Former USF AD Mark Harlan goes on an epic rant that will probably cost him in the end

Before he went to Utah as athletic director in 2018, Mark Harlan held the same position for four years at USF.

He did some good things at USF, although hiring Charlie Strong to succeed Willie Taggart as the Bulls’ football coach was not one of them.

As his profile rose, it seems just about everyone there knew he was looking for greener pastures. When that opportunity came, he jumped like an Olympian clearing a hurdle to head for Salt Lake City – never mind  that he had signed a multi-year extension with USF just a month before taking the job.

I mention this because Harlan is trending on just every sports platform this morning after his epic meltdown Saturday night.

He went on a jag after the Utes suffered a last-second 22-21 loss to arch rival BYU.

"This game was absolutely stolen from us," Harlan said. "We were excited about being in the Big 12, but tonight I am not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed.

"I will talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team. I'm disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight."

The Utes are in their first season in the Big 12, and Harlan seemingly left no doubt that the fix was in keep BYU in the College Football Playoff picture.

It looked like the Utes had sealed the upset when BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff at the Cougars' 1-yard line with 1:29 left, but wait!

Zebra factor!

Utah was called for defensive holding, which kept BYU alive. The Cougars matriculated the ball down the field at that point and won the game on a 44-yard field goal at the gun.

Harlan took the unusual approach of appearing in the media room afterward to issue his epic rant.

Well, we’ll see what the Big 12 Conference office comes up with today in regards to Harlan. There’s probably going to be a significant fine for questioning the integrity of the officiating, and there should be.

It also should have occurred to Harlan that officials have long memories, so I doubt the Utes will get many 50-50 breaks going forward.

Harlan has been around long enough to know that.

He should have handled it through channels, but it’s too late now.

Supporters will say he was sticking up for his team. Critics will say he was a loud-mouthed jerk.

They’re both right.

But here’s the thing, he should have followed the angry email rule. Type it out, look at it, read it three or four times, and then hit delete.

Harlan can’t unsend a rant like that.