JerryAU

IIRC, after last season's portal deadline there were hundreds (possibly over 1,500) players that didn't get picked up on a team. The portal can still be a crap shoot for some players that haven't proven themselves at their original school. The portal isn't exactly chock full of 4-5*'s and if a highly rated player hits the portal, they've likely already connected with their next destination before they ever declare.

The place will be packed out as per usual, Auburn attendance numbers have always been robust in good times and bad. I just loaded up on Zing-Zang spicy & Vodka at Costco - the truck's packed and we're heading out early morning for a Bloody Mary tailgate.

This is correct. The only exception may be if you're a grad-transfer.

YEP! I knew we fans had hit the motherload when I saw Josh Moon (the goober) come out of sports reporting exile to bring us the play-by-play from the halls of Auburn athletic headquarters. Moon & Tate tag-teaming the news feed as Harbert /Malzhan worked behind closed doors negotiating a reduced buyout while Leath traveled to D.C. 😊

Thank you for ponying up to keep him Flames!

Wouldn't the buyout be the annual salary times the remaining yrs on his contract? $5mill/yr guaranteed for 8 yrs.

I believe the game would definitely be closer than the first, I don't think the final result would change. Folks have had time to scout teams and undoubtedly would scheme better the second time around.

LOL - I remember that. We were courting Bob Stoops too, if I remember correctly.😄

Then I may continue with my apathy until the new HC brings some positivity, enthusiasm and excitement back to the program. Listen, I'm not even a tiny bit convinced Auburn will step outside their norm and hire outside the AU footprint of coaches, OR that they'd hire a super star like Prime. I'm simply saying he is the only rumored candidate thus far that IMO has the star power to bring instant energy and excitement to a dull and drab program like we've become. I think we are going to see pretty quickly if Auburn is an attractive job or not. Some of the shenanigans over the last couple of yrs could turn off some coaches? We'll see soon.

I've been in this boat for the last 5 yrs. The only coaching candidate I've seen rumored that could end my apathy and unenthusiastic mood for AU football is Coach Prime.

This whole thing is weird, and I can't recall seeing this issue pop up before at this level. Players are on scholarship to play ball, period. I've never heard of a healthy player requesting a redshirt mid-season - a scholarship player wants to play ball any chance they get. BUT - Harsin is all but gone and he's exhibited questionable roster management, so I somewhat understand a player that hasn't been utilized very much thus far may want to call it a season and take his RS. Harsin may see it as quitting, and he also may see it as a player trying to preserve a year of eligibility only to transfer elsewhere. Bottom line, Harsin just needs to pack up his office and GTHO.

It is a big priority to get him out ASAP. The AU Establishment dragging their feet while they watch the roster crash 'n burn should require a large contingent of AU VIPs in meetings behind closed doors as I type this post. It's high time the Leadership establish themselves. They've had a year to canvass an AD replacement, they knew last year Greene would not be retained. They've had 8 months of working within a high probability that Harsin & his staff would be replaced this season. This systematic due diligence, receipt of advice from Greg Sankey and minutely detailing the analytics of the processes like an engineer's mind is bound to do, should be at a conclusion by now.

I'm fine not having a single remanent from the Malzhan or Harsin era on the next staff. This team needs a complete overhaul in every nook and cranny and a new coach needs a completely fresh start. Back to Harsin, they will either fire him now or watch it all go up in flames. 3 players in the portal in 3 days at MID-SEASON tells me the locker room is a cesspool right now. EDIT: Let me retract that - 4 (FOUR) players in the portal in 3 days at MID-SEASON.

And that the coaching staff reviews and evaluates PT and the redshirt status very closely. Harsin will run this program how he sees fit until he's terminated. When someone in a high position gets enough of this crap, they will actually do something. Until then, I don't blame Harsin for refusing to preserve a redshirt for a scholarship player who wants to quit playing mid-season.

It's a tough one for me honestly. Harsin has to go, but until he is officially terminated, why should he preserve a redshirt for a scholarship player who wants to quit mid-season, only for the player to transfer elsewhere? IF the Auburn Administration doesn't like the way he's handling this program, then they can fire him today and the $7million price tag will be due the day after Thanksgiving.

Historically, Auburn is an 8 win/yr program, that's no longer good enough. It is what it is and when multiple SEC programs are able to achieve greatness, Auburn should be able to do the same. LSU/UGA/UAT/UF ALL upped their game in the last 15 years and Auburn still won their first NC in +50 yrs and played for another during that same time frame.

