| Herald-Journal
South Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and newly hired offensive line coach Will Friend are leaving Gamecocks to assume the same role at Auburn, their new program announced on Thursday.
Auburn hired coach Bryan Harsin last month from Boise State to replace Gus Malzahn. New USC coach Shane Beamer decided to keep Bobo as his coordinator and coach for defenders and added Friend to his team last month.
USC earlier this week finalized contracts for its assistant coaches with Bobo, getting a one-year extension on its initial two-year contract, which paid him $ 1.2 million a year. Friend was scheduled to earn $ 700,000 per season.
Bobo initially joined former USC coach Will Muschamp before the start of last season before taking over as interim coach for the program in the last three games following Muschamp’s resignation on November 15.
“I have a lot of respect for coach Harsin, both as a coach and as a person,” Bobo said in a statement. “I fought him for five years as a head coach and we talked about it on several occasions over the years. I know what he does and his commitment to excellence. I know Auburn is a great community with a tremendous passion for and commitment with Auburn football. I’m excited to get started and looking forward to helping coach Harsin compete for championships. “
The previous coaching stops for Bobo and Harsin took place at the Mountain West Conference, where Bobo spent 2015-19 at Colorado State and Harsin was at Boise State from 2014-2020. Friend was CSU’s offensive coordinator and line coach during Bobo’s first three seasons.
“I have wanted to work with Mike for some time now, as he complements the many things we want to do with our attack,” said Harsin in a statement. “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.”
The Gamecocks hired the former Oklahoma Beamer assistant last month. He decided to keep Bobo and three other remaining USC assistants from the Muschamp team in their initial roles with running back coach Des Kitchings, defensive line coach Tracy Rocker and external lineback coach Mike Peterson.
Beamer must now return to the drawing board to discover his team’s rounding, including hiring a defensive coordinator.
Beamer said of Bobo last month: “He’s a guy that I think a lot about as a person, as a recruiter, as a human being. I love his family and I’m very grateful that he stayed here with us. If Mike wasn’t on the staff here when I did it this job, he would have been my first call as an offensive coordinator.
“And not to make excuses for him, but he got into a difficult situation in Columbia. A new system, without spring practice, COVID, an unusual summer and season and I’m certainly not going to use that against him. You look at what South Carolina did this season leading football and we are excited about what we can do going forward, in addition. “
Friend met with Bobo last month with the Gamecocks after spending the previous three seasons training the Tennessee offensive line. He also previously worked alongside Bobo when they were both assistants in Georgia.
Friend is a native of Mississippi, but has some roots in Alabama, having started for four seasons on the Alabama offensive line and trained at two different high schools in the state.