Alex Golesh knows exactly what type of job he is walking into at Auburn. Golesh had great run of success at South Florida previously. While winning in Tampa is not easy, he has bigger fish to fry in the SEC down on The Plains. Auburn is every bit a traditional power, but the last decade or so has not been kind to the Tigers. Golesh chose to come to Auburn to turn the Tigers into a winner here quickly.
When asked by Adam Brenman on why he ultimately took the Auburn job, Golesh offered this nugget.
"First of all, there's very few up times in this profession where you get to pick. There's not many of these jobs out there. So when you sat and looked at it, you try to process it, how many jobs do you really have where you have a chance to win a national championship? How many jobs are there where it's resourced the way it is?"
Golesh continued by saying that being able to coach and compete in the SEC will only help his cause.
"This conference, how jobs are there where you can go compete at the highest level against the best players, against the best coaches? You get one shot. There's no do-overs in it. And you have no idea is that opportunity gonna come again..."
Here is everything Golesh had to say to Breneman about why Auburn was a job he could not pass up.
Auburn was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
— Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) May 3, 2026
This is WHY Golesh became a head coach.@NextUpBreneman x @TRAVISMATHEW pic.twitter.com/FHCmUwQBgP
Golesh was also tied to other jobs such as Arkansas and Florida throughout the offseason process...
Alex Golesh has the right mental makeup to get Auburn back to relevancy
While he has brought with him mostly former South Florida players out of the transfer portal, including starting quarterback Byrum Brown, there is a halfway decent chance that what worked for him in Tampa could conceivably happen at Auburn. His USF predecessor in Jeff Scott won precisely four games over three years during his atrocious run leading the Bulls. Golesh moved mountains...
In truth, Golesh is absolutely right. Auburn is one of only a handful of Power Four programs where you can realistically win a national championships at. To be fair, Indiana was not one of those places, until IU hired the perfect head coach for them in Curt Cignetti. So far this century, we have seen Auburn vie for national championships under three different head coaches. Will Golesh become the fourth?
Golesh comes to Auburn with nothing but positivity from his time at South Florida. He is not bringing the baggage with him that Hugh Freeze did, or even the skepticism some had with Bryan Harsin, Gus Malzahn, or Gene Chizik did when they first took over. In a way, this time it does feel different. As long as Auburn gets to a bowl game this year, the right steps will be made for them to get out of this funk.
For now, everything that Golesh has had to say about the Auburn job is music to the ears of its fans.
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