Since I know everyone here is waiting impatiently for my take on the Harsin hire, might as well create my own thread.
Background (as well known): Kaos had grown disillusioned with all things Auburn lately. I was never completely sold on the Gus Malzahn hire, although the first 22 games caused me to doubt my thought processes. But something changed in that 23rd game. Something caused a Gus glitch in a fumbled fourth down against Texas A&M and he was never the same. I don't know exactly what it was, but the confident, determined cocksure Gus turned into an indecisive, befuddled, overthinking mess. That team tumbled from 7-1 to an 8-5 finish. Every season thereafter was marked by the same galling displays of ineptitude at times, by the same inability to develop a quarterback, by the same reliance on certain players to the point of breaking them, by the same confusion on the sidelines, by the same patterns of failure that led to a steady progression of four-plus loss seasons. I won't belabor the lack of resources that I said from the outset was a liability, or the stubborn (or simply inept) refusal to adapt. Nothing was going to change, that much was assured. As such, it was time to see if Auburn could do any better. No malice, but we either accepted what he clearly was or we aspired to something different and hopefully better.
After he was canned, the local media gleefully took the opportunity to ridicule Auburn and smear our reputation. As usual, the "insiders" knew nothing, but said much more. As usual, they were able to make Auburn look about as bad as possible. Just a bunch of meddling hillbillies with fortunately fat pockets. And we (me included, sadly) took their bait and fretted. As the names appeared on the alleged hot board -- Kevin Steele, Hugh Freeze, Mario Cristobal, Neal Brown, Bill Clark, Billy Napier, Jiminy Cricket -- the Kaos despair grew. As the stories of Steele privately coordinating a coup (reminding me of the despised democrats like Schumer and the old Bill Oliver tales) Kaos resigned himself to walking away forever if the boosters who supposedly encouraged and abetted the coup attempt got their way and Steele took the reins.
And then Auburn hired Harsin. It wasn't what I expected. For the first time since 1981, Auburn didn't "Auburn." We didn't hire a Terry Bowden because we liked his deddy's name and he was friends with a banker (prior to porking his daughter, of course). We didn't poach a guy from a pine box (even though that hire turned out well). We didn't grab a 5-19 walking bag of ego because the AD enjoyed going to church with him. We didn't get a guy with no experience because the AD thought Waffle House was fine dining.
So what about Harsin? It's a pretty bold move, honestly. Auburn's current AD has staked his career on it. If the guy fails? He will take the AD and the president down with him more than likely. If he fails, the good-ol-goober cabal of pine-tree barons and daddy's-money titty babies will almost certainly swoop in with "told-ya-so" smugness and destroy Auburn forever.
As for Harsin himself? He's got his detractors in Boise, mainly because he's blunt, demanding and direct. I personally believe that's exactly what Auburn needs right now. The change from "good guy Gus" to hardass Harsin is a cultural shift. Reminds me of Carter's America shifting to the Reagan years or Barfield's buddy boys turning into Dye-hards.
We have the dumbest, most impatient fanbase in the world. That's going to have to be controlled. I've seen our moron fans wondering aloud if "yew thank we culd get ol' Coarch Boom to come back? He wuz a good-un! I'd make him say no three times afore I give up. And whut bout one-a them Grimes boys?? They shore could coarch the offense line! An' hey, LSU gon' cut Pellini loose, and he useta be a helluva cordnator. Oh, man, whatchoo thank bout maybe gettin Chiz back for the defense? He lives in Auburn and I thank he'd wanna coarch agin! We definately gotta keep Caddylack there, he's a legend! Reckon why he cain't jus keep Steele and let the defense be, it's been perty good! Man, I thank we ain't got no choice but ta try and get Coarch Whitt back. Reckon we could git TRob or Coarch Rocker back? An' we gotta keep Coarch Garner, he's the glue on thet staff!"
I've come to loathe a certain (large) segment of our fanbase. They're so much like the Bama fans I grew up despising. Some of that is, I think, because they are the late-comers. They're the progeny of former Bama fans who switched sides during AU's run in the 80s. Their grandpappy was a Bammer, but deddy picked Auburn. They've got that blood in them.
The key to learning to live with Harsin is patience. I don't expect miracles out the gate. Wouldn't surprise me if next year's record is no better than that of the average Gus season. At that point our moron fans will start the "hayull, he ain't no better than Gus" griping.
It's going to take patience.
Why will it take patience?
Recruiting.
Goober Gus did pretty well at getting skill players in. But the offensive line recruiting over the last four seasons has been ABYSMAL. When was the last time Gus got a 4-5 star OL in who stuck around? There's a significant void on the offensive line and that's not something Harsin can overcome in a year or two. It's going to take two recruiting cycles to resolve that.
I'm not looking for some miracle from the jump. I want to see a team that's organized, plays hard and doesn't look like a monkey fucking a deflated football for long stretches.
I think Harsin can give us that while he learns the region and builds on recruiting. Caveat? If he doesn't recruit moderately well, none of the rest matters. He's got to do that.
I think he's a decent coach, but his entire life has been pretty much in Boise. I've spent a lot of time in Boise over the last ten years or so. It's a completely different world. It moves at a different pace. But football is football. Knowing how to develop and motivate players doesn't really change no matter where you're from. The question is, can Harsin overcome the culture shock and the reality of battling for recruits with programs that dwarf his Broncos. If he can? He's got a chance.
Kaos? All but a few of his AU things had been put away. Sickened by the BLM virtue signaling, disgusted by the bumbling administration, by the destruction of everything that Auburn meant to me (Jacobs started that). They're coming back out again. This hire -- whether it succeeds or fails -- has given Kaos the hope that things can and will change. That the voices of the REAL Auburn actually do mean something. The refusal to accept Steele because of his perceived betrayal and the fact that the administration heard us gives Kaos a glimmer of hope that other things can be reversed if we just care enough. Maybe we CAN run all the fucking white tents out and let people do their own tailgating again. That'd be a start.
I'm not hyping the Harsin train, but I'm encouraged by what it might mean in the long run for the school and program that's always been mine even though it never really was.
112 Replies
13983 Views