AUBURN | What Auburn ultimately becomes under Bryan Harsin is still years from fruition but like most new coaches at top Power 5 schools, there’s hope that he could become the next college football dynasty coach.
Is that possible with Harsin at Auburn? Sure. Is it likely? The odds say no.
Over the last 15 years, only three coaches have won multiple national championships -- Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Dabo Swinney. All three took different paths to success.
Saban, who has won seven national championships at two schools, began the era of the head coach as the tip of the spear in recruiting and the large off-the-field staffs of analysts at LSU in 2000 and took it to another level at Alabama.
Saban understood better than anyone else that having the best players was the most important factor in sustained success. It remains that way today and he has many imitators including Georgia’s Kirby Smart. Surrounding those players with a disciplined program, talented coaches and a modern, adaptable system has made Saban the best of the best.
Saban won in recruiting right away but the on-field success took a little time. Alabama went 7-6 in 2007, 12-2 in 08 and won the national championship in 09.
Like Harsin, Meyer was an outsider when he came from Utah to Florida in 2005. He was very much in the Saban mold of recruiting. He and his staff were ultra aggressive when they arrived in Gainesville and took full advantage of Florida’s incredible recruiting base along with targeting top prospects from across the country. His version of the spread offense was very effective coupled with the elite skill players he recruited.
Meyer went 9-3 in year one and then won a national championship in 2006 and another in 08. He didn’t run as tight a ship as Saban, however, with 31 arrests during his six seasons at Florida and his program imploded in 2010. He won one more national championship at Ohio State in 2014.
Swinney’s path to the top of the college football world was quite different than Saban and Meyer. He developed a more focused approach in recruiting offering less prospects and developing relationships with them earlier. He also focused on building a program that created a family atmosphere and helped with retention of players and assistant coaches. Both of his national championship teams in 2016 and 18 included seniors that could have left for the NFL a year earlier.
Tony Elliott has been at Clemson since 2011 and served as offensive coordinator since 2015. Brent Venables has served as defensive coordinator for the last nine seasons. Both have had multiple opportunities to be head coaches elsewhere.
Swinney’s success wasn’t immediate. He was 4-3 when elevated from wide receivers coach to interim head coach after Tommy Bowden was let go in 2008. He went 9-5 the following year and 6-7 in 2010. He’s won 10 or more games every season since and has averaged 13.8 wins the last five seasons, which included the two national championships. Clemson built a dazzling football-only facility in 2017 that has been a big part of their sustained success and has prompted other programs to follow including Auburn, which is currently constructing its $91.9 million, 233,400-square foot Football Performance Center.
To expect Harsin to immediately recruit like Saban or Meyer right away isn’t realistic. Everybody knows how it works now so there’s nothing unique about a confident and aggressive head coach taking the lead in recruiting. But it can still help him win some key battles. Just because coaches understand how it works doesn’t mean they can still do it well. It’s a lot of extra hard work and takes away from other duties coaches might enjoy more. Gus Malzahn certainly liked coaching offense more than recruiting and it showed.
A Swinney approach probably fits Harsin and Auburn the best. But to be truly successful, it's important to develop a twist, something unique to set Auburn apart.
What that is, I don’t know. If I did, I could probably sell it for a lot of money. But somebody, somewhere will unlock it and become the next college football dynasty coach. Saban will turn 70 this fall. Meyer is now in the NFL.
Who’s up next?
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In today’s musical journey, we go back 44 years and the opening of one of the most famous nightclubs of all time. On April 26, 1977, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan. Studio 54 had a three-year run where it was the epicenter of the disco era. A who’s who of celebrities during that time attended the dance club, which was known for its restrictive guest list and open drug use. It spawned a successful movie, 54, in 1998, a Sirius XM channel, Studio 54 Radio, in 2011, and a documentary, Studio 54, in 2018.
The venue opened in 1927 as the Gallo Opera House and then the Gallo Theatre and changed hands a couple of times before being bought by CBS in 1943 and renamed Studio 52. It was used as a radio and studio stage for the next 35 years hosting a number of shows including What’s My Line?, The Jack Benny Show and Captain Kangaroo. Rubell and Schrager bought it in 1977 and spent $400,000 over six weeks to transform it into a nightclub. They would change the size and design of the club multiple times during a night to keep it fresh. They also hosted elaborate one-night-only theme parties with original sets. The long list of Studio 54 celebrity guests included John Belushi, Truman Capote, Salvador Dali, Faye Dunaway, Farrah Fawcett, Richard Gere, Debbie Harry, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Elton John, Grace Jones, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Liza Minnelli, Better Midler, Al Pacino, Dolly Parton, Richard Pryor, Diana Ross, Brooke Shields, Elizabeth Taylor, John Travolta, Tina Turner, Andy Warhol and Robin Williams. Alec Baldwin worked as a waiter there for two months.
Rubell and Schrager met as students and were fraternity brothers at Syracuse University. They first opened a club in Boston and another in Queens before Studio 54. Rubell was the face of Studio 54 often positioning himself outside the club to restrict entrance and make sure celebrities received special treatment. Studio 54 was raided in December of 1978 after Rubell was quoted in the paper that the club made $7 million in its first year and, “only the mafia made more money.” Before closing, Studio 54 threw a final party on Feb. 2-3, 1980, where Ross and Minnelli serenaded Rubell and Schrager. The pair eventually pled guilty to tax evasion and served 13 months in prison. Rubell died of AIDS complications in 1989. After Studio 54, Schrager became a hotelier and real estate developer and is known as the co-creator of boutique hotels. He has a current net worth estimated at more than $250 million.
