Alex Golesh's head coaching successor with the USF Bulls, Brian Hartline, just called out the job Golesh did in Tampa over the past three years in charge. Hartline said that, "There was some success here the last couple of years, but nowhere near where it should be."
USF fans would probably agree, at least about the 2025 season. What started with potential to represent the American in the CFP -- something the Tulane Green Wave accomplished instead -- turned into a disappointing end to the season that may have been contributed to by Golesh's job interviews with the Auburn Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks.
What Hartline said overlooks the fact that Golesh's coaching staff brought the Bulls out of a four-win-in-three-year stretch. With that said, Hartline is under no obligation to butter Golesh up or even accurately acknowledge what the ex-USF headman accomplished.
Bulls fans hate Golesh for ditching them as the rebuild was just getting good. That's never going to change. Hartline has to convince his fanbase that the level of play is about to ramp up. If the former Ohio State Buckeyes WR coach/offensive coordinator can recruit anywhere close at the skill-positions to what he used to in Columbus, there's a good chance he makes good on that promise.
That's cool. Frankly, it's none of Golesh's business anymore. He opted for bigger and better things in the SEC.
USF must be in Alex Golesh's rearview mirror
It might be tempting to retort Hartline's comment, but if I were Golesh's PR manager, I'd tell the 42-year-old that it'd be a losing battle. USF's fanbase has largely made up its mind about Golesh, and worrying about the past would make it seem like the future isn't infinitely brighter. Which, of course, it is.
While bringing the Bulls to the CFP could've cemented his legacy in the Sunshine State, Golesh could become a more lasting icon in the Yellowhammer State by being the first man to bring AU to the dance. Unlike at USF, Golesh could field a legitimate championship roster with the Tigers in any given year. Jimmy Rane has promised institutional support, and Auburn has more clout with recruits in the region than the Bulls. As the Alabama Crimson Tide's stranglehold on the state loosens with Kalen DeBoer wasting the program's momentum from the Nick Saban years, Golesh has a prime opportunity to fully take over the Iron Bowl rivalry. It seems clear that's his goal.
In the SEC, when you're located in East Central Alabama, you should be worrying about the Tide, the Georgia Bulldogs, and any program in the "It Just Means More" conference that can compete financially. Not what your successor at USF says.
Golesh rebuilt and reimagined what the Bulls could do, and will never get the credit he deserves. It's a losing battle trying to convince emotional people that their biased viewpoint is wrong. Ask anyone involved with politics on either side about that when trying to persuade dug-in constituents.
Why fight that battle at all? Golesh has far greater adversaries than Hartline's soundbites and USF's fanbase responding to them.
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