Wearing a striped polo shirt in white and navy blue with the Auburn logo, Bryan Harsin watched from the suite at Camping World Stadium while the program he set to take on ended his season against Northwestern at the Citrus Bowl.
Just like last week, when he was not participating in the bowl preparations, Harsin took a step back to evaluate his new program and formulate his plan to remodel Tigers in his image.
“When we get to the other side of it, what are we going to do going forward?” Harsin said on joining ABC’s broadcast team for a live segment in the first half. “We are going to start building on what we want to be.”
On Friday, Harsin saw firsthand the difference between what Auburn is today and what the former Boise State coach wants it to be. The Tigers ended their tumultuous season disappointingly, dropping to 14th ranked Wildcats, 35-19, in Orlando, Florida.
“The most important thing is that, with regard to our players, as coaches, the coaching staff, our hats are for them,” said defensive coordinator and acting head coach Kevin Steele. “Like all other teams in the country, his life turned upside down in March. They fought like champions. The season was obviously the same for everyone else. This was difficult for everyone across the country. Then we add that they lost their head coach – or, we lost our head coach at Coach Malzahn. That was added. These are not excuses; what it is to say how tough these young people are and how they love Auburn and like to fight. They did everything they were asked to do. “
The defeat lowered the Tigers to 6-5 in the season and 2-5 in their last seven bowl games since reaching 13 seconds of a national championship in 2013. That BCS title game at the Rose Bowl seven years ago seemed a distant memory for this Auburn program, and a reminder of how much work Harsin has to do to get the Tigers back to their stated goal of competing for championships.
“We have a lot of work to do, but that’s why I’m excited and why Auburn fit in so well,” said Harsin during the game.
This work for Harsin started for real as the final seconds passed against Northwestern. His immediate focus will be on setting up his inaugural team at Auburn. Whether that will include any vestiges of the Malzahn era, remains to be seen. Several of Auburn’s assistant coaches have contracts scheduled to expire later this month, while some are still under contract for another year or two.
Steele, who still has two years on his three-year contract, said after the game that his future has not yet been drawn and that it is up to Harsin and the government to decide what comes next.
As for the fieldwork that needs to be done, Friday’s loss to Northwestern further highlighted the biggest area that Harsin needs to address in building his new program.
Auburn’s offensive line – playing without starting the right Brodarious Hamm for the second game – was a glaring weakness in the Citrus Bowl. The depleted unit, which suffered from years of recruitment errors and insufficient development of quality depth, struggled to make any progress against Northwestern, while left striker Alec Jackson was responsible for three false starts.
Auburn, who lacked the first star of the first running back Tank Bigsby, ran for only 61 yards in 26 attempts and clearly did not trust his ability to establish the race. Tigers’ two available running backs, Shaun Shivers and DJ Williams, accounted for only 15 loads in total and 31 running yards, without running more than 5 yards. Auburn delivered the ball to his attackers only three times in the first quarter and seven times in the first half.
“We came out in this game and fought a little in the first half offensively,” said Steele.
Although Auburn’s defense had its own problems, especially in the first quarter, when Northwestern quarterback Peyton Ramsey destroyed the secondary, the unit basically found its balance before suffering from the late defense of short fields.
Harsin will continue his assessment of the Auburn program in the coming weeks, but it is clear that if he hopes to get the Tigers to compete again at the championship level, the focus will have to be on the attack, starting with the line of scrimmage.
“I’m not going to lie, the only thing you need to do here is recruit,” said senior defensive side Big Kat Bryant. “You know, it’s just plain and simple…. I really think he has the right coaching philosophy to lead this team to one day be able to win championships. I really believe that. “
Tom Green is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.