ATLANTA | He knew the questions would be asked. He understood that his appearance at SEC Media Days on Thursday was going to be mainly focused on what transpired over a few weeks this offseason, a controversy that could happen anywhere but, for some reason, occurs at Auburn more often than not.

Yes, Bryan Harsin was finally in front of a horde of reporters, all of them waiting to ask why it happened, what went through his mind, how it affected him and his family and, quite possibly, if there was any mistrust now with the university and athletic department where he has worked just 19 months.

Instead of waiting for the sharks to feast on his well-dressed body, Harsin threw the early punch. In fact, it was more of a knockout blow, his words filling the expansive room with phrases like personal attack, unfounded and uncomfortable. If Harsin was Mike Tyson, the rest of the crowd was Michael Spinks.

Frankly, it was a fantastic moment. Most coaches spend their time with the usual coachspeak during their opening statement. Not Harsin. Not on this day when he was on center stage, and everyone was wondering what he might say. After remembering Buddy "Mr. Auburn" Davidson, who passed away on Tuesday, the coach went right into it.

"Second time here," he said. "Excited to be here. I know some of you out there looking at me didn't expect me to be here at this time. I'm going to dive into that here in just a second. Address the gorilla in the room."

Jab and counterjab. Before the sharks could even smell blood, he had taken command. In public relations terms, he got ahead of the message. The tension in the room lifted, especially with that shot at those who doubted if he would ever represent Auburn again. And, after going through the negatives, with the rain appropriately pouring down and thunder booming outside, he flipped to positivity.

It's brought his team closer together. The coaches and players stepped up for him. A silver lining came out of a giant crock of crap. It was a strange way for a coach to spend his first offseason, wondering if these allegations that spread quicker than melted butter on a hot piece of toast would cost him dearly.

We may never know how, who, what, when and why the so-called powers thought it was a good idea. Sure, a five-game losing streak at the end of the season didn't help. And indeed, Harsin's status as an outsider was seen as a negative by those trying to basically send him back to Idaho.

But it happened, and Harsin survived it. Scratch that. He didn't just survive. He's thrived. The 2021 version of Harsin would likely not have done what he did today in front of a national audience waiting to see if he wilted. He would have probably taken a few punches before getting in his first knock, trying to fight himself off the mat. Nope, not this Harsin. He came out ready to end the conversation before it even started.

Jab. Punch. Knockout. Harsin wins.