Bryan Harsin donned a white and navy blue striped polo shirt with the Auburn logo and watched from the suite level in the Camping World Stadium how the program he was going to take over ended his season against Northwest in the Citrus Bowl.
Just like he had last week, when he was finished preparing for the pickup, Harsin took a step back to assess his new program and formulate his plan for reforming the Tigers in his image.
“What do we do going forward when we get to the other side of this?” Harsin said when he joined ABC’s broadcast team for a live segment in the first half. “We will build on what we want to be.”
On Friday, Harsin saw first-hand the difference between what Auburn is currently and what the former Boise State coach wants. The Tigers ended their turbulent season in a disappointing manner and dropped to 14th place Wildcats, 35-19, in Orlando, Fla.
“The biggest thing is that our players, as coaches, the coaching staff, our hats are dependent on them,” said defense coordinator and acting head coach Kevin Steele. ‘Like every other team in the country, their lives turned upside down in March. They fought through it like champions. The season was obviously the same for everyone. It was difficult for everyone across the country. Then we add that they lost their head coach – or lost our head coach in Coach Malzahn. It was added on. These are not excuses; what it is is to say how resilient these young men are and how they like Auburn and to fight. They did everything they asked. ”
The losers have lost the Tigers to 6-5 this season and 2-5 in their last seven games since coming within 13 seconds of a 2013 national championship. The BCS title game at the Rose Bowl seven years ago has been hailed as a distant memory for this Auburn program, and a reminder of how much work Harsin has to do to get the Tigers back to its stated goal of running for championships thing.
“We have a lot of work to do, but that’s what I’m excited about and why Auburn fit so well,” Harsin said during the game.
That work for Harsin began in earnest as soon as the final seconds beat Northwest. His immediate focus will be on the composition of his entry-level staff at Auburn. Whether this will include any investments from the Malzahn era remains to be seen. Several of Auburn’s assistant coaches have contracts that will expire at the end of this month, while some are still under contract for one or two years.
Steele, who has two more years left on his three-year deal, said after the game that his future has not yet been addressed and that it is up to Harsin and the government to decide what will be next.
In terms of the fieldwork that needs to be done, Friday’s loss to Northwestern further highlighted the biggest area that Harsin needs to pay attention to in building its new program.
Auburn’s attacking line – without starting to tackle Brodarious Hamm for the second game – was a strikingly weak point in the Citrus Bowl. The depleted unit, which had suffered through years of recruitment and insufficient development of quality depth, struggled to get any form of forward against Northwest, while Alec Jackson was responsible for three false starting penalties at the start of the left attack.
Auburn, who raced back without star first-year tank Bigsby, rushed just 61 yards on 26 attempts and clearly did not trust his ability to determine the run. The Tigers’ two available runners, Shaun Shivers and DJ Williams, raced just 15 runs and 31 yards, with no more than 5 yards. Auburn passed the ball to his runners only three times in the first quarter and seven times in the first half.
“We came out in this game and struggled a bit in the first half,” Steele said.
While Auburn’s defense had its own problems, especially in the first quarter when Northwest quarterback Peyton Ramsey shredded the secondary, the unit mostly found its feet before letting it defend to defend short fields.
Harsin will continue evaluating Auburn’s program in the coming weeks, but it’s clear that if he hopes to get the Tigers to compete at championship level again, the focus will have to be on the offense, starting with the line of scrambles.
“I’m not going to lie. The only thing you have to do here is recruit, ‘said senior defensive end Big Kat Bryant. “You know, it’s simple and straightforward … I really think he has the right coaching philosophy to lead this team to one day win championships. I really believe that. ”
Tom Green is an Auburn reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.