Just 3 days ago, it looked like the new football coach at the University of South Carolina, Shane Beamer, had 2 spots left on the team.
On Thursday, 2 more vacancies were opened with the departure of offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and the newly hired offensive line coach Will Friend. Both left Gamecocks to join the team of new Auburn University coach Bryan Harsin, in the same positions.
“I have great respect for Coach Harsin, both as a coach and as a person,” Bobo said in a press release. “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 that Auburn is a large community with a huge passion and commitment to Auburn football. I’m excited to get started and hope to help coach Harsin compete for championships. “
Bobo spent the past season in South Carolina, who defeated Auburn previously ranked nationally by 1 of his 2 wins this season. He served as an interim coach in the last 3 games of the season after the dismissal of coach Will Muschamp and did not win.
Although the 2 have never worked on the same team together, Harsin and Bobo have been familiar with each other since their time as head coaches at the Mountain West Conference. The two faced each other 5 times between 2015-19, when Harsin was still in Boise State and Bobo was the head coach of Colorado State.
“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 past speaks for itself. I’m very excited to be joining forces with Mike as we created the Auburn attack, a high-powered physical unit that will attack you in many ways. “
As for Friend, this will be the third SEC program he joined last year. He served as an offensive lineman last season for Tennessee before being hired by Beamer and approved on Monday for a 2-year contract that paid $ 700,000 annually.
Beamer is still looking for a defensive coordinator and a strength and conditioning coach.