Auburn football hires USF head coach Alex Golesh
The Tigers have their man, plucking the former Tennessee offensive coordinator after three strong seasons at the Group of Five.
AUBURN — As everyone expected, Auburn football’s new leader will be a sitting American Conference head coach who has experience as an SEC coordinator.
On Sunday morning, Auburn officially hired South Florida head coach Alex Golesh, who has gone 23-15 overall and 14-10 in three seasons with the Bulls — who only won a combined four games across the three seasons before his arrival.
Before his first head coaching job, Golesh spent two seasons as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator under Josh Heupel, who he followed from UCF after the 2020 season. Golesh spent nearly a decade as a position coach, primarily with tight ends, at Iowa State, Illinois and Toledo before joining up with Heupel. He started his coaching career on defense.
“I want to thank President Roberts and John Cohen for the opportunity to lead the Auburn program,” Golesh said in a statement. “Auburn Football is one of the proudest, most tradition-rich programs in all of college football and my family and I could not be more excited to join the Auburn Family. This will be a player-driven program, and no one will outwork our staff.
“Auburn has won, can win and will win championships. Let’s get to work.”
Golesh — who was born in Russia but grew up in Brooklyn and Ohio before playing football at Ohio State — has been involved with several of college football’s best offenses over the last several years. Here are the numbers:
2025 USF: 7.20 yards per play (5th), 43.0 points per game (4th)
2024 USF: 5.67 yards per play (77th), 32.2 points per game (33rd)
2023 USF: 5.71 yards per play (68th), 31.9 points per game (33rd)
2022 Tennessee: 7.23 yards per play (2nd), 46.1 points per game (1st)
2021 Tennessee: 6.47 yards per play (17th), 39.3 points per game (7th)
2020 UCF: 6.61 yards per play (20th), 42.2 points per game (8th)
This season, USF quarterback Byrum Brown is tied for No. 7 nationally in yards per pass attempt and quarterback rating while posting a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 28-4.
“He has produced wins and record-setting results throughout his entire career, including over the last three seasons at USF,” Auburn athletic director John Cohen said in a statement. “Alex is known nationally for his player development prowess, ability to shape creative and explosive offenses, and his relentless approach to building winning programs.
“I was also struck by his coaching experience on both sides of the ball. In our conversations, he showed the determination and edge that this program demands of its head coach.”