‘It’s a really cool way that we’ve done it’ – New Auburn HC Alex Golesh references Tennessee while discussing play-calling process

Former Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator Alex Golesh was named as the new head coach of the Auburn Tigers following the end of the 2025 regular season.

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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The Tennessee Vols’ play-calling process has been an interesting topic over the last few weeks.

It’s unclear who is calling plays for the Vols this season, with some suggesting that it’s head coach Josh Heupel, and others suggesting it’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle.

Some fans and analysts believe that Heupel should step back from the play-calling process — due to some of Tennessee’s end-of-half clock management issues in 2025 — to focus more on the CEO aspect of being a head coach.

Former Vols offensive coordinator Alex Golesh discusses the play-calling process in his offense

Former Vols offensive coordinator Alex Golesh, who was hired as Auburn’s new head coach on Sunday after spending the last three seasons as the head coach at USF, is expected to run the same offensive system with the Tigers that Tennessee runs under Heupel (with Golesh’s spin on it, of course).

At his introductory press conference at Auburn on Monday, Golesh spoke about the play-calling process in his offense, including his experiences at Tennessee (Golesh, notably, was the primary play-caller during his two seasons as the Vols’ offensive coordinator).

Golesh, who noted that his offensive coordinator will call plays at Auburn, explained during his introductory press conference that the play-calling process is a very collaborative effort.

“We’ve got an offensive staff that’s going to be absolutely elite,” said Golesh. “A large chunk of which is coming with (from Golesh’s staff at USF), and those guys will will absolutely crush it. Our offensive coordinator will call plays, and everybody else in that room will have a ton of input.

“I’ll be honest with you, even going back to the Tennessee time, it’s always been a collaborative effort. The offensive line coach is crazy involved. The wide receivers coach is crazy involved. The quarterbacks coach is crazy involved. We’ve got young coaches that are crazy involved. And when you get into a game, there’s so much conversation in between drives, it’s as truly a collaborative effort as you could ever imagine. I [give my] two cents at times — we all kind of do. And ultimately, the guy calling the plays, it’s on him to get us in the right spots. But it’s a constant communication. It’s a really cool way that we’ve done it. It’s collaborative up until the offensive coordinator makes the play call.”

Golesh’s comments provide some unique insight into the play-calling process that Tennessee is very likely still utilizing under Heupel.

Heupel, for reasons that no one understands, has kept his play-calling process a mystery, rarely speaking publicly about how the Vols call plays. But thanks to Golesh’s insight, we have a better idea of how the process works for Tennessee. And based on the way Golesh described the process, I wouldn’t expect Tennessee to make any changes any time soon. Maybe I’m wrong, but it sounds like Heupel (and Golesh) is married to this particular process.

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