Alex Golesh is attending his first SEC spring meetings this week in Destin, Florida, and is being surrounded by heavyweight coaches such as Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Texas’ Steve Sarkisian. So when it comes to giving his opinion about whether or not the College Football Playoff needs to expand or stay the same size, the first-year Auburn head coach knows his place.
"Nobody in that room cares what I think about the College Football Playoff," Golesh said. "Hopefully, at some point, maybe some people will."
Alex Golesh knows he must win at Auburn before having opinion on CFP
Wise words from the 41-year-old Golesh as the Tigers haven’t sniffed a spot in the College Football Playoffs since 2017, when Gus Malzahn and Auburn lost to eventual national runner-up Georgia in the SEC Championship. And after five straight losing seasons, Golesh has more pressing priorities on his schedule as he tries to restore the program to respectability and national prominence.
"When I tell you the College Football Playoff is literally the last thing I've thought about since taking the job at Auburn," Golesh said. "I've thought about the things we need to get done to be highly successful, so that we're in that conversation. But, man, nobody cares if I think it's 12, 16, 24."
Many of those thoughts likely center on how a revamped roster will perform during the 2026 season and on how quarterback Byrum Brown, who came from USF with Golesh, will transition to the demands of the SEC, along with a group of wide receivers who also transferred from the Bulls’ program this offseason.
However, it’s not like Golesh doesn’t think that his fellow coaches’ opinions don’t matter. In fact, he thinks the powers-that-be should listen more to what his colleagues have to say about the rules and regulations that run the sport.
"Coach's opinions should matter in a lot of things where nobody asks us, ever," Golesh said. "... The practitioners in what's going on have the last say in any of it. That's the part that's jacked up."
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