Former Auburn LB Chandler Wooten Didn’t Hold Back In His Spirited Defense Of Coach Bryan Harsin

• As the dust continues to try and settle around Bryan Harsin at Auburn, quite a few players have spoken out.
• Amongst those who have come out in favor of Harsin, former linebacker Chandler Wooten offered a vigorous defense.
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Auburn head football coach Bryan Harsin’s job may be in jeopardy. A lot of rumors and accusations have been floated about the second-year coach and on Thursday night, a report from Justin Hokanson of On3 Sports said that his immediate future with the program is in question.

Since then, there have been two sides that have formed.

On one side, former players claim that Harsin built a questionable culture at Auburn. One former Tiger went so far as to say he and his teammates were treated like dogs.

On the other side, some current and former players stand with Harsin, who vehemently denied any negative claims against him. Meanwhile, his family responded to personal rumors that have been floated, and his daughter called out players for their claims.

Of the people on Harsin’s side is Chandler Wooten. Wooten, who played at Auburn from 2017-2021, posted on twitter in support of his former head coach.

In addition to his public statement, he spoke with Hokanson and detailed his time at Auburn.

Wooten offered a very spirited, vigorous defense.

He claimed that some of the players at Auburn were soft.

“Auburn had soft players on the team. Everybody wants to play. I can honestly say Bryan Harsin and everybody in the building wants to put the best product on the field. He wants to win. That’s all he knows. When you have players that are used to being babysat and coaches telling them to do things — it’s like when you have someone cut and dry not putting up the bulls***, it might seem like he doesn’t care about you.”

He also said that Harsin was nothing but good to him and his family, despite others claiming otherwise.

“The man didn’t have to give me a chance or let me play. Having the conversation with him, I don’t know where this thing comes from. They opened the facility to me. They let me bring my son to practice, they opened the whole facility up.”

As for those who are leaving or have left, Wooten says that is ultimately good for the program.

“That’s some bulls*** to me about not caring about players. It was more strenuous, no more babysitting, it’s a culture change. This is coming from people that didn’t have the seasons they wanted. Most of the people that left, that’s a good thing for Auburn. That man doesn’t disrespect nobody. If you aren’t doing what it takes to win, he’s going to call you out. When people say he doesn’t care about you, that’s completely false.”

In addition, he said that under Gus Mahlzan, players could get away with doing whatever they wanted.

That is not the case with Harsin, Wooten says.

“Everybody was used to doing what they wanted to do and get away with it. That’s not Bryan Harsin. Those guys push against the grain, that’s how they live and move. Harsin coming in and he’s telling you what to do. That’s the pushback. To say the man doesn’t care, that’s reaching. They know that’s reaching. It’s crazy to see. We know why you are upset. You weren’t playing. What’s the point of you coming out now?”

Wooten questions why former players are choosing now to speak up.

“They were getting way with that under the other staff. You don’t see this many people go from one school to the other school where the coach that just left is. I question some people’s motives. Why are you waiting until right now? You could have said that a long time ago. Why now? Maybe you should have been doing what you were supposed to do. Look in the mirror. Maybe we would have won more games. If we would have done what we were supposed to do, we would have been better off.”

He also thinks that the on-field results in 2021 may have contributed to the recent fallout.

“None of this was going on during the season. If we didn’t lose the last few, this wouldn’t be happening. Everybody would have been happy. That’s how it goes. You have clicks on the team, certain influence, and those others don’t have a reason to feel that way. A lot of people are following and not standing.”

To conclude, Wooten offered a glowing statement in support of Harsin.

“Yea, it’s different coming to the South, but they are blowing it out of proportion. I understand what they’re saying about not being understood, but they’re pushing one or two incidents. They’re speaking for everybody when they should be speaking for themselves. For Chandler Wooten I love him. That’s my coach. I know the man he is. He’s going to do what he has to do.

“Take a look and listen to the people that are here. This is coming from players that left. They left for different reasons. They weren’t doing what they were supposed to do. People are getting their information from the wrong sources. Ask the right people. I love Harsin. That’s a great tman. He’s been nothing but good to me and my family. He wants to be at Auburn. It would be a loss for Auburn. The man wants to win. If they give him the support, he’s going to win. It’s inevitable. I know that from the work they’re putting in compared to years past.”

Whether Harsin will keep his job is to be determined. However, after the initial expectation was that Auburn would try to fire him with cause, the belief now is that Harsin will either settle and agree to mutually part ways, be bought out in full, or be retained. Players like Wooten speaking out positively on his behalf has helped swing the narrative.