Auburn Tigers land potentially perfect head coach, despite fans thinking he might just have been a backup plan
The Auburn Tigers have their new head coach, and he should instill faith in the fan base immediately.
The SEC coaching carousel has started to completely take shape. With multiple massive hirings taking place on Friday and more twists to potentially come, there’s plenty to watch when it comes to the future of the conference. The Auburn Tigers have their new head coach after firing Hugh Freeze earlier this season.
Auburn hires USF’s Alex Golesh as new head coach
The Tigers made it official on Sunday. They’ve hired now former USF head coach Alex Golesh to that role. Amid speculation that interim HC D.J. Durkin would get the promotion, that ultimately wasn’t the outcome for Auburn. Golesh is a well-respected offensive mind with time spent alongside plenty of big-time head coaches and assistants around the sport.
There are some fans concerned that the Tigers got “sniped” in their pursuit of Jon Sumrall, but Golesh’s resumé speaks for itself. There’s plenty of reasons to think that they made a calculated decision in targeting Golesh over Sumrall in this coaching cycle.
The Tigers didn’t land Jon Sumrall, but it could work out in the long run
Many fans clamored for the now Florida Gators head coach, and that was for fair reasoning. He’s won at every stop along the way and molded Tulane into an annual G5 contender under his tutelage. That being said, the jump in competition for Billy Napier did not work well with the Gators. There is clear risk involved, even if it works out in the long run for Florida.
“Golesh engineered a rapid rebuild of the USF program, and under his leadership the Bulls recorded 23 wins over the last three seasons including a 9-3 mark in 2025. Prior to Golesh’s arrival in Tampa, the Bulls had won just four games over the prior three seasons.
This year, the USF offense ranks No. 2 nationally in total offense (501.7), No. 5 in scoring (43.0) and has posted 500-plus yards in eight of its last nine regular season games. South Florida has recorded the top two passing seasons in program history with Golesh at the helm in 2023 and 2025, while quarterback Byrum Brown became just the 12th 3,000-yard passer/1,000-yard rusher in FBS history this year.” — Auburn Tigers team website
There is no doubt that the Tigers want to build a whole new coaching staff for Golesh as well, as his scheme and plans probably won’t match up with some of the current assistants. He will get plenty of resources to build his own group out and create the best possible scenario for the future of the program.
Tennessee Volunteers News
Auburn is hiring Alex Golesh as their new head coach and Vols fans are hoping he doesn’t swipe a key assistant coach from Tennessee
The Auburn Tigers are hiring former Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator Alex Golesh as their new head coach.
