When Bryan Harsin was introduced as the 28th head coach of Auburn University football on Thursday, his first words were “War Eagle.”
Auburn’s new coach is a winner, literally. Harsin spent the last seven years coaching at Boise State, posting a winning record in each and every season. During that span, he had five 10-win seasons and won three Mountain West championships.
Born in Boise, Harsin played quarterback for the Broncos before getting into coaching. During his introductory press conference, he said he “bleeds blue” and always will, but said the opportunity to join the Auburn program was too good to pass up.
“There was no other place, other than Auburn University, that was going to pull me away from a program like that.”
Now, he said his goal is simple -- he wants to win championships and play consistently. Knowing the expectations that come with the job, he said he’s ready to be the “ultimate competitor” to make it happen.
“The challenge in that, that’s why I'm here,” Harsin said. “I’ve heard that it’s going to be challenging, it’s going to be tough. Isn’t that what you want as a competitor?”
Known as a strong recruiter, Harsin said he plans to get the best of the best, starting in our own backyard…
“And making sure that the best players that are right here surrounding us, that they want to be at Auburn University. And then the other players in the country that wanna come play and play for championships and be part of the best football program in the country, we’re gonna go after them as well.”
While that’s high on the list of things to do, Harsin said the current players are his “number one” priority. He plans to stay in contact with them to make sure they are focused and preparing for their return to campus in January.
Harsin has a “win each day” approach and said he plans to surround himself with the best people possible for the program.
“When people and our fans watch this team play, I want them to be proud of the team that’s on that field and I want them to be proud that I am the head coach at Auburn University.”
Harsin said he plans to attend the team’s Citrus Bowl matchup with Northwestern on New Year’s Day.