Getty 2x National Champion quarterback A.J. McCarron had harsh words for Alabama's in-state rival (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
Former Alabama Crimson Tide 2x National Championship quarterback A.J. McCarron has no love lost for in-state SEC blood-rival Auburn, and he went out on a limb to say that Tigers Head Coach Bryan Harsin has already been notified that he will be let go by the end of the 2022 season.
During an appearance on The Ringer writer Kevin Clark’s podcast “Slow News Day,” McCarron revealed that nugget while also taking a shot at Auburn University’s boosters. “From my sources over there, Harsin’s already been told he’s done after this year,” McCarron said. “The big money people at Auburn, they look at Auburn and hold a different level of reality, especially right now.”
McCarron believes that people of Auburn still believe they are living in the days of Cam Newton and Bo Jackson and that the Penn State Nittany Lions beating the Tigers 41-12 on September 17 — and the team’s backslide into a toxic locker-room that started during the 2021 season — were the awakening they needed to realize Harsin was not the leader they need at this point.
Because of that loss, the Mobile native told his hometown’s local radio station WNSP on September 28 that the program was a dumpster fire and that Harsin is a dead man walking on the Plains. “It’s a dumpster fire,” said McCarron. “Things I’ve heard behind the scenes from some people that are very well-connected up there, I’m sure other people know: I heard he’s already gone.”
A.J. McCarron Was 2-2 vs. Auburn While at Alabama
A.J. McCarron played in four Iron Bowls against Auburn during his four seasons (not counting his redshirt first year) in Tuscaloosa. His two losses to the Tigers happen to be some of the most legendary games in Auburn’s history.
The first was in the “Camback,” which saw future No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Newton lead Auburn down from a 24-0 halftime deficit at Bryant-Denny Stadium. While he didn’t start and only came in the final drive following starter Greg McElroy’s concussion from a sack by Tigers cornerback T’Sharvan Bell, McCarron went 0/4 in his Iron Bowl debut.
The next two seasons were championship years for the Crimson Tide with McCarron under center. Alabama wiped out Auburn by a combined 91-14 in what were serious hangover seasons following the Tigers’ 2010 National Championship.
McCarron’s final Iron Bowl encounter was dubbed the “Kick Six” and saw the Crimson Tide blow what would have been a 31-28 win with would have been the game-winning field goal falling short and being returned by Tigers cornerback Chris Davis to seal the game for Auburn 34-28 in one of the most shocking college football endings of all time. Auburn would go on to win the SEC Championship and allow Florida State to make their own comeback in the final BCS National Championship game before the start of the College Football Playoff.
Auburn Reporter Blasts A.J. McCarron For Spreading Misinformation
A.J. McCarron’s intel on the Bryan Harsin situation at Auburn he shared on September 28 with Mobile radio station WNSP was refuted by several outlets on the Tiger beat including AL.com and Opelika-Auburn News.
In particular, Opelika-Auburn News deputy editor and sports editor Justin Lee went after the Alabama quarterback for what he felt was misinformation. “It doesn’t need to be said that obviously AJ McCarron doesn’t know anything,” tweeted Lee on September 28 from his verified Twitter account in response to McCarron’s Bryan Harsin claim.
In addition, Lee took aim at McCarron’s classification of Auburn as a middle-to-lower-tier SEC school during his appearance on The Ringer’s “Slow News Day,” in a follow-up tweet September 28. “Please (A.J. McCarron), expound on how you managed to arrive on the idea that Auburn is a “middle-to-lower-tier SEC school” without looking at revenue, spending, facilities, all-time wins, market visibility, or any other metric that matters.”