Auburn Football

Dan Lanning has no plans to use Oregon as a steppingstone.

The Ducks head coach offered an extended denial of rumors he'd be interested in taking the Auburn head coaching position Monday, telling reporters Oregon "has everything I could possibly ever want."

"First off, I'll say things like this are gonna come up when you have team success and when you do your job and things go the way they're supposed to go. That's credit really to our team. That being said, I think there's a little bit of a problem in society today with people looking for what's next and where there's an opportunity, and the reality is the grass is not always greener. In fact, the grass is damn green in Eugene, right? And I want to be here in Eugene for as long as Eugene will have me.

"This place has everything I could possibly ever want, my family could ever want. I've got an 11-year-old that's lived in eight states. The last thing I ever want to do is leave. I want to enjoy this opportunity here. It's been a phenomenal place for us. And when you talk about things that align, things that match your vision for what you're looking for as a head coach, Oregon checks every box for me.

"I think history maybe shows that this is a great place to be and not a great place to leave. I want to be here. Hopefully, that's the last time I have to really address it. But the reality is this is a destination, not just for me, but for elite players. And why is it a destination? Because reat administration, great fans, great support, and it's a good reason to be here and why we're having the success we're having."

Oregon has seen its last two coaches (Willie Taggart and Mario Cristobal) use the program to boost their resumes before leaving for what they perceived as better jobs (Florida State and Miami, respectively). Taggart lasted less than two seasons at Florida State before being fired, and Cristobal is 4-5 in his first season at Miami.

Lanning, meanwhile, is 8-1 in his first year in Eugene with a shot at making the College Football Playoff. The Ducks recovered from an ugly 49-3 loss to Georgia to open their regular season to reel off eight straight wins, scoring 40-plus points in each contest.

Lanning came to Oregon after working his way up from a high school special teams coach to being Georgia's defensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021, winning a national championship with the Bulldogs last season.

The combination of Lanning's age (36) and history in the SEC makes him a natural target for Auburn, which fired Bryan Harsin on Halloween.

While the program will have little trouble finding interested parties, the Auburn job isn't strong at the moment. The Tigers haven't won 10 games since 2017 and are looking into an uncertain SEC future that includes the impending additions of Texas and Oklahoma. By 2025, Auburn may be the seventh- or eighth-best job in the SEC.

By contrast, Oregon is the pillar of the Pac-12—especially with USC and UCLA set to join the Big Ten.

Jackson State head football coach Deion Sanders denied speculation Thursday that he is taking a flight to Atlanta to discuss the head coaching vacancy at Auburn.

Sanders responded Thursday to a tweet that said he was flying to Atlanta, calling it a "lie":

The writer of the tweet had previously acknowledged that what he tweeted wasn't true:

Sanders, a Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fame cornerback, has enjoyed great success in three seasons as the head coach at Jackson State, including an 8-0 record this season. That has sparked talk that he could be a target for Auburn following the firing of Bryan Harsin on Monday.

After leading Jackson State to an 11-2 record last season and guiding them to a sizzling record in 2022, Sanders has fielded many questions about making the leap to Auburn or another team in a Power Five conference.

He said on ESPN's College GameDay last weekend that he would entertain offers (h/t Mark Heim of AL.com).

Sanders expressed thankfulness this week for being on the Power Five radar as a coach at a historically Black college or university (HBCU) but said nothing to suggest he is thinking of leaving his current situation:

"That's a blessing — that's truly a blessing. Sorry to interrupt, but I've got to get these points out. I don't think too many African-American coaches from the HBCU has ever been attached to anything concerning the Power Five, so that's truly a blessing.

"We love to do things that hadn't been done around here in Jackson State, and this is another prevalent thing that hadn't been done that we're doing."

Before Sanders' arrival at JSU, the Tigers had finished .500 or worse in six consecutive seasons, but he has already ensured a third straight winning season under his leadership.

He has also helped put HBCU football back on the map nationally thanks to his celebrity, Jackson State's success and his ability as a recruiter.

Despite being an FCS program, Jackson State secured the No. 58 recruiting class in the nation in 2021, per 247Sports.

Along with landing his son Shedeur Sanders from the 2021 class to start at quarterback, Coach Prime reeled in cornerback Travis Hunter in the 2022 class, ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit by 247Sports.

