Auburn Hires Boise State's Bryan Harsin as Next Head Coach

Harsin has averaged more than 10 wins per season at Boise State.

Auburn officially hired Boise State coach Bryan Harsin as the program's next football coach.  

Welcome to the Auburn Family, @CoachHarsin!#WarEagle

— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) December 23, 2020

Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports first reported the news. 

Harsin—a former quarterback, assistant coach and offensive coordinator of the Boise State football program—has served as the head coach at Boise State since 2013, putting together a 69–19 record during his coaching tenure and averaging more than 10 wins per season.

Boise State captured Mountain West titles in 2017 and 2019, giving Harsin three in six seasons. Boise State went 12–2 in 2014, winning its first outright Mountain West Championship and capping the campaign with a 38–30 victory over Arizona in the 2014 VIZIO Fiesta Bowl.

The bowl game victory in the Fiesta Bowl was the third such win for the Broncos in the previous nine seasons. Harsin, serving as offensive coordinator in the first two Fiesta Bowl victories, has been a part of each of the school’s three appearances in the game.

Boise State's victory in the 2014 Mountain West Football Championship marked the program's first outright league title since joining the conference in 2011, and the first overall since 2009. Harsin is the only Boise State alumnus to win conference championships as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach.

Prior to coaching at his alma mater, Harsin coached Arkansas State.

On Monday, rumors swirled that Auburn was in discussion with Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables. But according to Thamel, Venables told Clemson officials that he's staying. 

The coaching rumor mill quickly began buzzing within the first 30 hours after Malzahn's firing on Dec. 13. Athletic director Allen Greene sent a letter to donors saying the search to replace Malzahn was underway. Auburn hired Atlanta-based search firm Parker Executive Search, while president Jay Gogue formed a search committee.

Malzahn had been the school's head coach since 2013 and led Auburn to seven consecutive bowl game appearances prior to this season. This year, the Tigers finished the regular season 6–4, which marked the second-worst season in Malzahn's tenure with the program in terms of winning percentage. He went 68–35 overall and 39–27 in the SEC in eight years at Auburn.