AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn welcomed Alex Golesh with its traditional Tiger Walk and a pep rally Monday. The school’s new football coach wanted to get right to work.
“We’re going to be explosive on offense,” Golesh said at his introductory news conference. “We’re going to play really fast. We’re going to challenge teams in every imaginable way. We’re going to run the freaking ball. People around here like running the football, and I can respect it.”
Golesh is widely regarded as one of the sharpest offensive minds in the college game, and he’s tasked with increasing the production of a unit that ended the regular season 80th in the nation in total offense and 75th in scoring.
The 41-year-old was hired on Sunday, four weeks after the firing of Hugh Freeze, who was 15-19 overall and 6-16 in the Southeastern Conference over three seasons. The Tigers had lost 12 of their previous 15 SEC games and were 4-5 this season when Freeze was let go. They finished 5-7 after Saturday’s 27-20 loss to Alabama.
Golesh came to the Plains from South Florida, where the Bulls averaged better than 450 yards and 35 points per game over his three seasons. This season, USF’s 501.7 yards per game ranks second nationally and its 43 points per game ranks fourth.
As offensive coordinator at UCF in 2020, his unit was No. 2 in the nation. As offensive coordinator at Tennessee, his units were No. 9 in 2021 and No. 1 in 2022.
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“We’re going to be the most violent freaking team on the football field every single Saturday,” Golesh said. “We’re going to be different on special teams. We’re going to create explosives on teams. It’s going to be a huge difference in why we win. We’re going to outwork, outthink and out-process people across the entire country.”
Golesh was unclear on whether D.J. Durkin would be retained as defensive coordinator. Durkin was interim head coach the last three games.
“We’ve got a plan,” Golesh said. “We’re working through steps to execute the plan. My hope is that in the next, call it, 24 or 48 hours, that gets finalized and we have some clarity with which direction we’re going.”
Golesh said former Auburn player and assistant Kodi Burns would be associate head coach. Burns was USF’s receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator this season. He also was receivers coach at Tennessee while Golesh was offensive coordinator.
Golesh emphasized that there isn’t time to waste in his new job. He already was having meetings with players, and he’s contacting prospective recruits and assembling his staff as quickly as possible ahead of signing day Wednesday.
“We’ve been here for 24 hours, and we have gone to work,” Golesh said. “We’re going to recruit this 250-mile radius harder than anybody in the entire country. The high school football within these 250 miles is nothing short of elite. I’ve been in this part of the country for a long time. I’ve recruited this part of the country for a long time.”
Auburn struggled on the recruiting trail under Freeze this year, the first in the revenue-sharing era, and was No. 64 nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings entering the early signing period starting Wednesday. The Tigers put together top-10 national recruiting classes in 2024-25, so bringing in high school talent was not an issue in recent years. Winning football games has been.
“At the end of the day, I can’t wait for the fall,” Golesh said. “88,043 to cheer on our guys and give this fan base exactly what you deserve. I’m humbled. I’m honored. I’m so grateful to be here. This is a dream come true, to be the head coach at Auburn University, to represent this fan base, and I’m beyond grateful for you choosing me, John [Cohen].
“I will pay it back tenfold, man. I will give this fan base, the alumni base, the former players and everybody involved with this university every single bit of everything I got.”
