Donning a white-and-navy blue striped polo shirt emblazoned with Auburn’s logo, Bryan Harsin watched from the suite level at Camping World Stadium as the program he’s set to take over finished out its season against Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl.
Much like he had the last week, when he was hands off during bowl preparations, Harsin took a step back to assess his new program and formulate his plan for reshaping the Tigers’ in his image.
“When we get on the other side of this, what are we doing moving forward?” Harsin said while joining ABC’s broadcast team for a live segment in the first half. “We’ll start building on what we want to be.”
On Friday, Harsin saw firsthand the difference between what Auburn currently is and what the former Boise State coach wants it to be. The Tigers ended their tumultuous season in disappointing fashion, falling to the 14th-ranked Wildcats, 35-19, in Orlando, Fla.
“The biggest thing is that, as far as our players, as coaches, the coaching staff, our hats are off to them,” defensive coordinator and acting head coach Kevin Steele said. “Like every other team in the country, their life got turned upside down in March. They fought through it like champions. The season was obviously the same for everybody else. That was difficult for everybody across the country. Then we added on that they lost their head coach — or, we lost our head coach in Coach Malzahn. That was added on. Those are not excuses; what it is is to say how resilient these young men are and how they love Auburn and they love to fight. They’ve done everything they asked them to do.”
The loss dropped the Tigers to 6-5 on the season and 2-5 in their last seven bowl games since coming within 13 seconds of a national championship back in 2013. That BCS title game at the Rose Bowl seven years ago seemed like a distant memory for this Auburn program, and a reminder of just how much work Harsin has to do to get the Tigers back to his stated goal of competing for championships.
“We got a lot of work to do, but that’s what I’m excited about and why Auburn was such a good fit,” Harsin said during the game.
That work for Harsin began in earnest once the final seconds ticked off the clock against Northwestern. His immediate focus will be on assembling his inaugural staff at Auburn. Whether that will include any holdovers from the Malzahn era remains to be seen. Several of Auburn’s assistant coaches have contracts set to expire at the end of this month, while some are still under contract for one or two more years.
Steele, who has two years remaining on his three-year deal, said after the game his future has not yet been addressed and that it’s up to Harsin and the administration to decide what’s next.
As for the on-field work that needs to be done, Friday’s loss to Northwestern further highlighted the biggest area Harsin needs to address in building his new program.
Auburn’s offensive line — playing without starting right tackle Brodarious Hamm for the second game — was a glaring weakness in the Citrus Bowl. The depleted unit, which has suffered from years of recruiting misses and insufficient development of quality depth, struggled to get any sort of push up front against Northwestern, while starting left tackle Alec Jackson was responsible for three false start penalties.
Auburn, which was without star freshman running back Tank Bigsby, rushed for just 61 yards on 26 attempts and clearly did not trust its ability to establish the run. The Tigers’ two available running backs, Shaun Shivers and D.J. Williams, accounted for only 15 total carries and 31 yards rushing, with no run longer than 5 yards. Auburn handed the ball off to its running backs only three times in the first quarter and seven times in the first half.
“We came out in this game and struggled a little bit in the first half offensively,” Steele said.
While Auburn’s defense had its own issues, particularly in the first quarter when Northwestern quarterback Peyton Ramsey shredded the secondary, the unit mostly found its footing before suffering from defending short fields late.
Harsin will continue his evaluation of Auburn’s program in the coming weeks, but it’s clear that if he hopes to get the Tigers competing at a championship level again, the focus will have to be on the offense, beginning with the line of scrimmage.
“I ain’t gonna lie, the only thing you gotta do right here is recruit,” senior defensive end Big Kat Bryant said. “You know, it’s just plain and simple…. I really think he has the right coaching philosophy to lead this team to one day be able to win championships. I really do believe that.”
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.
