Boise State’s Bryan Harsin will be the next head football coach at Auburn, a source confirmed by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.
He replaces Gus Malzahn, who was fired earlier this month after eight seasons with the Tigers.
44-year-old Harsin is 69-19 with three Mountain West titles in seven seasons at Boise State, his alma mater. According to a source, he was a top target for Auburn from the start of the coaching quest.
More than 20 Power 5 schools have contacted Harsin over the years, the source said.
Malzahn’s resignation came as a surprise after a 6-4 season, costing the school more than $ 21 million to buy out the former coach’s contract.
Auburn was an up-and-down program, winning the national championship under Gene Chizik before declining rapidly.
The Tigers turned to Malzhan, the offensive coordinator of that Cam Newton-led team. Malzahn led Auburn to the Southeastern Conference Championship and to the national championship game in his first season, 2013. But the Tigers have since lost at least four games in each of the seven seasons.
Meanwhile, major rivals Alabama and Georgia have emerged as national powers, making it even more difficult for Auburn to make consistent progress.
The Harsin-Auburn agreement was first reported by The Athletic.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.