After a little more than a month on the staff at Auburn, Austin Davis has resigned.
Davis, hired Dec. 18 to be Auburn’s offensive coordinator, said in a statement Monday that he is stepping away from coaching football for “personal reasons.”
Davis, 32, spent the last three seasons as the quarterbacks coach of the Seattle Seahawks and was set to replace Mike Bobo as the offensive coordinator on Bryan Harsin’s staff. Instead, Harsin will now have to conduct yet another coordinator search.
“The last week has been difficult for me as I’ve made the decision to step away from coaching football,” Davis said. “Auburn University and Coach Harsin have been tremendous through this whole process. I am grateful for the opportunity that was presented to me from a coaching standpoint and equally as important, the way Coach Harsin has handled my current situation.”
Davis, who spent eight seasons in the NFL as a backup quarterback before entering the coaching world, said he has a strong desire to spend more time with his family.
“My decision to resign is 100 percent based on personal reasons,” Davis said. “After more than a decade in the NFL with the daily grind as a player and coach I’ve realized how much I miss my family and my desire to spend more time with them.”
Auburn loses both coordinators
Davis is the second coordinator to leave Harsin’s staff this month. Last week, defensive coordinator Derek Mason accepted the same job at Oklahoma State. Harsin subsequently promoted linebackers coach Jeff Schmedding to defensive coordinator.
Harsin is entering just his second season at Auburn and will now have to hire his third offensive coordinator in that span. He fired Bobo after a season in which the Tigers showed some early promise but ended up finishing just 6-7.
After the season, three-year starting quarterback Bo Nix left Auburn for Oregon. The Tigers then added ex-Texas A&M QB Zach Calzada, who will likely compete with TJ Finley for the starting job. Auburn also added Oregon transfer Robby Ashford this offseason.
Before landing at Auburn, Harsin spent seven seasons as the head coach at Boise State, his alma mater. He also was the head coach at Arkansas State for a season. Harsin spent most of his coaching career at Boise State (assistant from 2001 to 2010, head coach from 2014 to 2020) and also had a two-year stint at Texas. He arrived at Auburn with no SEC experience.