That level of recruiting excellence would be huge for an Auburn program that has not won double-digit games since 2017, finished 6-7 last season and is 3-5 this season.

If given the resources of a major college football program like Auburn, Sanders would likely have a strong chance to consistently bring in some of the top recruiting classes in the country.

A Power Five coaching job may be in his future, but his tweet Thursday suggests he is not imminently looking to jump ship from one Tigers football team to another.

Auburn announced Monday it fired head football coach Bryan Harsin following a 3-5 start to the 2022 season.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported the school could be looking at a $15 million buyout to make the coaching change. In the wake of Harsin's exit, Cadillac Williams, who had been serving as the Tigers' running backs coach, was named the interim head coach, per Chris Hummer of 247Sports.

The only surprise was that it took this long for the Tigers to move on. Harsin's departure became all but inevitable after Auburn went 6-7 in 2021 and proceeded to have a turbulent offseason in which the status of its head coach was in flux.

This now becomes arguably the most attractive opening on the coaching market. Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger cited Lane Kiffin, Hugh Freeze and Matt Rhule as possible candidates.

The manner in which Harsin's tenure unraveled might turn some candidates away, and it's easy to forget how much of a mess the process that led to his hiring was.

Auburn fans and boosters have high expectations, and the latter group includes a lot of voices who aren't always pulling in the same direction.

Gene Chizik guided the Tigers to a 14-0 record and a national title in 2010. He was fired in 2012 after the team went 3-9. Gus Malzahn went 68-35 in eight seasons with the Tigers. Consistently getting to a bowl game and going 3-5 against Alabama wasn't enough to keep everybody happy. And now Harsin is gone after not even getting two full years.

The extent to which Harsin was undermined reflected the general dysfunction of the program as well. He was cooked the moment the Auburn administration said in February it was launching an internal investigation.

Harsin called that time "one of the hardest weeks of my career" and said "the personal attacks on me and my family went too far and were without justification."

A new athletic director at least presents the opportunity for some much-needed stability. Thamel reported Auburn was nearing a deal to poach John Cohen from Mississippi State.

And despite all of the drawbacks, this is one of the few schools that can reasonably assert an ability to compete for national titles. The Tigers were perfect in 2004 under Tommy Tuberville, won a championship with Chizik and reached another BCS Championship Game with Malzahn.

Nick Saban and Alabama obviously cast a big shadow in the state, but the 71-year-old isn't going to stick around forever. A younger coach in particular might relish the chance to challenge Saban and run the SEC West once he's gone.

If nothing else, accepting the Auburn job means you're all but guaranteed to collect a hefty payout if things don't work out.

There is reportedly some belief that Auburn will fire head football coach Bryan Harsin if the Tigers lose to Missouri on Saturday.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports said during Saturday's Big Noon Kickoff (h/t Barkley Truax of On3) that there is a "really good chance" Harsin will be fired as soon as Monday if Auburn can't beat Mizzou.

Feldman added that Harsin getting fired at some point in 2022 has felt like a "real inevitability" and would reach new levels if Auburn falls to 2-2 on the heels of last week's 41-12 blowout loss against Penn State.

After Harsin went 69-19 in seven seasons at Boise State, Auburn hired him prior to the 2021 season. His first year with the Tigers was largely disappointing, as they went just 6-7 and lost to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl.

Harsin's short tenure at Auburn has also been marred by controversy, as the university launched an investigation into his conduct as head coach after the 2021 season ended.

The investigation started after 18 players and five assistant coaches left Auburn following Harsin's first season at the helm.

Auburn decided to keep Harsin for the 2022 season, and Harsin later called the inquiry into his conduct "unfounded" and a "personal attack" on himself, his family and Auburn's football program.

While Harsin survived the investigation, Feldman suggested Saturday that there isn't a great deal of support for him within the Auburn program anymore.

Feldman made reference to the fact that Allen Greene, who hired Harsin, was forced out of his role as athletic director last month and replaced by Rich McGlynn on an interim basis.

Harsin isn't helped by the fact that Auburn has the No. 56 recruiting class in the nation and the worst-rated recruiting class in the entire SEC, according to 247Sports, which is a rarity for a program that is usually a contender in the SEC.

One thing that has perhaps saved Harsin thus far is the financial implications that would come along with firing him.

Per Feldman, Auburn will owe Harsin a $15.3 million buyout if it fires him, and half of it would be due within 60 days of his firing.

