Auburn coach Bryan Harsin is a stranger to the SEC’s footprint, but targets two coordinators well versed in the ins and outs of the SEC. Former Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason will “most likely” be named Harsin’s first defensive coordinator, according to 247Sports. South Carolina’s offensive coordinator, Mike Bobo, is expected to be the Tigers’ offensive coordinator, according to ESPN.
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.
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 Colorado State coach from 2015-19, where he was 28-35, 20-20 at Mountain West and was 0-3 in bowl games.
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.
ESPN also said that South Carolina’s offensive line manager 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