in a row to end the 2007 regular season, and look how that turned out.
Is it fair to compare Harsin to Saban? Yes, it is, because that’s life in the SEC West. The only difference between Alabama, Georgia and Auburn is that Alabama and Georgia had the ability to hire sure things. Auburn took a chance, and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as Harsin is given time to try and build the program he envisions.
With quarterback Bo Nix now injured, it feels like the complete gutting of Auburn football is only just beginning, and so the main questions are these (aside from the obvious one about Harsin’s vaccination status). One, how long is Auburn willing to be mediocre in hopes of a complete culture change? And, two, is Harsin the guy to do that for the Tigers?
Put another way, is the culture Harsin wants to establish going to revolutionize Auburn football into an SEC champion? There is no way to know right now, and there is no reason to doubt him. It’s too soon for all that even if this season is nearing its end. Will they play hard for Harsin on Saturday after the collapse against Mississippi State? Doesn’t matter if you have faith.
Harsin, a different kind of coach than we’ve seen in the SEC, is going to need time to mold this thing into his likeness. After that inconceivable loss to Mississippi State, Harsin was asked how to keep morale high on his team, and his answer revealed a lot about how he wants to build Auburn into a perennial winner.
The players need to “love ball,” he said.
It’s hard to imagine young men from the Deep South playing football at Auburn University yet lacking love for this game they’ve grown up worshipping like a religion. Did they lose against Mississippi State because they didn’t “love ball” enough? No, of course not. Because that’s ridiculous.
That’s the funny thing about love. When stress tests that most human of ideas, people learn quickly that true love isn’t an emotion at all. It’s an expression of trust and faith.
The future is uncertain for Auburn football after that blinding sugar crash against Mississippi State, and we’re about to learn a lot about how much faith people have in the first-year coach.
For example, is Bryan Harsin vaccinated for COVID-19? He won’t say, and that has created some confusion for Auburn, but trusting that Harsin knows what’s best for Auburn football is the only way for Auburn to be a winner in the SEC.
Gotta trust that he’s going to be fully vaccinated by Auburn University’s new deadline.
Gotta trust that he can manage his assistant coaches.
Gotta trust that he knows how to land a Top 5 recruiting class.
Gotta trust that this team right now at Auburn, the one that just blew the largest lead in program history, is all part of the plan.
The learning curve for winning in the SEC is too steep for most coaches, and, historically, patience and trust have not been virtues for some of the power brokers and fans on The Plains. It’s going to take plenty of it, though, before the chance even exists for Harsin to turn Auburn into a champion. That’s just the hard truth on a cloudy day in November. Auburn’s dream seems so far away now, with the team sitting at 6-4 heading to South Carolina, but one recruiting class can change everything.
Be patient, Auburn. Have faith.
We’ve seen it at Alabama with Nick Saban, and we’ve seen it at Georgia with Kirby Smart. How did they build contenders year after year? It’s not some big mystery. Saban and Smart have done it by out-recruiting everyone in the SEC.
Those two giants of coaching are Auburn’s primary rivals, so there is no reason to think that Harsin and Auburn can’t be giants, too, with the best players in the country wearing navy blue and Auburn orange. Auburn is currently ranked 12th in the SEC in recruiting, per 247Sports’ composite breakdown, and there are only 27 more days until the beginning of the early signing period, but have faith. Be patient.
Trust that Harsin’s vaccination status won’t matter when it comes to recruiting.
Harsin promised a consistent national powerhouse when he was hired, and we’ve watched him use this first season to hollow out the program down to the studs. People need to remember, with Auburn facing the real possibility of a four-game losing streak to end the season, that Harsin was hired to revolutionize a program. He wasn’t hired to win the SEC West in Year One or Year Two.
Patience, Auburn. Trust. Maybe even consider not worrying about wins and losses at all until Year Three.
Don’t forget that Saban had to tear down Alabama in 2007 before going undefeated in the regular season in 2008, and then winning it all in 2009. Gus Malzahn never lost three games in a row at Auburn, and Harsin needs a victory against South Carolina to avoid that streak, but have faith. Saban lost four in a row to end the 2007 regular season, and look how that turned out.
Is it fair to compare Harsin to Saban? Yes, it is, because that’s life in the SEC West. The only difference between Alabama, Georgia and Auburn is that Alabama and Georgia had the ability to hire sure things. Auburn took a chance, and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as Harsin is given time to try and build the program he envisions.
With quarterback Bo Nix now injured, it feels like the complete gutting of Auburn football is only just beginning, and so the main questions are these (aside from the obvious one about Harsin’s vaccination status). One, how long is Auburn willing to be mediocre in hopes of a complete culture change? And, two, is Harsin the guy to do that for the Tigers?
Put another way, is the culture Harsin wants to establish going to revolutionize Auburn football into an SEC champion? There is no way to know right now, and there is no reason to doubt him. It’s too soon for all that even if this season is nearing its end. Will they play hard for Harsin on Saturday after the collapse against Mississippi State? Doesn’t matter if you have faith.
Harsin, a different kind of coach than we’ve seen in the SEC, is going to need time to mold this thing into his likeness. After that inconceivable loss to Mississippi State, Harsin was asked how to keep morale high on his team, and his answer revealed a lot about how he wants to build Auburn into a perennial winner.
The players need to “love ball,” he said.
It’s hard to imagine young men from the Deep South playing football at Auburn University yet lacking love for this game they’ve grown up worshipping like a religion. Did they lose against Mississippi State because they didn’t “love ball” enough? No, of course not. Because that’s ridiculous.
That’s the funny thing about love. When stress tests that most human of ideas, people learn quickly that true love isn’t an emotion at all. It’s an expression of trust and faith.