Entering Saturday's home game against 2-1 Missouri, Auburn was a 7.5-point favorite to win.

Auburn quarterback T.J. Finley was arrested Thursday in Auburn, Alabama, and charged with attempting to elude police.

According to WRBL, Finley was taken into custody at the Lee County Detention Facility after an interaction with the Auburn Police Department.

Additional details weren't available as of Thursday afternoon, and Auburn University has yet to release an official statement on the matter, other than to say it is aware of the situation.

The 20-year-old Finley is a Louisiana native who originally committed to LSU and started five games for the team in 2020.

Finley went 2-3 and completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 941 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions that season.

He transferred from LSU to Auburn in May 2021 and went on to appear in nine games last season, starting three of them. Finley posted an 0-3 record and completed just 54.7 percent of his passing attempts, but he threw for 827 yards with six touchdowns and just one pick.

The 6'7" signal-caller was rated as a 3-star prospect by 247Sports coming out of Ponchatoula High School, and was ranked 499th among all players and 19th among pro-style quarterbacks in the 2020 class.

On Tuesday, Finley made history by becoming the first college football player to sign a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with Amazon.

Per AL.com's Tom Green, Finley will sell customized merchandise such as "clothing, tote bags, phone cases and pop sockets" on the platform.

Finley is in a quarterback competition at Auburn, as Tigers head coach Bryan Harsin has yet to name a starter for the 2022 season.

Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada, Oregon transfer Robby Ashford and freshman Holden Geriner are all competing with Finley for the No. 1 quarterback job.

Former Auburn quarterback Jeff Klein died Wednesday at 42 years old. 

He had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer known as metastatic squamous cell carcinoma.

Klein's wife, Adrienne, posted a statement announcing his death on CaringBridge.org: 

“His passing was peaceful and immediately followed the ceasing of life support. After two long and painful days, I finally get to see our precious boys. Please continue to pray the Lord would grant me the words and wisdom on how to talk to my babies about how our lives have been completely changed.

“Thank you to everyone who has continued to reach out and prayed without ceasing. The outpouring of love and support from loved ones, friends, acquaintances, health care professionals, and even perfect strangers has been an overwhelming blessing. I’m grateful for every single one of you, and every prayer said. Please continue to pray for me, our boys and our families as we attempt to navigate through the heartbreak.”

Klein went to the hospital complaining of severe back pain, and an MRI revealed cancerous spots. His condition quickly deteriorated, with Klein suffering a stroke and brain bleeding before being placed on life support.

The Klein family decided to end life support Wednesday.

Klein threw for 1,139 yards and seven touchdowns during his playing career at Auburn, appearing in 13 games. After his playing career, Klein became a teacher and coach at Loachapoka High School in Alabama. 

Auburn University announced Friday that it is retaining Bryan Harsin as its head football coach despite an investigation into his handling of the program.

ESPN's Pete Thamel and Chris Low reported earlier Friday that Auburn had decided to keep Harsin in the fold.

Per Thamel, the investigation into Harsin was launched after 20 players and five coaches left the program following Harsin's first season as head coach of the Tigers in 2021.

Auburn went a disappointing 6-7 and lost to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl, sealing the Tigers' first losing season since 2012.

Thamel reported that Auburn interviewed players, assistant coaches and staffers in an effort to gather information about Harsin's tenure. Harsin called all rumors and speculation of misconduct "bulls--t."

As noted by Thamel, Auburn would have owed Harsin $18.3 million over five years if it fired him, with $9.15 million of it being owed over the next month.

Auburn hired Harsin in December 2020 after firing Gus Malzahn. The school was banking on Harsin's success at Boise State translating to the SEC.

After going 7-5 in his only season as the head coach at Arkansas State in 2013, Harsin went 69-19 in seven seasons at Boise State. That included three Mountain West titles and three bowl wins.

Of the players who have transferred from Auburn under Harsin, quarterback Bo Nix is the most notable name.

Nix was Auburn's primary starter under center for the past three seasons and threw for 2,294 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions in 10 games in 2021, but he made the decision to transfer to Oregon.

On the coaching side, defensive coordinator Derek Mason left Auburn for Oklahoma State despite having to take a $400,000 pay cut, per Thamel.

Also, offensive coordinator Austin Davis resigned just six weeks after getting hired due to "personal reasons."