Bryan Harsin of Boise State is set to become the next football head coach at Auburn, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.
He replaces Gus Malzahn, who was fired earlier this month after eight seasons with the Tigers.
Harsin, 44, is 69-19 years old, with three Mountain West titles in seven seasons at Boise State, his alma mater. He has been a top target for Auburn since the beginning of his search for a coach, according to a source. Louisiana head coach Billy Napier and Clemson’s defensive coordinator Brent Venables previously turned down the job, sources told ESPN’s Chris Low.
Malzahn’s dismissal came as a surprise after a 6-4 season and cost the school more than $ 21 million to buy the former coach’s contract.
Auburn was a top-down program, winning the national championship under Gene Chizik before starting a rapid decline.
The Tigers turned to Malzhan, the offensive coordinator of that team led by Cam Newton. Malzahn led Auburn in the SEC championship and national championship game in his first season, 2013. But the Tigers lost at least four games in each of the seven seasons since then.
Meanwhile, rival rivals Alabama and Georgia emerged as national powers, making it even harder for Auburn to progress consistently.
More than 20 Power 5 schools have contacted Harsin over the years, a source said.
Yahoo Sports reported for the first time that Auburn was restricting its search to Harsin, and The Athletic was the first to report the deal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.