I mean no disrespect or intend to pick apart your post abw. But IF Roberts is a man of processes, then it makes zero sense to lay the decision of firing a coaching staff on the new AD who would have little to no personal knowledge about any of the coaches on the staff. He would be tasked with making that decision based solely on second-hand information he'd receives from the Auburn Administration. I disagree with this notion - fire Harsin NOW (today) and do not renew the contracts of the remaining staff after the conclusion of the season. IF some of the coaches choose to leave with Harsin, they are in breach of their contract and they get paid nothing. IF they choose to remain and see the team through the interim period, they Auburn will honor the terms of their contract. Who exactly is impressed with Roberts slow process right now? I'm not trying to be a jackass - I'm honestly curious if there are articles or comments made publicly praising Roberts' plan of action or his process for addressing the current climate of the football team? Harsin putting a muzzle on players and not allowing them to speak publicly is not a bad move, IMO. Many HC's monitor and control which players are allowed to speak to media members. Some coaches have a freshmen off limits policy, i.e. no freshman can speak to a reporter. I'm fine with that policy, many players should be silenced until they've been well versed in the program's speaking points. A player represents the program he plays for and a Coach should have 100% control of every aspect of his program.

Auburn's specific scenario is a two-edged sword. Strictly from a coaching perspective why would you grant a redshirt to a player mid-season when the player is in essence quitting mid-season? IF you allow him to redshirt then he can take that year of eligibility to the transfer portal and use with the lax inner-conference transfer rules, he can use it against you later. A HC granting a redshirt request mid-season sets a dangerous precedent for his team down the road. It lays a foundation for others to do the same. I'm just not a proponent of players quitting mid-season unless it's for medical reasons. IF a player doesn't want to earn the scholarship and doesn't want to play for the team then he can leave. BUT in Auburn's situation, the HC is a lame duck, and the optics reflect a HC who's obstinate with little compassion for his players. This reinforces what former AU players claimed in last season's mass exodus. I suppose this is different now, because I distinctly remember many posters on this board calling all those transfer players a bunch of quitters, and they had sour grapes but I'm not seeing the same opinions on this current situation?

Everything's a chance when the HC is a dead man walking. How he's been retained this long is beyond me, but as long as he's AU's head football coach, he has every right to call the shots relative to his players. I've just never heard of a player going to the coach mid-season and requesting a redshirt year, or really any other time during the season.?.? When coach tells you to get your helmet on and get in the game.... do players say, "nah coach I'm taking a redshirt"?? I mean how does that interaction play out in real time?

What if a player requests a redshirt rather than finishing out the rest of the season and uses that year of eligibility to enter the transfer portal? Why let a player preserver a year of eligibility just so that he can use it on another team? Maybe that's what Harsin is thinking? IDK

Bo made the absolute best decision for his future; he is unquestionably exactly where he needs to be to further his football career.

You may be right; these are some unprecedented times (back-to-back losing seasons) or AU Football. A sense of urgency is needed because we've fallen to near the bottom tier of the conference. And with OU/UTex coming on board in a couple of years, the Administration better get this thing on solid ground.

Hank, he's going to bring in better recruits than we're getting right now. He's already built better relationships throughout the region from freaking Jackson, MS compared to Harsin at Auburn, and they've been on their jobs about the same length of time. Every high school coaching staff knows Deion Sanders. Yet Harsin hasn't even introduced himself or shaken the hand of some of this state's biggest high schools in Bham. It has been stated on this board that Auburn's NIL Collective has turned the corner, they're piling up $$ and cutting deals which would only help Sanders & Co. It's no supposition that Deion Sanders is an electric personality, presents a high standard for himself, his coaching staff and his players. He brings energy, excitement and he believes in people doing the job they are paid to do. Deion is a lot of talk - but so was Harsin. And after 2 yrs, one of those brash talkers is getting the job done for his employer while the other is a dead man walking.

He's having a ball at OM. Ranked in the top 10 currently, undefeated and will surely log another 10 win season, getting paid very well.

Sadly, NO. Auburn Athletics are managed, administered and funded by a bunch of conservatives. They won't be ok with the HC wearing a flat bill cap on national TV during a 60 Minutes interview, or wearing gold chains or an earring. They won't take to the Super Star's flamboyant and sharp looking suits. They won't like the swag and bravado Sanders exudes and they will cringe every time he speaks because he is honest and tells the truth. They ain't gone wanna hear what he has to say about Auburn Football.