Bryan Harsin leaves Boise State, Hired at Auburn

  The Boise State Broncos are looking for a head coach as Bryan Harsin is headed for the SEC as the new coach of the Auburn Tigers.

Harsin took over at Boise State in 2014 replacing the program's top coach in their history (Chris Petersen) after one season as the head coach at Arkansas State, where he finished 7-5 and won a share of the Sun Belt title for the Red Wolves.

Harsin replaced Gus Malzahn at Arkansas State, who is the same coach that Harsin will be replacing at Auburn.

Harsin's first team at Boise was the only Bronco team to grab the Group of Five slot in the "New Year's Six" bowl games as the 2014 Broncos were selected for the Fiesta Bowl and defeated Arizona in Phoenix 38-30.

Harsin coached teams would win 52 games in the next five years and five more this season in the year of Covid-19, Boise State won three Mountain West championships (2014, 2017, and 2019), and would add two more bowl trophies to the Boise trophy case with wins over Northern Illinois in the 2015 Poinsettia Bowl and Oregon in the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl.

Still, Harsin's teams often disappointed Bronco fans when it meant the most, losing the 2018 Mountain West championship on the Blue Turf at home in overtime to Fresno State, losing the most recent title last week to San Jose State, and while Harsin won less than ten games only one (nine in 2015) time, that means that under his watch, Boise State never lost fewer than two games in a season.

While that may seem to be an insanely unrealistic expectation from a fan base, keep in mind that Boise State is the powerhouse of the Mountain West, and more is expected of the Broncos than almost any other team at the G-5 level.

To me, it feels like this is a move that both parties are likely quietly pleased with.

Recent emails from Harsin to school officials had shown Harsin being very displeased with the Mountain West, their television money, and other grumblings, and with the opportunity to coach in the SEC available, you certainly cannot blame Harsin for moving on.

As for the school, they likely aren't all that disconsolate either. 

Harsin had likely burned some personal bridges, and while Boise State has been known to have made quiet overtures to join the AAC, they still are in the Mountain West, and Harsin's actions of late cannot have made the Broncos tasks inside the MWC very pleasant or made any thoughts of theirs very easy to pass through the league.

Harsin won a lot of games, but you can argue that he may not have won enough to have his behavior be worth the various internal issues.

Harsin's arguments may not have been totally wrong, but the university didn't need the hassle of having to deal with the various public relations problems either.

Chris Vannini of The Athletic covers the G-5 schools and he looks at some possible candidates here.

Kellen Moore would be the popular choice as the program's living legend, but Moore has never coached in college and has been a coach himself for only three seasons.

If you hire Moore, the fan base will be excited, but it's a bit more of a risk, and when the hometown hero fails, it can get very ugly.

Moore might be a better choice next time, but you take the chance that by next time Moore could be too big for a job such as Boise State.

Vannini mentioned Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, who played for the Broncos and was Harsin's defensive coordinator for three seasons before leaving for Oregon in 2019.

Avalos knows the program as a player and coach, has knowledge of the recruiting base, and might be a very good hire.

A guy that I might ask about is North Dakota State coach Matt Entz, who won a 1-AA national title in his first season with the Bison.

I'd be fine with any of the above three.

I'll be writing about the eventual hire when it is announced.

Back later with the Cavaliers season preview.