Shortly after Bryan Harsin was named the next Auburn football head coach, head basketball coach Bruce Pearl called him to welcome him to Auburn.

“I did. I called him the night that he was hired. He called me back the next day,” Pearl said. “We had a good conversation. I told him how close Coach Malzahn and I were and still are, but that I was here for him to help him be successful.”

Harsin was born in Idaho and played at Boise State before becoming an assistant coach and then the head coach in 2013. He had no previous ties to Auburn University.

When Pearl arrived at Auburn in 2014, outside of coaching against them, he also had no ties to the university.

Many may have looked at Harsin as an outsider, but Pearl doesn’t think he’ll be an outsider for long.

“Yeah, I told him – because I’ve been to Boise before. It’s a beautiful part of the country. He stayed in Boise for a long time, which tells you how loyal he is and tells you how much friends and family really mean to him,” Pearl said. “He probably passed up a number of other opportunities to stay loyal to the people who got him to where he is. Then you get to a certain point, though, where you want to see if you can do it against the very best. And obviously, he got to that point and is excited about that challenge.”

“But I don’t think he comes to Auburn unless he understood what the Auburn family was all about. The people are the No. 1 reason that makes this place so spectacular. The students that we attract, the faculty that’s here, the people that live in this community.”

While Boise is beautiful as Pearl noted, he believes Auburn will be a place Harsin and his family end up loving.

“And I told him, I said Auburn is going to give Boise a run for its money, as far as a place where your family could be happy and be comfortable in a church setting and comfortable in a social setting,” Pearl said. “This place is going to support you. You could talk about being an outsider, but I’ve got one son-in-law. He’s married to my daughter. He is no outsider. He is my son, and he is a part of my family. He is no less a son to me than Steven or Michael. Auburn people know that and I think that the coaches that do come here, we feel that. That’s why I always tell coaches, jump in with both feet. Don’t lease, don’t rent — buy and jump in. And I don’t think he comes to Auburn unless he senses that as well.”

After having the chance to speak with Harsin a few times, Pearl believes Auburn got a good one in Harsin.

“It sounds to me, it looks to me, like we made an incredible hire, because he’s as good a man as he is a football coach,” Pearl said. “He seems to be just a tremendous football coach and a great competitor, so. We’re all in. I look forward to meeting him in person. Like me, he’s a grinder, so he also understands what I’m doing right now every day trying to get ready for the SEC season and he’s respectful of that.”

NOT A MEMBER?

JOIN AUBURNSPORTS.COM TODAY to enjoy around-the-clock content including stories, analysis, videos, podcasts, call-in shows and The Greatest Message Board In The History of The Internet.