Auburn coach Bryan Harsin is a stranger in the SEC’s field, but is looking for help from well-versed assistants in the field. The school announced on Thursday that former Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason will coordinate the defense and former South Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Bobo will serve in the same role at The Plains.
Mason was 27-55 during his tenure in Nashville, including a no-win season in 2020 and a 3-9 record in 2019. Despite being a head coach, he took a practical approach as Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator. He assumed the role of play-call in 2015 and allowed only 350.5 yards per game, 21 points per game and 5.2 yards per move. This despite having an uphill battle due to the talent gap that exists at Vanderbilt.
He got the job at Vanderbilt after an extremely successful stint as a defensive coordinator at Stanford. The cardinal ended with the Pac-12’s best defense in 2012 and second in 2011 and 2013.
“Auburn University is a special place with special people, and I witnessed it in my time at the SEC,” said Mason. “I admire the school, the facilities, the traditions and the uniqueness of the community. Auburn has everything! Auburn embraces everything I believe in and I am very grateful to Coach Harsin, Director of Athletics Allen Greene and the University Administration for this opportunity. I have always had a great respect for Coach Harsin and I’m excited to start running. “
Bobo, a former Georgia quarterback and offensive coordinator, was most recently South Carolina’s offensive coordinator under Will Muschamp and was hired this season by new coach Shane Beamer. He previously served as the 2015-19 Colorado State coach, where he was 28-35, 20-20 at Mountain West, as well as 0-3 in bowl games.
“I have wanted to work with Mike for some time now, while he praises the many things we want to do with our attack,” said Harsin. “We are going to be very versatile in what we do and Mike’s offensive history speaks for itself. I am very excited to combine forces with Mike as we create the attack on Auburn, a high-powered physical unit that will reach you in many ways.”
Prior to his time with Rams, he served on Mark Richt’s team in Georgia, first as a 2001-06 quarterback coach and then as a 2007-14 offensive coordinator. He worked with several successful quarterbacks during his time in Athens, Georgia, including David Greene, DJ Shockley, Matt Stafford and Aaron Murray. This is vitally important for Auburn, who struggled to develop defenders under former coach Gus Malzahn.
The school also announced that South Carolina’s offensive line coach Will Friend will assume the same role at Auburn. He spent 11 days on the Gamecocks team after being hired from Tennessee on December 27, 2020