When Auburn holds its A-Day spring game on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium, it’ll mark the beginning of Bryan Harsin’s redemption tour. The embattled coach of the Tigers endured a bizarre offseason that was “uniquely Auburn.” A booster revolt nearly cost him his job in early February; university power players were disgruntled with Harsin’s 6-7 debut, which culminated in a pesky Birmingham Bowl loss to Houston — the last of five straight losses to end the year; and he failed to revive an offense that became stale under former coach Gus Malzahan.
More than two dozen players exited via the transfer portal, including longtime starting quarterback Bo Nix, and Auburn didn’t sign a single player during the traditional National Signing Day. Assistant coach turnover added to the frustration as well. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was fired and his successor, Austin Davis, left shortly after his hiring for personal reasons. Defensive coordinator Derek Mason took the same job at Oklahoma State after spending just one season on the Plains.
Such a chaotic start to the offseason could have ruined Harsin, who was retained for at least one more season in February, but he seemed to be more introspective when discussing some goals of spring practice.
“The one thing I’ve learned over time is to simplify things,” he said in March. “Simplifying your life and honing in on the things that matter, and trying to be really good at those. Get your degree, be a great teammate, try to contribute to your team winning, try to win a championship. Do things in the community, develop yourself. Trying to get that message across to our guys but also living it at the same time.”
Saturday’s spring game will provide a glimpse of the adjustments — if any –…
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